Archive for September, 2008

Stress And High Blood Pressure

Armughan asked:


Stress can make blood pressure go up for a while, and it has been thought to contribute to high blood pressure. But the long-term effects of stress are as yet unclear. Stress management techniques do not seem to prevent high blood pressure. However, such techniques may have other benefits, such as making you feel better or helping you to control over-eating thus helping in decreasing your blood pressure..

Remember Your blood pressure increases remarkably when you are under physical or emotional stress. If you constantly feel “stressed out,” your body may maintain an abnormally high level of responsiveness, creating an artificially induced state of high blood pressure.

Exercise can also cause stress, but Unlike exercise, which provides your body with well-controlled physical stress for a limited amount of time, chronic stress does not benefit your circulatory system. Rather, it increases your risk of illness. However, stress is very much a part of modern life, and it can be hard to control the amount of stress in your life without changing your daily habits significantly.

what are the ways to control your stress? Many persons do follow these habits to relieve from stress—eating, drinking alcohol, and smoking—contribute to the development of high blood pressure. You may wish to use exercise to manage your stress. Failing that, you may need to seek counseling to help you change how you think about certain things that cause you to be stressed, or to learn relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation and transcendental meditation may help reduce mild high blood pressure.

How your heart is affected by stress? Stress has noticeable effects on the cardiovascular system. Who hasn’t felt their heart beat faster because of stress or anxiety? Chronic stress can result in high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, strokes, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular system disorders.

Keep in mind that Stress is a leading cause of high blood pressure. Even a small stress response causes blood vessels to constrict. Research is unlocking a complex relationship between stress, high blood pressure and the cardiovascular system. Some studies has proved this fact that stress is deeply related with high blood pressure.

Recent studies have brought to light how stress and high blood pressure influence the chance of a stroke and transient ischemic attacks. A study in the June 2003 edition of Stroke draws a connection between the severity of stress-induced blood pressure changes and the risk of strokes. Danish study supports this finding: the study discovered that middle-aged men who reported high levels of stress were twice as likely to suffer a fatal stroke compared to men who reported low stress levels. As little as one incident of stress a week doubled the chance of a stroke.

Atherosclerosis occurs when fat, cholesterol, and plaque deposits build up and clog the cardiovascular system’s blood vessels. Arteries become thick with this process. If atherosclerosis affects blood vessels leading to the heart, the disease is referred to as coronary artery disease. High blood pressure , cholesterol, smoking and diabetes are important risk factors for High blood pressure. Stress may also be a contributing factor. An Ohio State University study discovered that stress slows the body’s metabolism of triglycerides, a type of fat linked to cardiovascular system disorders, including heart attacks. By slowing the metabolism of triglycerides, stress allows the fat to remain in the blood longer, a factor that may speed up atherosclerosis development.

Relaxation techniques can help minimize the effect stress has on the cardiovascular system.

Research has noted that breathing exercises and meditation help control high blood pressure, and may even have a preventative effect. Development of atherosclerosis can also be delayed by relaxation techniques. Regular meditation, breathing exercises and other techniques can help to lower the level of oxidative chemicals in the blood, which in turn lowers the risk of atherosclerosis and thus maintaining your blood pressure with in normal limits.

If you want to know more about Stress and High blood pressure, visit our site highbloodpressuremed.com



Phyllis
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Is it safe to take Provigil if you have high blood pressure?

danman4472 asked:


I have high blood pressure and take Toprol for it. My doctor is concerned about the possibility of Provigil causing heart palpatations. Is it safe to take Provigil if you have high blood pressure? I’m going to get a sleep study done soon. Even if I come out negative for sleep apnea, could I still benefit from taking Provigil?

Norman
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Can a person with high-blood pressure get a tooth extracted?

chogie asked:


My mother has high blood pressure and want to extract her tooth but tension and nervousness is my concern.

Willie
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Determining Your Causes Of High Blood Pressure

Michelle Bery asked:


If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure it’s likely that you suddenly have many questions. Understanding how blood pressure, left untreated, can negatively impact your body is first and foremost. Grasping the enormity of the lifestyle changes you may have to make can be overwhelming. But across the board, those who suffer from this condition want to know and understand the causes of high blood pressure.

Everyone is different; and for that reason there is no one answer when it comes to the causes of high blood pressure. For many, the causes of high blood pressure relates to their poor diet and exercise habits; that is why many doctors when encountering high blood pressure in their patients will first recommend a strident lifestyle program to attempt to lower blood pressure.

Patients - in an effort to determine if food and exercise are their causes of high blood pressure - will be directed to immediately eliminate foods with high salt, fat, and excessive preservatives while increasing water intake, natural, whole foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, and integrating daily exercise into their life. If a consistent program of healthy diet and exercise does not affect any changes, then other causes of high blood pressure will be examined.

Excessive alcohol and caffeine intake and the use of nicotine products can also be causes of high blood pressure. The immediate elimination of nicotine and significantly decreasing alcohol and caffeine consumption has been shown to have a positive effect on high blood pressure.

High levels of stress are another one of the causes of high blood pressure. In today’s chaotic world, stress can hardly be avoided. But learning to appropriately manage stress through exercise, meditation, and downtime can impact stress levels and help lower blood pressure.

Unfortunately, one of the more common causes of high blood pressure is simple genetic predisposition. When one or more family members suffer from high blood pressure than you are also likely to battle it as well. If a variety of lifestyle changes fails to determine your causes of high blood pressure than it’s likely that you are dealing with genetics. In this case, your doctor may prescribe daily medication designed to lower blood pressure.

