Practice
doesn’t necessarily make perfect, and this is especially true when measuring blood pressure.
Many
people don’t realize that WHEN and WHERE you take your blood pressure is as important as HOW.
This
can lead to misdiagnosis where people who don’t actually have high blood pressure are forced on medications
with serious side effects.
Today
we’ll talk about the 3 most common mistakes people make when measuring blood pressure.
#1 – The first mistake is measuring blood pressure only once per day.Because blood pressure levels fluctuate throughout the day, it is important to
get a reading
at different times during the day to get a better idea of what your average is.
It’s
also a great way to pinpoint the times of day that cause the BP
spikes so you can target those for lifestyle and stress adjustment if needed.
You also want to make sure that you are checking it several times per week and
not just sporadically.
#2 – The second mistake to only measuring blood pressure at the doctor’s office, thinking that’s the only accurate
way to get a reading.
In
truth, “white coat syndrome,” or an elevated blood pressure due to the anxiety of being in the doctor’s office, leads
to a huge number of false readings. Getting a good home monitor and taking it
frequently in the comfort of your own surroundings helps eliminate this
mistake.
And
follow your own readings. If your blood pressure at home is normally below 120/80, but your doctor wants
you to take medications because his/her readings are higher, get a second
opinion from a doctor who understands white coat syndrome.
#3 – Finally, make sure to read the
instructions and follow them closely for all home monitors.User error
contributes to a lot of avoidable mis-readings when measuring blood pressure. You might even take the monitor to the doctor’s office
and have the nurse or CNA help with your monitor for the first time.
This post is from the High Blood
Pressure Exercise Program. It was
made by Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news that has been recognized as
one of the top quality national health information websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
Did
you know that by just slightly changing the way you sleep; you can drop your blood pressure a whopping 15 points?
How in what way can
sleeping quality affect blood pressure?
The
secret lies in the results of a 20-study review involving 225,000 subjects
published this year in the journalSleep
Medicine,
which reveals a surprising link between sleep quality and high blood pressure.
One
of the reviewed studies titled “Poor Sleep Quality and Resistant Hypertension,”
involved 270 study participants in a hypertension
clinic in Italy.
Researchers
found that among most of the subjects with resistant hypertension, (blood
pressure over 140/90) poor sleep quality or sleep deprivation was prevalent.
The
question to ask is, how does bad sleeping quality affect blood pressure?
After
viewing the results of past studies involving over 225,000 people, researchers
finally began to understand how in what way does bad sleeping quality affect
blood pressure.
You
see, sleeping is a natural restorative process for your cardiovascular system.
Most people experience on the average a 15-point drop in blood pressure and
your heart
doesn’t have to work as hard as when you’re awake.
However,
if you suffer sleeping disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea or sleep less
than 6 hours a night, two major stress systems are triggered:
1)
Hypothalamic Pituitary-Adrenal system
2) Sympathomedullary system
Both
of these stress systems result in the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which
again spike blood pressure during the exact hours that your blood pressure
should be the lowest – and therefore lead to chronic high blood pressure during
the day.
This
is yet another study proving that stress
is the main cause of high blood pressure.
The
good news is that thousands of readers have used our blood pressure exercises, specifically designed to reduce stress and
lower blood pressure. Most of the time dropping their blood pressure below
120/80 in less than a week… sometimes even the very first day.
This
post is from the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program. It was made by Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news
that has been recognized as one of the top quality national health information
websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
The Risky Herbal
Medication Interactions You Need to Watch Out For
Most
of us are under the impression that herbal remedies are quite safe. We prefer
them because they cause little or no side effects, right?
If
however, you have been forced to take medications for high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood thinning, or other types of medications,
the game plan may have changed.
That’s
why in today’s feature article I’m going to tell you about seven common herbs
and their potential harmful interaction with the medications
you’re using.
