Managing High Blood Pressure

SnifftheSharpie asked:


I’m 16 and have inherited high blood pressure from my mom. They have ran numerous tests(kidneys, blood, urine, etc) and have found all to be normal. I am athletic and eat rather healthy compared to most teenagers. I rarely ever drink soda and never add salt to my food. What are some ways to lower my blood pressure? Eat more fruits and vegetables? Drink more water? I REALLY do not want to live the rest of my life taking a pill to keep my blood pressure low.

Alvin

peterhutch asked:


Hypertension is referred to as essential (primary) when the doctor is unable to identify a specific cause. It is by far the most common type of high blood pressure. The causes of this type are unknown but are likely to be a complex combination of genetic, environmental, and other factors.

High blood pressure is a ‘risk factor’ for developing a cardiovascular disease (such as a heart attack or stroke), and kidney damage, sometime in the future. If you have high blood pressure, over the years it may have a damaging effect to arteries and put a strain on your heart. In general, the higher your blood pressure, the greater the health risks. But, high blood pressure is just one of several possible risk factors for developing a cardiovascular disease.

If those temporary episodes occur frequently, they can cause just as much damage to your blood vessels, heart and kidneys as can chronic high blood pressure. In addition, when you have anxiety, you’re more likely to resort to other unhealthy habits, such as smoking, drinking or overeating — which, in turn, can increase your risk of high blood pressure.

Even if high blood pressure does cause symptoms, the symptoms are usually mild and nonspecific (vague, or suggesting many different disorders).

Malignant hypertension may be associated with headache, light-headedness, or nausea.

Certain nerve impulses cause your arteries to dilate (become larger) or contract (become smaller). If these vessels are wide open, blood can flow through easily. If they’re narrow, it’s harder for the blood to flow through them, and the pressure inside them increases. Then high blood pressure may occur. When this happens, your heart becomes strained and blood vessels may become damaged. Changes in the vessels that supply blood to your kidneys and brain may cause these organs to be affected.

In 90–95 percent of cases, scientists don’t know what causes high blood pressure. This is essential hypertension. Fortunately, although scientists don’t fully understand the causes of this disease, they’ve developed both non-drug and drug treatments that treat it effectively. They’ve also identified some factors that contribute to higher blood pressure. These are arteriosclerosis (or hardening of the arteries), thickening or hypertrophy of the artery wall, and excess contraction of the arterioles (small arteries).

Essential hypertension affects approximately 75 million Americans, yet its basic causes or underlying defects are not always known. Nevertheless, certain associations have been recognized in people with essential hypertension. For example, essential hypertension develops only in groups or societies that have a fairly high intake of salt, exceeding 5.8 grams daily. In fact, salt intake may be a particularly important factor in relation to essential hypertension in several situations.

Hypertension is referred to as essential (primary) when the doctor is unable to identify a specific cause. It is by far the most common type of high blood pressure. The causes of this type are unknown but are likely to be a complex combination of genetic, environmental, and other factors.

The cause of high blood pressure often cannot be found in many teens with hypertension. When the cause is unknown, a person has what’s called essential or primary hypertension. In cases where the cause of high blood pressure is known (called secondary hypertension), it is usually the result of kidney problems, hormonal disorders, abnormalities of the aorta (the main artery that carries oxygenated blood to the body), or a narrowing of certain smaller arteries. Most teens that are diagnosed with hypertension have essential hypertension.



Marilyn

Rudy Silva asked:


If you have high blood pressure you are at risk for a heart attack or stroke. The amount of risk depends on how high your blood pressure is and how long it has been this way. Here is a range of blood pressures and how they rate:

Normal   120/80


Border    120/90 to 160/94


Mild     140/95 to 160/104


Moderate  140/105 to 180/114


Severe    160 plus/115 plus

Regardless what your blood pressure is, it is best to always watch your diet and become informed as to how you can maintain good health though out your body.

If you have high blood pressure, here is a high blood pressure recipe using natural products and foods. This recipe will not only help your high blood pressure but will improve your immune system.

High blood pressure responds well to natural remedies and methods. Many Alternative Practitioners recommend not using drugs for high blood pressure because they can be more dangerous to your health than the high blood pressure. High blood pressure drug side effects create an increase risk of heart disease.

A High Blood Pressure Recipe for Long Life

Here is a recipe to follow to lower your high blood pressure.

