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High Blood Pressure - Are You At Risk?

February 27th, 2010

When your heart pumps blood, pressure is exerted against the walls of the arteries, prompting the term “blood pressure“. While your heart is actively pumping blood, your blood pressure is at its highest, referred to as systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest - between beats - your blood pressure falls, this is diastolic pressure. These two numbers are used to determine your blood pressure with the systolic pressure being placed ahead of the diastolic pressure and written one above or before the other, such as 120/80 (normal). Both of these numbers are important. Any reading above 120/80 places the body at risk, the higher the pressure, the greater the risk.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a chronic ailment in which the blood pressure (BP) reading is constantly 140/90 and above. If this pressure rises and remains high for a prolong period it can cause serious damage in the form of: stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or kidney failure. Signs of prehypertension are 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom numbers, this is a precursor to high blood pressure and immediate steps should taken to prevent the more serious condition.

here is a two pronged approach to providing treatment for this disease. They are: medication and self care. In situations where the illness is due to the existence of another disease, the high blood pressure will be alleviated once this primary disease is treated. For sufferers of secondary hypertension there are a variety of prescription drugs available: diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers.

• Diuretics (Water Pills) – Recommended as the first line of treatment, this medication works on the kidneys to help rid your body of sodium and water thus reducing blood pressure.

• Beta blockers – They reduce the effects of excitement and physical exertion on the heart and opens the blood vessels. The heart then beats slower while exerting less force.

• Calcium Channel Blockers - these dilate the arteries thereby reducing the amount of pressure exerted on them, putting less strain on the heart.

• Angiotensin-converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors - Angiotensin II is a chemical produced in the blood which causes the muscles surrounding blood vessels to contract. The inhibitors restrict this activity allowing the blood vessels to enlarge.

• Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers – This medication is similar in function to ACE inhibitors. It prevents angiotensin II from binding to angiotensin II receptors on blood vessels allowing the vessel to enlarge.

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Asthma attacks and what to do when they strike

February 11th, 2010

Asthma attacks are the result of a constriction of the muscles of the air passages, the swelling and inflammation of the air passage linings, and the production of phlegm that is denser than normal, the net effect being shortness of breath and coughing. During asthma attacks people will exhibit signs including restricted rapid breathing denoted by severe wheezing, incessant coughing, retractions caused by constricting muscles in the chest and neck, panic and anxiety, restricted talking ability, sweaty and pale faces, and blue lips or fingernails. Asthma attacks can either be mild or severe. The former types are experienced more often and the air passages tend to clear within a few minutes or hours. Severeasthma attacks are indeed serious and will often necessitate medical attention lest they become fatal.

Asthma attacks can be anticipated by virtue of the warning signs exhibited well before an incident occurs. Taking heed of these signs is most advisable since ignoring them can only be equated to intentional flirting with death. Some of the most pronounced signs of impendingasthma attacks include a reduction in peak flow meter readings, regular coughing mostly at night, a tendency to lose breath or have a shortage of it very easily, extreme fatigue and weakness during exercises or workouts, and a sustained exhibition of symptoms characteristic of allergies and colds, (e.g. headaches, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and nasal congestion), etc.

As has been noted, to preempt you need to pay attention to the symptoms listed above. Each asthma-affected person has individual pending attack characteristics and this should prompt such a person to get a thorough understanding of his/her asthma symptoms, attack frequency, and how to react. The aforementionedpeak flow meter readings are an integral part of this self-monitoring task and these give a helpful bearing on what should be done.

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How to Stop Snacking

January 30th, 2010

Cutting down on snacking is important if you want to lose weight and this is a thing that many fail to change. Snacks seem small and insignificant but in the end of the day they add up and eventually diet plan and a new figure can be failed.

Quitting snacking might seem easy but it’s not because many things around invite you to “try” them especially if you work in the office (like me).

Polite male colleagues usually bring something tasty in a shape of chocolate and it’s hard to stay away from trying few, and then few again. The best solution is to get them fired but they are nice guys pleasing their colleagues.

Also, our vending machine does not help me to stay away from snacking at work. Very often (every day almost) a sugar rich fizzy drink and a chocolate bar at least are purchased from that evil machine making my goal of having a better body less reachable.

I recently found out quite disturbing fact that the average person spends $45 on snacks every month and I am pretty sure that I spend three times more if not more than that. My friend who lost her weight gave me few tips on fighting the snacking to which I’ll try to stick for a while:

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Benefits of Eating Vegetarian Once in a While

January 15th, 2010

It is known that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and some forms of cancer than non-vegetarians. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy vegetarian dishes and the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Trying a couple of meat-free days each week can help your digestion and detox your body.

Vegetarians get abundant fiber, vitamins, and phytochemicals that help to prevent cancer. In addition, blood analysis of vegetarians reveals a higher level of specialized white blood cells that attack cancer cells.

According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians are at lower risk for developing heart disease, Colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.

People who follow vegetarian diets typically have lower blood pressure. No one knows exactly why vegetarian diets work so well. It is probable that cutting out meat and dairy products reduces the blood’s viscosity which, in turn, brings down blood pressure. Vegetables and fruits are also rich in potassium, which helps lower blood pressure.

A vegetarian diet, if followed properly would consist mostly of alkaline forming foods. Our blood is slightly alkaline and needs to be kept that way by reducing intake of acid-forming foods like meat and more of alkaline forming foods like vegetables.

This is probably one of the main reasons that people who are sick see health benefits when they go to these diets. However, some vegetarians eat French fries and potato chips with soft drinks everyday, and do not see the benefits of the alkaline diet.

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