I
love garlic. We’ve recommended its use over and over again on this blog. It’s
probably the most powerful herb to lower blood pressure, eliminate blood clots and many other things.
BUT
if you’ve been prescribed blood thinning drugs such as Warfarin, garlic’s blood
thinning effects can increase risk of bleeding. Especially if taken in big
doses.
This
doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid garlic. Ask your doctor how much is
safe for you to use depending on the dose of medications you’re taking.
Many
people swear by this herb and the amazing effects to fight off flu and boost
the immune system. I know people who load up on Echinacea as soon as they feel
the first symptoms of cold and never get sick.
However,
Echinacea can increase the risk of liver damage if you’re taking
cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins, niacin, and fibrates.
This
is a powerful plant that’s extremely effective to boost mood and fight of
depression and anxiety. It’s widely used in the winter time by people living in
the northern part of the world when the daylight is very limited.
As
powerful as it is, St. John’s Wort interferes with almost all prescription
drugs. It’s especially damaging at limiting the efficacy of statins,
beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers. If your doctor is not aware of
this, he/she may think the drugs are just not working and boost up your dose
(causing even more severe side effects).
Risky Herbal Medication Interactions - #Herb 4
- Green Tea
Another
extremely effective herb to improve almost ALL health issues, green tea lowers high blood pressure, balances cholesterol levels, improves diabetes and boosts stamina.
Green Tea,
however, also includes vitamin K, which may also counteract the effectiveness
of warfarin.
Ginseng
is a powerful herb that boosts the immune system, balances cholesterol levels
and lowers blood pressure. Red Ginseng is considered even more powerful than
White Ginseng.
It
does, however, diminish the effect of warfarin. Since it’s so powerful, please
make sure you always follow the directions on the package and don’t overuse it.
Overuse can actually raise blood pressure.
Risky Herbal Medication Interactions - #Herb 6
- Grapefruit Juice
Unlike
most fruit juice, grapefruit juice can have a somewhat ‘negative calorie’
effect. So it’s a powerful tool to lose weight. It’s also been proven to
improve heart health, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, plus many other health benefits.
However,
grapefruit juice also interferes with a specific enzyme that’s needed to
properly absorb medications such as statins and calcium-channel blockers. As
little as one glass of grapefruit juice doubles the amount of calcium-channel
blockers in the blood stream due to the nature of its not being absorbed and
used. This causes the medication to build up in your body causing series of
side effects (known as “the grapefruit effect”).
Like
so many other herbs mentioned before, their effectiveness is also the weakness
when interacting with traditional medications. In this case, consult your
doctor if you’re using any kind of heart-failure medications before using hawthorn.
So
what can you do?
These
are just seven examples of common powerful herbs and how they can interfere
with prescription medications. Most of the time a small amount won’t hurt, but
always consult your doctor before taking any type of herb capsules in
association with traditional medications.
In
my opinion, the real lesson to take from this is how damaging traditional
pharmaceutical medications really are.
Just
think about it. If your medications are preventing you from using natural,
healthy ingredients that will actually improve your health without side
effects, how beneficial are they really?
The good news is that many natural approaches
cause no risk even if you use them while on medications. An example of this is
our blood pressure exercises. Lots of people have used these exercises to get
of medications with the approval of their doctor.Learn more about our blood pressure exercises here…
This post is from
the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program.It was made by Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news
that has been recognized as one of the top quality national health information
websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
How Your Fingers Detect
Heart Attack Risk Years Ahead!
One
of the problems with heart health is that once the problem appears, it takes a great deal of
effort to reverse it. Sometimes undergoing surgery or taking dangerous
medications for a while are the only options at that point.
But
how about if you could detect heart attack risk 10 – 20 years before any obvious symptoms appear? This
would give you plenty of time to make minor, positive changes to prevent the
big bang.
A
new, completely un-invasive test does just that. You don’t even have to have
your blood or urine taken. All it takes is looking at your fingers.