Use a good mineral supplement

Use Arjuna daily for good cardiovascular health

Exercise and lose weight

Reduce the fat you eat

Eat more fiber

Take a good fish oil supplement

Mineral Supplement for a high blood pressure recipe

The minerals calcium, potassium and magnesium have all been found to keep blood pressure low. These minerals and many more come from eating fruits and vegetables of all colors. Also drink fruit and vegetables juices alone or combined to get a strong dose of minerals that shoot quickly into your blood stream.

Eat as many fruits and vegetables in the morning until noontime. This helps your body to get rid of toxins that affect your overall health.

Add these foods to your diet for minerals: bananas, figs, cantaloupe, apricots, avocados, cherries, grapes, mangos, beans, and sunflower seeds.

Exercise and Weight loss for a high blood pressure recipe

If you are overweight than losing weight and getting it into your ideal weight gives you the most benefits for lowing your blood pressure. Get into a daily exercise pattern. A treadmill or daily brisk walk will give you great benefits for lowering blood pressure.

Diet for a high blood pressure recipe

Here are some of the things that you should add or eliminate from your diet.

Reduce that amount of fat that you eat. By eating less meat you decrease the amount of fat you eat. Also eating less dairy products will decrease the amount of fat your body has to process.

Eat more fiber. You can get fiber from fruits and vegetables and bran. Eat a vegetable salad with your lunch and dinner.

Add a good fish oil supplement

Use the India herb called Arjuna. This herb is good for your complete cardiovascular system. It an inexpensive herb and it makes plenty of sense to use it.

Master this high blood pressure recipe and watch your blood pressure go down. Once you get it down, refine this recipe for more results and better health.



Linda

Samuel Baron asked:


To make sure you can keep your blood pressure at a lower and healthier level, it is important to first, know the risks. If you know exactly what you are up against, you can better treat yourself, or change your lifestyle accordingly.

Everybody will be at risk of high blood pressure, sometime during their life. It makes absolutely no difference how or why, just as long as you are aware of the risks and potential causes, otherwise you could accidentally set yourself up to have high blood pressure, later in life.

The main risks for developing high blood pressure are genetic, racial and age. People with a darker skin tone, like African Americans are far more likely to develop high blood pressure, and they usually develop the problem at an earlier age.

The older people get, the more likely you are to develop high blood pressure or hypertension. Age definitely is one of the main causes of high blood pressure. Interestingly, women are not usually prone to developing high blood pressure and hypertension until a while after their menopause, although after the menopause women do move into a high risk group. Men are always at a higher risk of developing hypertension and high blood pressure, usually between the ages of 35-50 years, and obviously the older they get the higher the risk.

Whilst you cannot control the risk factors that are genetic, there are some other measures that you can take to decrease the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. One of the best ways to control the risk of high blood pressure is to control your weight. Obesity is one of the main causes of high blood pressure, especially if you are over the suggested optimum weight for your age and gender. Diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes affect your weight positively.

It is not just how much you eat that will contribute to obesity, but what you eat is also a big contributor. Drinking too much alcohol, consuming too much salt as well as eating too many fatty foods will make you overweight. It is best to stick to somewhere around four to six grams or less of salt per day, two units of alcohol per day for men, and one unit per day for women.

Stress is a big contributor to high blood pressure and hypertension. No matter how you feel, if you have been in particularly stressful situations i.e. a stressful job, for a long period of time, the chances are it will affect your blood pressure levels. Stress is one of the main causes of high blood pressure, so breath deeply, rest well and take a walk if you feel that you may be under too much stress.

Stress also means that you may swap some good habits to try to better deal with the situations. This may include eating fatty and sodium filled take out food, smoking or staying indoors instead of walking. It is important to keep to your good habits, as you may think that smoking or eating a take out will deal with your stress levels, but they will make it worse, and contribute to the risk of obesity.

If any one couples any of the genetic risk factors with inactivity or obesity they are in the highest risk group. We cannot stress enough how important it is for these people to keep a healthy diet, exercise and keep your alcohol and salt intake low. If you fall into the category of those who cannot control their high blood pressure risks, make sure you keep control of the other aspects of your life that may increase the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. It is most important, above all if you are over 50 years old and male, to keep your stress levels down. High blood pressure and hypertension in the over 50s is the biggest cause of heart attacks.

Bare all of this information in mind and you are definitely on your way to becoming healthier, whilst lowering your blood pressure and decreasing the risk of hypertension.



