High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

Blood pressure is the pressure inside your blood vessels when your heart beats. If your blood pressure is higher than 120/80, you may have a problem with your blood pressure. Consequences of being chronically hypertensive are heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure is known as a silent killer, as it has no symptoms.

Three out of ten Americans have high blood pressure, and this percentage rises as one's age increases.

Chronic high blood pressure (HBP) can cause damage to certain organs, particularly the heart and the kidneys. In the United States, black men tend to have a higher prevalence and an earlier onset of HBP than white men, as well as lower rates of treatment and higher rates of organ damage. Researchers enrolled 309 inner-city black men diagnosed with HBP in a 5-year community-based intervention to improve blood pressure control. The average age of the men at baseline was 41 years, 60% had a high school diploma, 27% were employed, and 64% reported a history of incarceration.

In only 25 more years, 20% of the population in the United States will be 65 or older. Hypertension, which currently is the most ubiquitous disease, will continue to be popular within the older set.

However, are the guidelines used with younger people for what constitutes a 'good' blood pressure, the same for the elderly? Currently, 115/75 is seen as a healthy blood pressure; however, clinical research trials have not included the very old among their participants. Geriatritians (those doctors who specialize in the care of old people) have long thought that their patients might be harmed through aggressive blood pressure interventions; causing heart attacks, strokes, and even depression.

For a long time now, scientists have believed that the polyphenols found in such substances as tea or cocoa would decrease blood pressure. Two dynamics were thought to cause this: polyphenols promote vasodilation (thereby, decreasing the pressure required of blood to pass through the vessel), and nitro oxide was released which relaxes vascular walls.

Therefore, it was interesting to note when a study was done to compare tea and cocoa; tea was not found to lower blood pressure at all; but cocoa was!

Usually, the goal is to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg (130/80 mmHg if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease). Ask your doctor what your blood pressure goal should be.

Some people can prevent or control high blood pressure by changing to healthier habits, such as:

• Following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan, which includes cutting down on salt and sodium and eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products

Meditation: All Roads Lead To Rome…
By Steve Ross, MA

There have been a number of studies over the years about the health benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM). To read a recent one, click here. However, I would like to suggest that these positive results are not the sole propriety of TM. One does not need to belong to any group or subscribe to any particular set of beliefs to receive them. I worked with TM and other forms of meditation for over a decade, on a regular, disciplined basis. My conclusion is that any form of meditation, spiritually oriented or not, will show similar results if done regularly for the same amount of time.

To treat high blood pressure, lifestyle changes are important and may be supplemented by medication.

Healthy eating

• Avoid processed foods, which have lost minerals and vitamins and may contain questionable additives, hydrogenated oils, etc.

Fatty deposits of plaque in artery walls begins in childhood and continues into adulthood. Coronary Artery Disease, which is the single largest cause of death in the United States, may be the end result.

The Effects of Cholesterol and Blood Pressure Treatments on Severity of Coronary Artery Disease
Annals of Internal Medicine, 21 February 2006, Volume 144 Issue 4, Page I-22

This study was done to

Although the first report by the Institute for Health was released in 1999, stating that medical errors were responsible for as many as 98,000 deaths each year, when you read the statistics from the 2006 report, you will be shocked to learn that hospital patients should still expect to suffer one adverse drug event (due to human error) every day they remain hospitalized. Not very comforting... Perhaps legislation is needed to ensure (at the very least) that prescriptions are PRINTED legibly.