Hypertension The Silent Killer – Decrease Blood Pressure

Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure, which if left untreated can cause serious health issues. There are many causes for Hypertension, such as diet, family history, age, sex, stress, and obesity. Although, 85% to 95% aren’t even aware that they are suffering from Hypertension, let alone why. After the age of 54 women are more likely to have higher blood pressure than men. You are also more likely to have it of you have family member(s) who suffer from Hypertension. Eating healthy is helpful in preventing many health problems, but to keep yourself from having it you should stay away from the salt. Salt and salty food are proven to be a factor associated with Hypertension. Most people are not even aware that they have Hypertension, and symptoms don’t begin until it is high, or if you have had it for a long time.

When you are at your doctors office they always check certain things each time to monitor your health,. It should read lower than 120/80, this means that your Blood Pressure is in the normal range, however if it reads 120/80 to 140/90 you will be considered Prehypertensive. At that point your doctor should recommend lifestyle, and diet changes. Once you get to 140/90, (or 130/80), you have High Blood Pressure. Basically, if your reading is higher than “normal” you are at risk to develop high blood pressure, also known as Hypertension.

Some conditions associated with Hypertension are, CAD (Coronary Artery Disease), ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome), Heart Failure, Stroke And Renal Failure. If treated soon, and properly most serious conditions can be avoided. Eating a healthier diet, regular exercise and leading a less stressful life can help. If you need medication you should be sure you are doing everything your doctor suggests and if you are a smoker, quit smoking! Since most people do not experience symptoms unless they have, (Hypertension) or they have had the problem for a long time you should get check ups regularly to be sure.…

Eating Tips to Help Fight Against Hypertension

As you may well know, Hypertension is a very serious condition that affects a high number of adults worldwide. Due to the lack of symptoms though, many never find out they have it until it is too late.

So this is where the old saying, “prevention is better than cure” rings truer than ever. But how can you prevent or lower high blood pressure?

Well a very effective way of fighting this condition is taking great care in what you eat. This is true for good health in general, but even more so in preventing hypertension.

Here I am going to tell you what types of food to eat and the foods you should avoid or at the very least, cut right back on

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and Vegetables have been shown to help in the battle against high blood pressure, so make sure you get your 5 a day here. Try and get a healthy variety too as each different fruit and vegetable has different benefits so making sure to vary them will ensure you get all you need.

They are full of vitamins and minerals, and are of higher quality than what you will get in a supplement.

Wholegrains

Eating plenty of Wholegrain foods will help in reducing blood pressure. These include rice, breakfast cereals and wholegrain pasta. Of course, never add sugar to cereals as they often contain plenty already!

Dairy Products

These tend to be an excellent source of calcium, however can often have high levels of saturated fat, and some cheeses can be high in salt content. The best types to have would be skimmed or semi skimmed milk, low fat cheese and low fat yoghurt.

Fresh meats

Oily fish like tuna and salmon will provide a good balance of cholesterol in your blood, and chicken will help make sure you don’t eat too much saturated fat. Also, cutting fat off any meat will help reduce fat intake.

Foods to Avoid

Anything with high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar should be avoided as much as possible. Also high levels of alcohol intake are bad for Hypertension, and though not a food, cigarettes are very bad for your health all round but especially for your heart.

Crisps, chocolate, sweets, fried food, and greasy take away foods, especially kebabs, are filled with these dangerous ingredients and will make blood pressure much higher very quickly, and really should be avoided. Some moderation can perhaps be allowed occasionally, but not until your blood pressure is down to a safe level and you must never eat excessive amounts of these foods.

Well we have discussed which foods can help you fight hypertension and also which ones can cause it or make it worse. I really hope this is of help to you and that you know a bit more about how to treat this deadly condition than before, good luck!…

Hypertension – Telling My Spouse The Bad News And The Good News

I left my doctors office two hours after arriving. I decided I would drive to my wife’s work and tell her in person the bad news and the good news about my health. Rather than just sitting around and talking we went for a walk and talk.

Honey I have some good news and some bad news, Let me give you the short version during our walk starting with the bad news;

I have high blood pressure that is off the charts.