According
to Dr. Chris Renna, a physician at Lifespan Medicine, which is based in Santa
Monica, the new and innovative test that can detect heart attack risk lies in endothelial functioning. The EndoPat test
determines the health of the blood vessels, which plays a big role in healthy
cardio functioning.
Renna
states that it is possible to determine the level of functioning of the
endothelial cells in people as young as 30, and if dysfunction is present,
correcting it as soon as possible is one way to improve their health later on
in life.
Some
people are now choosing to use this test as an indicator of their cardio health levels, and whether they are doing enough to remain healthy
in the future, especially when they reach 50 and above.
Those
undergoing the EndoPat test are hooked to sensors that are placed on each of
their fingers. After the sensors are in place, blood pressure cuffs are used to
stop the blood flow in one of the hands.
When
the cuff is deflated, the manner in which the blood flow recovers is measured
by the sensors.
In
patients that are healthy, the blood flow will be prevented by the inflation of
the cuff, but when it is deflated, the blood flow spikes for a while, to make
up for the lack of blood, before it returns to normal.
Those
that display signs of abnormal heart functioning will only recover to the point
that the blood flow was at before the cuff was inflated and the blood flow was
stopped. There is no spike.
If
a patient’s test is abnormal, it’s likely they will end up experiencing problems
with their heart later on in life. The good news is that this test allows them
the chance to take preventative action so that their worst fears aren’t
realized.
Dr.
Renna has stated that lifestyle modifications are some of the best ways to
become heart healthy and prevent heart disease from becoming a reality.
Some
of the modifications that a person can make include exercising, watching your
weight and eating a healthy diet. When combined, these changes contribute to
the restoration of optimal functioning of the blood vessels, as well as the
prevention of strokes and heart attacks.
Four Things Your Body
Can Help You to Detect Heart Attack – and How to Prevent It
Many
people have this mistaken belief that it is easy to detect heart attack – pain
in the chest, left arm and jaw, and all the sweaty drama that goes with it like
we see on TV.
…but
the reality is, heart attacks are much more subtle!
It
is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 heart attacks are considered “silent,”
meaning they appear out of the blue, with no clear warning signs preceding the
event.
However,
researchers are finding that there actually ARE signs that can help you to
detect heart attack; we just aren’t seeing them and/or reacting to them.
That’s
why today we will look at the 4 signs to detect heart attack which youmustpay attention- even if you don’t smoke, have
heart disease, or any other at-risk disease- to know if your heart
is about to go off.
Heart
disease kills more men and women every year than most cancers. It has been
found in people as young as 9 years old, especially if there are other
conditions like diabetes,
obesity, or exposure to second-hand smoke.
These
things have been found to happen right before a heart attack…so if you experience them or are seeing them in someone you
love, it’s time to act:
–Dull, come-and-go pain– of course, the
tell-tale sign of abundant pain radiating up and down the left arm is a warning
sign, but did you know that ANY discomfort in the upper body and extremities
can be cause for alarm? Pay attention to it, and get help if it also
accompanies…
–Nausea and vomiting– if you are going
about your day, feeling generally well and suddenly you start vomiting – and
can’t tie it to something you ate – it’s time to take notice. Make a note of
how many times you vomit and if there is pain preceding bouts of it, and if so,
where.
–Sweating profusely, or even just noticeably– when you normally
don’t. People usually do sweat some when they vomit, or when they experience
pain. But if you have pain, nausea,and
sweating
all lumped together, get to the doctor immediately.
–Shortness of breath– most people will
find shortness of breath accompanying strenuous workouts. They will also
sometimes experience a little dizziness. But if you haven’t been working out,
or sitting down and cooling off offers no relief, go to the ER.
Shortness
of breath is one symptom ER staff is extremely sensitive to, as it typically
harkens very bad events about to happen. If it hurts to inhale or exhale, or
you feel as if you are breathing through a straw, it’s time to get help.