Luis

haleigh asked:


How do the kidneys regulate high blood pressure and low blood pressure? I need examples of each…PLEASE

Luis

Gary P. Kaplan, M.d., Ph.d., New York University School of Medicine faculty. asked:


A new scientific research study conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine provides further evidence that people with high blood pressure can find relief through meditation—but the study also found that not all forms of meditation are equally effective. The study compared findings from research on several well-known types of meditation and relaxation practices, and found that the only mind/body practice that produces significant changes in blood pressure is the Transcendental Meditation technique. 

 

According to a definitive new meta-analysis of 107 previous studies on stress reduction programs and high blood pressure, published in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol. 21, 3: 310-316), the Transcendental Meditation technique was found to produce a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure—an effect not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management. 

 

Significant Reductions in Blood Pressure

 

The new meta-analysis reviewed randomized, controlled trials published in peer-reviewed scientific journals over the past decades concerning stress reduction and relaxation methods used by participants with high blood pressure. Blood pressure changes through the Transcendental Meditation technique included average reductions of 5.0 points of systolic and 2.8 points of diastolic blood pressure, changes which were statistically significant, according to the review. These changes associated with Transcendental Meditation practice were consistent with other controlled studies showing reductions in cardiovascular risk factors, improved markers of heart disease, and reduced mortality rates among participants in the Transcendental Meditation program. 

 

Transcendental Meditation “equivalent to adding a second hypertensive agent”

 

“The magnitude of the changes in blood pressure with the Transcendental Meditation technique are at least as great as the changes found with major changes in diet or exercise that doctors often recommend,” said Dr. James Anderson, principal author of the study. “Yet the Transcendental Meditation technique does not require changes in lifestyle. Thus many patients with mild hypertension or prehypertension may be able to avoid the need to take blood pressure medications—all of which have adverse side effects. Individuals with more severe forms of hypertension may be able to reduce the number or dosages of their BP medications under the guidance of their doctor.”  

 

Dr. Anderson stated further: “Adding Transcendental Meditation is about equivalent to adding a second hypertensive agent to one’s current regiment, only safer and less troublesome.” 

 

Reduced Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

 

Anderson added that long-term changes in blood pressure of this magnitude are associated with at least a 15 percent reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke. “This is important to everyone because cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide,” Anderson said. The study’s biostatistician, Maxwell Rainforth, assistant professor of Physiology and Health Statistics at Maharishi University of Management, said the meta-analysis used state-of-the-art statistical methods to review 107 published studies in the field of stress reduction, relaxation and blood pressure. “The twenty-three separate studies included in the final analysis met well-known criteria for high scientific quality. That is, these studies used repeated blood pressure measurements and participants were randomized to either a stress reduction technique or placebo-type control for at least eight weeks. The data we used are all published in peer-reviewed scientific journals,” Rainforth said. 

 

Side Benefits of TM vs. side effects of drugs

 

According to Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention and co-author, this rigorously conducted meta-analysis indicates that the Transcendental Meditation technique is distinctively effective compared to other scientifically studied techniques in lowering high blood pressure. “For those 100 million Americans with elevated blood pressure, here is a scientifically documented, yet simple and easy way to lower blood pressure without drugs and harmful side effects. In addition, related studies show an integrated set of positive ’side benefits,’ such as reduced stress, reduced heart disease levels and longer lifespan with this technique to restore balance in the cardiovascular system, mind and body,” Schneider said. 

 

Overturns a previous study on meditation

 

The new meta-analysis was co-authored by researchers at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, in Louisville, and at the NIH-funded Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa. 

 

According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure.  

 

The new meta-analysis identified all high quality meditation studies published through 2006 and rigorously analyzed their results, which the previous government report failed to do. Anderson said the new meta-analysis includes only high quality studies on all available stress reduction interventions. The studies on the Transcendental Meditation technique were conducted at five independent universities and medical institutions, and the majority of them were funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health. 

 

 

 



Jackie

Prisa asked:


Or is it good to stay away from cereal in general when you’re trying to lower your high blood pressure ?
Any other diet tips for people with high blood pressure would be greatly appreciated as well.

Tammy

jobahed asked:


My mother has extremely high blood pressure. Last night she went to the hospital with 233/100. They got it down using Cardizem, and prescribed that to her. She’s been on a bunch of different pills over the past few years.