Ultimately, the causes of high blood pressure are not as important as the successful ways in which we can manage it. Work with your health care provider to determine what works best for you in lowering your blood pressure. With consistent treatment - no matter what it is - those with high blood pressure can live a long and healthy life.



Terry
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Guidelines to Lower High Blood Pressure

MejoJohn asked:


High blood pressure is a common health problem of older age groups and even younger adults. It varies depending on the age, height, weight, and gender. In this busy stressful life, it is highly important for old and younger adults to have a systematic check of their blood pressure. High blood pressure can be controlled with medications, natural remedies and changes in diet and lifestyle.

Most physicians and doctors are recommending pharmaceutical medicines or drugs to treat high blood pressure or hypertension. But there may be unpleasant outcomes when you continuously take pharmaceutical medicines. The good news is that high blood pressure or hypertension can be easily controlled with natural remedies and changes in diet and lifestyle.

Having hypertension is one indication that you are living an unhealthy lifestyle. Hence if you lead a healthy lifestyle, you can probably control your blood pressure and lead a healthier and happier life. The following guidelines provide you tips to control your high blood pressure:

You can take steps to prevent or control high blood pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle. You can lead a healthy lifestyle by maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, following a healthy diet plan including fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. Choose and prepare foods with less salt and sodium. Avoid or limit smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Limit the intake of caffeine which is present in coffee, tea and sodas. Exercise or meditate to reduce your stress. This not only helps in lowering high blood pressure but also improves your general health. Relax yourself everyday at least for some time. Meditation, yoga, breathing exercises and biofeedback are all relaxation techniques that can help lower blood pressure. Exercising at least for 30 minutes a day, can be one of the most effective natural remedies for high blood pressure. Drinking lot of water and getting enough rest or sleep are holistic and natural way of treating hypertension, besides taking natural medications.

Diet change is one natural way of treating hypertension. Consume either raw or cooked garlic to help in lowering hypertension. Garlic, which contains a compound called adenosine which functions both as a muscle relaxant and as an aid in vaso dilation, helps in dilating the muscles of blood vessels, thereby avoiding blood clots and lowering blood pressure. Eat high-potassium diet, such as bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, skimmed milk, oranges, watermelon, soya beans, almond and spinach, to help lower your blood pressure.

Fruits and vegetables are best sources of vitamin C, potassium and soluble fiber, all of which have an effect in lowering blood pressure. Fishes which contains omega-3 fatty acids can be a good diet for people who are experiencing hypertension. Omega-3 fatty acids have the ability to dilate blood vessels and significantly lower blood pressure. Food rich in calcium regulates the heart’s muscle contraction, making it easier for managing blood pressure. Many people have successfully treated hypertension with apple cider vinegar. It is rich in so many vitamins and nutrients that are thought to be helpful in lowering hypertension. Hawthorne berries can also be used to treat hypertension.

Adopting healthy lifestyle habits is an effective first step in both preventing and controlling high blood pressure. If lifestyle changes alone are not effective in controlling your blood pressure, your physician may prescribe blood pressure medications.



Robert
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What is the best way to handle a pregnant woman with high blood pressure?

UUYK asked:


A pregnant woman experiences high blood pressure after some months of pregnancy. What is the best way of managing the pregnancy?

Joann
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What if you Could Extend your Life With a High Blood Pressure Diet?

Darrin Reservitz asked:


High blood pressure is a health issue that causes innumerable fatalities in the United States each year. Further, if it doesn’t kill you, it can still lead to major problems, including heart attack and stroke. And sodium is an ingredient of a high blood pressure diet as it is one of the major high blood pressure causes. Consequently, this article will help you learn about the role of sodium in the development of high blood pressure.

Read the Ingredients

Unfortunately, given its prevalence, a good amount of the sodium you digest comes from processed foods. A good habit to develop, before buying such food, is to read the ingredients label. Unfortunately, those labels, with their multisyllabic words, seem like they aren’t written in English. You feel as if you need a chemistry degree to understand them. Well, to help, remember that foods that contain ingredients with the word “sodium” in them can be bad news. For example, take disodium phosphate and monosodium glutamate (MSG). The word “sodium” is visible. Miminize your use of such ingredients and foods.

Also, the US FDA , to aid people’s dietary choices, developed sodium guidelines. For example, “low sodium” equates to 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. Or, as another example, 5 milligrams or less of sodium per serving is “salt free” food. Google FDA sodium for the entire guide. If necessary, bring it with you to the grocery store to allow for quick and easy interpretation when you shop.

Further, highly processed foods often contain high levels of sodium, making them contributory to a high blood pressure diet. I can only imagine the thoughts going through your head now. You’re busy and have no time to cook. You rely on frozen dinners and canned goods to quickly whip something up for you and your family. Unfortunately, a good amount of these foods are laced with sodium.

The Infamous Salt Shaker – One of the More Prominent High Blood Pressure Causes

Finally, like most people, you probably grab for the salt shaker at the center of your dining room table to add some quick flavor to your sometimes bland food. And, to compound the matter, you may be adding salt to processed food that already contains high levels of sodium. So resist the “salt shaker” temptation. Perhaps you might even empty your salt shaker. Further, use natural herbs to add flavor to your food. Consider onions or thyme, for example. This may be hard to do, but it’s in your body’s best interest.

As you can see, sodium not only presents a high blood pressure health issue, but also is hard to avoid given our busy lives. If you look at your food labels, especially those of processed foods, you’ll start to see sodium everywhere. So remember to avoid ingredients with the word “sodium” in them as sodium can play a huge role in a high blood pressure diet. Also, use the Food and Drug Administration guidelines to monitor your sodium use. And put down that salt shaker!

Take these small, proactive steps and you are on your way to eliminating some high blood pressure causes and earning better health.



Leroy
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