My food consumption can not have more than 1500 mg a day of sodium.

Dining out at restaurants is history for me.

Dried spices have sodium so I can’t use them anymore.

I will probably have to take medication for the rest of my life.

This information explains a lot of things that were happening to me such as why am I getting headaches when I ate certain foods. When I looked back, my blood pressure had probably been high for some time and high sodium foods like wings, burgers with fries and meat lover pizza probably pushed my blood pressure to numbers so high I would dare not imagine.

As a proud man, I have never wanted to be told how I must live my life. Success or failure is something I want to be able to control. Now I must take medication everyday if I want to live. The internal argument was a short one. It was almost a monologue, take the pills and live.

Now for the good news.

I found out I have high blood pressure before anything really bad happened to me. This will be confirmed by a cardiologist over the next few days.

We can push away the silent killer many decades if we do this right.

There are many restaurants that serve crappy food now I have a reason not to eat at any of them.

I can continue running and working out.

When I was eight years old my mom went away on a girls weekend and my dad had to do all the cooking. It was the worst week of my life as it pertains to food. I begged my mom to teach me how to cook food. My favorite class during high school was home economics as all we did was learn about food and cooking. During my college days and working days, food was always on my mind and we ate some amazing meals. This was all preparation for this chapter of my life.

Cooking food without using dried spices will be a significant challenge. Food will have to be flavored with vegetables, fruits and meats. This will be an awesome way to change the way I eat and taste food.…

If you have ongoing issues with your back, it would be good for you to go see a chiropractor. While your back is strong in many ways, it is also fragile and requires care to remain in optimal condition, just as is the case with other parts of your body. Not knowing the best way to care for your back can lead to many future problems. Continue reading to learn more.

More doctors are using alternative methods to treat conditions today. Of course, you should always review your insurance to make sure that it includes alternative forms of treatment, such as chiropractors and massages. This type of service will enhance physician care.

Get up correctly in the morning. Stretch before your feet hit the ground. Gently sit, lower your feet to the floor and support yourself out of bed. This will help your spine stay in good shape.

Don’t expect to be cured in one visit. Sure, you might get some relief immediately, but you can only heal after extended care. Closely follow any regimen your chiropractor recommends. If you don’t follow the regimen, you may not like the results of your treatment.

You can see a chiropractor for a variety of reasons. Particularly if your back or neck bothers you, a chiropractor is just the person to turn to. Also, routine chiropractic visits can keep misalignments at bay. Your whole body works better when your back is correctly aligned.

Speak with your chiropractor and find out of if they offer discounts for patients who return for multiple treatments. Chiropractic treatment usually involves multiple visits. It might be two or more times a week. This can get costly. Some practices give nice discounts for ongoing treatments, which can ease your wallet as well as your pain.

When searching out a good chiropractor, your doctor can help you find one. You might not need a referral for a chiropractor, but your doctor probably knows someone personally that you can trust.

If you decide to visit a chiropractor for your back issues, choose one wisely. Just like in any profession, there are good and bad chiropractors. In fact, cases have been reported where a chiropractor had caused more damage to the patient. Carefully research any chiropractor you are considering seeing.

If you do want to go the chiropractic route, be certain to verify the credentials and education of potential practitioners before scheduling treatment. The majority of professional chiropractors are experts in their field who actually care about your health, but there are a few bad eggs in the bunch. Get a referral from your medical doctor if possible, and also check available reviews.

Do you have high blood pressure? Studies that have been done show that manipulating your neck’s first vertebrae is going to help you more than taking blood pressure medication. Manipulating the vertebrae helps regulate blood pressure.

You don’t have to live with back pain everyday. You can find excellent professionals in the chiropractic field if you search hard enough. …

If you have depression or are feeling like it’s getting bad, you may want to know what to do to feel better. Everyone is an individual and needs different things. You must learn all you can on how to get rid of depression, so try reading these tips to do that.

Ask a doctor about taking antidepressants if you’ve got depression. Antidepressants can help someone who is depressed find happiness again. There are many different antidepressants so you might have to try a few to figure out which ones will work.