Many
times, a general feeling of malaise or lethargy can happen for days or even
weeks leading up to a heart attack, so if you have been feeling under the weather and these
other symptoms start to appear, take notice.
This
post is from the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program.It was made by
Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news that has been recognized as one of the
top quality national health information websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
A
massive study published in theJournal
of American Medical Association: InternalMedicine that
involved around 22,000 participants proves that a small change in diet alone
can help lower blood pressure considerably.
Follow
this easy, simple diet and you can drop your blood pressure and get several
other health benefits in other ways too!
And
it’s not a fad or something trendy with weird ingredients.
A
vegetarian diet that excludes meat but includes eggs and dairy products is
considered to be very favorable for lowering blood pressure.
In this diet, it’s not completely vegan – just vegetarian.
The
research involved both observational studies in which the volunteers were free
to follow their own vegetarian diet plans and clinical trials in which the
volunteers were given a vegetarian diet that they had not tried before.
It
was found that in the observational studies, the volunteers, on an average, had
a systolic pressure of 7 mm Hg and diastolic pressure of 5mm Hg lower than that
of meat-eaters.
In
clinical trials, volunteers showed a systolic pressure of 5mm Hg and diastolic
pressure of 2mm Hg lower than participants in control group who did not follow
a vegetarian diet.
From this study, it is obvious that the
systolic pressure drops by 6 points on an average by adopting a vegetarian
lifestyle.
You
may think this is not so much. But do you know that this is the same result
typically achieved with prescription medications…but without any side
effects? Here is the controversy – you don’t need drugs to actually drop your blood pressure. Simple but natural
treatments work just as well.
A
6-point decrease in the blood pressure also means that you can cut down your
risk of developing stroke by 14 percent and heart attack by 7 percent. To
give you a better idea, this reduction in blood pressure is similar to a weight
reduction of 5 kg.
The
study also revealed that people who were obese or had a higher body mass index
(BMI) and those with higher blood pressure responded better to the diet.
A
vegetarian diet is beneficial in other ways too. It is low in saturated fats
and rich in fiber, which is good for the heart.
Vegetarian
food is also a good source of the mineral potassium that is essential for
lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol. Other studies have found that
this diet even reduces the risk of developing cancer.
Packed
with all these benefits, a vegetarian diet does sound like something you should
definitely try out if you want to drop your blood pressure!
But
vegetarian diet is not easy for everyone. Are you finding it difficult to
restrain from eating meat?
This post is from
the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program.It was made by Christian Goodman Blue
Heron health news that has been recognized as one of the top quality national
health information websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
A
new study that appears in the journalAtherosclerosis,a team of German
researchers made some terrifying discoveries regarding cardiovascular disease.
One
common condition that can increase heart failure risk – usually not associated
with heart health – stands above evenhigh cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and obesityas causing cardiovascular disease that can lead to heart attack and stroke.
Depression
which can increase heart failure risk includes near daily occurrence of any
seven of these symptoms:
–
depressed mood
– diminished interest or pleasure
– significant weight loss or weight gain
– insomnia or hypersomnia
– physical restlessness or incapacity
– fatigue, feelings of worthlessness
– or inappropriate guilt, difficulty concentrating, and suicidal thoughts.
This
is according to the experts, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
The
German study ranked depression together with some common risk factors for
cardiovascular death and found that smoking and high blood pressure led to the most cardiovascular deaths. Not surprising.
Depression
was responsible for 15% of such deaths, followed by cholesterol and obesity for
8-21%, and diabetes for 5-8%.
In
other words, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity do less damage to your heart
than depression does!
This
is not simply because depressed people tend to engage in unhealthy behaviors
like smoking and drinking, as the scientists separated these from depression as
influencing factors.
What
they couldn’t account for was the impact of stress from feeling low on the
cardiovascular system.
This
post is from the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program.It was made by
Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news that has been recognized as one of the
top quality national health information websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain and stabilize your blood pressure.