She lives in rural West Virginia, and the doctors there have not really been, shall we say, the cream of the crop, so I’m not sure how up to date they are with the available medicines.

She’s 68 years old and she is a heavy smoker, but otherwise has great mobility, still drives, etc. (And she’s a very good cook!)

Thanks,
John

Carrie

Stephen Morgan asked:


Pssst, want to positively do something about your High Blood Pressure? Get yourself a pooch and walk it!

Seriously, this is not a wind up nor is it a reverse promotion for the Canine Defence League (or whatever). It is genuine recommendation for those who suffer with High Blood Pressure and want to do something positive about it in a natural manner.

I suffer from High Blood Pressure. I keep banging on about it in a number of articles because in a great many ways (mine probably included if I am brutally honest), something can be done about and it may (note MAY, not DEFINITELY) have been avoidable.

But I digress; this article is about what can be done about High Blood Pressure (HBP or Hypertension) not about how I managed to get it.

There are two options to consider when you are diagnosed with High Blood Pressure.

Firstly you can sit there and go “Woe is me, how many tablets do I have to take and at what part in the proceedings will impotence hit me?” Us guys like to get our priorities right ?

Secondly you can sit up, re evaluate how you got into that position in the first place and then try and see if you can do something about it. The latter path is the one yours truly decided upon and hence we find ourselves discussing the merits and relative advantages of getting a mutt!

In my case the BP readings were fairly high (try 216 over 160! 120 over 80, god how I used to fantasise about that) and as such Drug therapy was the immediate no brainer in the first instance but once that came under control and the levels dropped it was possible to look at other complimentary measures to run alongside the tablets.

One year down the line from my initial diagnosis and the BP levels were manageable, I had managed to lose some weight. I could have lost the weight sooner but my self discipline for diets has always been awful but again, I digress.

Increased exercise was the next part of the rehabilitation plan and though I had always been keen on walking and getting outside for exercise, again my lousy self discipline always managed to get in the way of any constructive resolution.

This whole narrative might sound like the immediate problem was my own lack of self will and discipline and in many ways that is true. I admire those fanatical enthusiasts who can be seen pounding the streets at 6.30 am every day before they go off to work. My own view on this has always been to try and incorporate some form of longer lasting therapy that in my case was more self sustainable allowing for my own weaknesses.

Now the question may be asked at this point is how serious was I about getting my HBP down and under manageable levels? I have never been more serious about anything else in my life as to be totally honest I am not too wild about departing this mortal coil well before my anointed time.

My own view on this whole exercise was that my “anti HBP regime” had to be able to be sustainable AND scaleable therefore meaning that the lifestyle / approach would still be on track if I found myself laid up with any form of illness and /or accident.

So, increased exercise as well as change of diet, eating, work habits etc was the order of the day.

Hence we find our self with the situation with a dog. Having lived with dogs all throughout my childhood, I was aware of the companionship that my son would feel if we had one for our family but also I was keenly aware of the responsibility that comes along with having a dog!

They need feeding, looking after and……plenty of exercise.

Now we are the proud owners of a Black Labrador / Border collie first cross 50 lbs of fun, fur and mayhem called Elmo. He specialises in all of the things that dogs do best. He eats as much as he can get his paws on, he then makes sure that as much as possible is then manufactured out the other end as often as possible and in the most inconsiderate of places! He chews anything and everything he can get his jaws round, nothing is safe, nothing is sacred and one of these days my eight year old son will get the message not to leave toys lying around the place unattended.

Lastly he is demanding about being taken out and this is where we find the missing link in my Anti HBP Therapy! As the day goes by his whole demeanour and attitude becomes more intense until finally if you haven’t got the hint by evening time he enters into what can only be described by US Sports Commentators as his “Hurry up Offence”. He comes and sits in front of you, rests his head on your legs and doesn’t move. He just looks at you with that expression that makes it perfectly clear that either it is exercise time or he is going to leave large amounts of canine saliva all over your trousers, shorts, anything in fact that you happen to be wearing at the time!

With a persuasive argument like that it is difficult to refuse and hence I find my High Blood Pressure reducing to manageable proportions, my weight dropping and I am also now in the position of being able to review and reduce (in certain cases) the level of medication that I need to help control my blood pressure.

All by and large down to getting a pooch!

Now if I could do something about the chewing….next time he destroys the Satellite remote (again), he gets it……..



Denise