Exercise each day is very important. People who get at least 30 minutes of daily exercise respond to depression treatments better. You may even see that exercise is actually better than prescription medicine. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your vehicle a bit farther away from the entrance to your destination can have a positive effect on your mental and physical health.

Your depression will get better if you fix personal issues. You can avoid getting overwhelmed if you do this in baby steps. Creating smaller tasks and more concrete goals can make it much easier to address problems. Little by little, the issues evaporate and are no longer such a concern.

While clinical depression differs greatly from sadness, many similar techniques are useful for them. Do not be in a position where your depression is going to be triggered. If you can avoid a person or activity that repeatedly leads to depression, you should.

Music should play a big role in getting rid of depression. This is true for all forms of art, because getting involved with them could be a good way for you to learn to deal with any hard times.

If you have a friend or family member who suffers from depression, try to be supportive. You need to offer them comfort and positive reinforcement. You can find great information online and in books that can be very helpful.

Should your doctor prescribe you medication for depression, take it. Never take less or more than what the doctor recommends and never stop taking them without a doctor’s consent. It is often important to get off of such drugs gradually; doing so abruptly can be very harmful.

When it comes to depression, it is important to seek your doctor’s counsel before taking medications. A combination of medication and talk therapy is very useful for combating depression. Antidepressants can help combat chemical imbalances that may be causing depression.

Discovering new interests can help take your mind off of your troubles and make you feel better about yourself. It can be easy to fall victim to depression when you have nothing to look forward to. So find something that you enjoy doing or are interested in learning to do and get involved in them. You’ll find enjoyment while keeping your mind off of the things keeping you depressed.

When depressed, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Although …

Are you eager to get your panic attacks under control? Panic attacks are very scary for someone who goes through them, and can afflict a person at any age. Read on for some ways to treat and deal with your panic attacks more effectively.

If you suffer from panic attacks, talking with a counselor can help. These trained professionals are available to help you. If you feel well supported, you will likely have fewer and less severe attacks.

Are panic attacks really inescapable? You control your own emotions!

At the first indication that a panic attack is beginning, right away start to put your attention toward something else. Look at or examine something in the room, say a mantra or engage your mind with a puzzle or brainteaser. Do anything and everything you can to keep your mind busy so it can’t panic. An effective distraction can avoid a full-fledged attack and provide quicker relief.

When you feel that you are about to have a serious panic attack, stop whatever you are doing, sit yourself down, and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe slowly in through the nose into the lower lungs, watching your stomach area rise with each breath. Breathe in to the count of five and out again to the count of five. Try this ten times, you should feel much better.

Talking to a therapist can be very helpful, but even sharing with a friend is good. A counselor will help you to figure out the root cause of your panic attacks and will also provide you with some effective coping strategies.

Remind yourself that this is nothing that you have not encountered previously and that you will survive it intact. Relax, and don’t increase your negative thoughts.

If you can concentrate hard enough to regulate your breathing, you will have an easier time overcoming feelings of acute anxiety. Deep breathing both distracts you from the attack and makes you feel more relaxed. It also helps slow your heart rate and reduces your blood pressure while reducing your overall level of stress.

It’s possible to divert a panic attack. Your feelings and your thoughts should not determine your actions. Rather than acting on your negative, panic fueled emotions, try doing the opposite of what they tell you. It will help minimize your feelings of panic if you exert control, by deliberately choosing to act in a way that is different than what your attack is telling you.

Learn what triggers there are for your panic attacks. When you are nervous about a conversation, it may cause you to enter into panic. Express yourself productively so you won’t have a panic attack.

As you can see, there is a lot to learn about panic attacks. There is no ironclad defense against panic attacks, and anyone might experience a panic attack at some point in their lives. However, you can take control of your life and your panic disorder with a little knowledge. The above advice should put you well …

Your Child and His or Her Fidgeting Behavior

Throughout the century, teachers has been concerned by the restless behavior the children in has been exhibiting. Fidgeting is the “act of moving about restlessly” or “to make restless or uneasy movements with something”. Fidgeting can be done with anything such as pens, table, hair, or toys. An example of fidgeting is when the child keeps on clicking a pen, tapping a pen on a table or he/she keeps on looking at anywhere in the room.

Children who fidget were commonly mistaken to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). People must not assume that all children who fidget have ADHD. Children who do not have ADHD but fidget sometimes find the class uninteresting and boring.

Some say fidgeting may be hereditary that the children who inherit it from their parents usually are oblivious of their behavior. Children you suspect who fidgets and does not concentrate may be check by asking their apprehension or knowledge on the subject being tackled. You may find that amidst the fidgeting and restlessness they are able to understand and comprehend the lesson.

Toleration and patience is the key to managing children who fidgets. Allowing them to have something with them will make the class more active and the children happy. Children being able to express themselves in a positive manner without anybody being hurt or any class disturbed are strongly encouraged.

Psychologists found out from studies that children who freely move their hands and do something learns much faster. For this reason fidgeting in class must not be prohibited but encouraged for increased and faster learning.

Teachers and psychologist always try to make ways to improve the children’s learning and make fidgeting in class subtler. Teachers tend to have alternative ways such as having the children to sit on stability balls. Stability balls decreased fidgeting significantly however it resulted to bad posture. Students are made to stretched and stand up after every half an hour to prevent the consequences of stability balls. Providing children with a stimulating environment such as squeezing balls will be able to help them learn and lessen fidgeting.

Fidgeting, in conclusion, is not a bad thing after all. Teachers do not have to be over concerned with fidgeting unless of course if it turns out to agitation and causes disruption in class. Moreover helping the kids to express in positive ways and modify their fidgeting you will be able to observe their attentiveness in class.…

The Link Between Drinking Water and Managing Your Hypertension

There may be no cure for hypertension, but there are things we sufferers can do to manage our condition effectively. One simple step we can take is to ensure that we drink sufficient water, for there is a link between our high blood pressure and the amount of water we drink each day.

Water is the natural cleanser for our bodies. That means it is the most effective way of flushing toxins out of our bodies. Whilst those toxins do not directly cause our hypertension, they can contribute to it by causing to other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, which often goes hand in hand with our condition.

In addition, drinking plenty of water each day helps to eliminate excess levels of sodium. We need some salt in our diet. However, our modern Western diet is high in processed foods, fat and salt. We are consuming far too much sodium without even realizing it. The effect of this is to skyrocket our blood pressure to levels that would be dangerously high if they were to be maintained. Yet, by the nature of our diet and modern sedentary lifestyle, that is exactly what we are doing. Drinking adequate amounts of water each day helps to flush out the excess sodium through our kidneys and lower those all-important readings.

Keeping our bodies properly hydrated is important for our overall health. It helps our bodies to function more efficiently. One advantage of proper hydration is that it helps to keep our blood vessels elastic. Our hearts need to pump blood at higher pressures when our blood vessels lose their elasticity. Our blood vessels lose their elasticity as we grow older, which is one reason why older people tend to have higher blood pressure than do younger people. Drinking plenty of water can help alleviate this.

An indirect benefit of drinking plenty of water is that it makes us feel fuller for longer. This can be a useful aid to a healthy diet as it reduces the temptation to eat between meals and can contribute towards weight loss. As high blood pressure is often associated with obesity, losing weight is beneficial to our condition.

There is another beneficial side effect of drinking adequate amounts of water each day. That is, the more water we drink, the more we need to pass water. Our bodies try to maintain a natural balance. Part of which is balancing the volume of blood in our bodies, thus helping to maintain normal levels of blood pressure. In a way, drinking plenty of water is a natural diuretic, but without some of the side effects.

What, then, is an adequate amount of water? It is easy to become over enthusiastic and treat this method of managing our condition as a panacea. It is not. Most doctors and dieticians agree that our bodies need at least two litres of water a day to function efficiently, but there are health risks in …

Cooking Foods to Decrease Hypertension, Wok Your Way to Health

First off, the title was a dumb pun; I just could not help myself. Anyhow, learning to cook your way to heart health is an important topic. You may think that heart healthy is a textbook synonym for bland and horrible tasting. Sure it can be, but that is not necessarily the fact. If you invest any effort in finding tasting dish alternatives I can actually tell you that bland and horrible are really the exception. To find out more, read on…

Why the need to eat heart healthy

Heart attack and strokes are the #1 and #3 killers of adults today. That doesn’t even include many other minor killers that result from high blood pressure. This means that odds are your high blood pressure will end up killing you. Do not think that this is just a disease of the old and out of shape either. I first was diagnosed with hypertension when I was barely out of my teens and though I have gained a few pounds since then I was in quite good shape then. So even though I want to get off my pulpit now I will say that this healthy heart living is for everyone.

Cooking Foods to Decrease Hypertension

This could literally be a book (there are some). I won’t waste your time (and mine) by writing out 50 good recipes I will just give you an overview. You want lean meats, polyunsaturated fats and fruits and vegetables to be your main diet staples. Try grilling or stir-fry to cook. (Remember: Wok your way to health). There are even a lot of foods that may be fattening, that are also heart healthy. Avocados are a great example of this. High in fat, but mostly good fat. I wouldn’t recommend an “avocado only diet” but you should have a few every day if you like the taste.

Great ways to cook your way to health naturally…

Portal Hypertension

Signs and symptoms

* Jaundice

* History of blood transfusion

* Intravenous drug abuse

* History of alcohol consumption

* Pruritus

* Hematemesis

* Melena

* Lethargy

* Increased irritability

* Altered sleep patterns

* Increased abdominal girth due to ascites

* Hematochezia

* Abdominal pain

* Fever

Signs of port systemic collateral formation

* Dilated veins in the anterior abdominal wall

* Venous pattern on the flanks

* Caput medusa

* Rectal hemorrhoids

* Ascites

* Paraumblical hernia

Signs of liver disease

* Ascites

* Jaundice

* Spider nevi

* Gynecomastia

* Dupuytren’s contracture

* Muscle wasting

* Palmar erythema

* Asterixis

* Testicular atrophy

* Splenomegaly

Causes

Prehepatic

* Portal vein thrombosis

* Splenic vein thrombosis

* Extrinsic compression by tumor

* Arteriovenous fistula

Intrahepatic presinusoidal and/ or postsinusoidal

* Hepatic cirrhosis

* Acute alcoholic hepatitis

* Primary biliary cirrhosis

* Congenital hepatic fibrosis

* Vitamin A toxicity

* Budd chiari syndrome

* Pelisosis hepatitis

Intrahepatic, predominantly presinusoidal

* Shistosomiasis

* Primary biliary cirrhosis

* Nodular regenerative hyperplasia

* Polycystic disease

* Hepatic metastasis

* Granulomatous disease (sarcoidosis and tuberculosis)

Treatment

Emergency treatment

* Each episode of variceal bleeding is associated with 30% mortality fever.

* Initial resuscitation with replacement of blood volume loss by packed or whole red blood cells or plasma expanders.

* Avoid intravascular volume and variceal overexpansion to prevent re bleeding.

* Prophylactic antibiotic use to decrease the rate of bacterial infections.

Pharmacotherapy

* Somatostatin- is an endogenous hormone that decreases the portal blood flow by vasoconstriction.

* Octreotide- it’s an analogue of somatostatin, also effective in reducing the complications of variceal bleeding after emergency sclerotherapy or variceal ligation

* Vasopressin- Most potent vasoconstrictor has more side effects.

* Terlipressin- has fewer adverse effects than vasopressin.

Endoscopic therapy

* Endoscopic therapy has the advantage of allowing specific therapy at the time of diagnosis.

* >80% of hemostasis can be achieved.

* Endoscopic injection sclerotherapy involves injecting sclerosant solution like sodium morrhuate, sodium tetradecyl sulfate, and ethanolamine oleate into the bleeding veins.

Endoscopic variceal ligation

Other interventions

* Balloon tube tamponade

* Minnesota tube

Primary prophylaxis

* Beta blockers- Propranolol and Nadolol

* Vasodilators- Isosorbide mononitrate

* Combination therapy- Propranolol and Isosorbide mononitrate

* Prophylactic sclerotherapy

* Prophylactic endoscopic variceal ligation

Surgical care

Decompressive shunts

* Total portal systemic shunts

* Partial portal systemic shunts

* Selective shunts

Devascularization procedures

* Splenectomy

* Liver transplantation…