Tag Archive for 'high blood pressure'

Get in control of your health by knowing your numbers

Published on January 9, 2013 in BCBSNC and Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Do you think you might be at risk for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases?  How can you find out? Well fortunately there is a system of “numbers” we can use to tell us how we compare to healthier individuals. By knowing your numbers, you can take action to make positive changes that will help prevent the onset of chronic health conditions. Considering the likelihood that many individuals will develop a chronic, preventable disease resulting in poor quality of life, declining productivity, and higher health care costs has become a major concern and priority for health care providers, insurers, and employers, especially Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Every person is unique and requires personalized assessment based on the best medical evidence.

Preventive screenings help you get familiar with your numbers and tackle health concerns before they become more serious—or to prevent health problems in the first place.

For example, a high waist circumference number indicates a greater level of abdominal fat which is associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services women with a waist circumference of more than 35 inches, and men with a waist circumference of more than 40 inches are at increased disease risk.

Of course, you inherit some risk for these diseases from your family. But the majority of chronic disease risk is in the lifestyle we lead – specifically linked to smoking, poor diet and an inactive lifestyle. These are things you can change.

Before you visit your doctor for your next health checkup, try to be prepared to talk about which preventive screenings you need:

  • Blood pressure
  • Cholesterol
  • Fasting glucose (blood sugar)
  • Body mass index (BMI)
  • Blood Pressure – This is one of the strongest markers for heart disease risk. It is measured as two numbers. Systolic pressure is the first number and is the pressure when the heart is contracting. Diastolic is the second number and is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. Normal blood pressure is 120 / 80 or below.
  • Cholesterol Levels – Too much bad cholesterol can lead to a hardening of your arteries. This can put you at risk for a heart attack or stroke. When it comes to cholesterol, there are two important numbers you should know. LDL, is the bad cholesterol, and should be below 130 mg/dL, and lower is better. HDL, is good cholesterol, and should be above 40 mg/dL. Your total cholesterol (TC) level should be below 200 mg/dL.
  • Blood Sugar – A blood sugar test is commonly used to diagnose the presence of diabetes. A fasting blood sugar (taken when you haven’t eaten for 12 hours) should be below 100 mg/dL.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) – This is calculated from two other numbers that you probably know – your weight and height. Your BMI will be one way to gauge if you are classified as being overweight. However, it is not a perfect measure. In people with above normal muscle mass, like bodybuilders, the BMI may indicate the individual is overweight when they are in great condition. For most of us, however, BMI is a great way to gauge how our weight compares to recommended levels. Here is an easy way to calculate your BMI.

If you know your numbers, solving the total health equation is a lot easier.

Tomatoes could provide some protection against strokes

Published on October 15, 2012 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The chemical lycopene is found in some fruits and vegetables and gives them their rich red color. It is a very powerful antioxidant that is similar to a sponge in the way it soaks up damaging molecules called free radicals. Cells can be damaged from these free radicals if no action is taken to destroy them.

Tomatoes are especially rich in lycopene so eating tomatoes daily and putting red sauce on your spaghetti, meatballs and other foods could possibly decrease your risk for having a stroke, according to research that was recently published in the journal Neurology. Study author Jouni Karppi, of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, says “this study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke.” Karppi claims that the chemical lycopene helps to protect the brain.

The researchers in the study tested the amount of lycopene in the blood of more than 1,000 Finnish men from age 46 to 65, beginning in 1991. The men were then observed for more than 10 years by scientists to record the number who had strokes. They found that the men who had the highest levels of lycopene were 55% less prone to have a stroke than those with the lowest amounts in their blood.

Although the study focuses mainly on the benefits of tomatoes and their containment of lycopene, there is other data that supports eating fruit and vegetables in general to avoid the risk of strokes. There isn’t a sufficient amount of proof that eating tomatoes will lessen your risk of stroke.

A lot of focus has been on lycopene recently because of it’s strong antioxidant powers. Experts believe that if we do not consume enough lycopene type foods, too many free radicals store up in the body causing blood vessels to be damaged by forming fatty deposits. As these deposits build up, a blockage can form. If that vessel with the blockage happens to be in the brain, the blockage can cause a stroke.

Tomatoes can also help reduce strokes in other ways. They provide a good source of potassium, which is known to reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for getting a stroke.

Even though experts say all the credit can not go to lycopene rich tomatoes alone, they recommend eating about 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Obviously it would be wise to include tomatoes in that assortment. If you do choose to eat more tomatoes, researchers say that cooked tomatoes appear to provide more protection than raw.

Hypertension may be a culprit in developing dementia

Published on January 27, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

New research has found that one of the best ways to keep from getting dementia is to control your blood pressure.

During the study, scientists scanned the brains of people to reveal that hypertension causes some kind of scarring that is related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The scars can begin to form in middle age, years before memory problems are apparent.

The new evidence is so strong that the National Institutes of Health is planning on studying thousands of people with hypertension to see if vigorous treatment will help protect their hearts and their brains. This aggressive treatment will involve getting blood pressure lower than normal recommendations.

The largest factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia is age. Dementia affects about one in eight people who are 65 and older.

For a long time now, scientists knew that many of the triggers for heart disease such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes appear to increase the chances for getting dementia. This said, they thought that the link was with “vascular dementia”, which are memory problems related to small strokes; not the frightening Alzheimer’s disease. Now, specialists are finding that many patients have a mixture of both types of dementia.

Having hypertension, which is a blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher, weakens arteries and  also seems to spur Alzheimer’s disease-like activity. One culprit could be the scarring known as white matter lesions. White matter works like the brain’s telephone network with a system of  nerve fibers that permit the brain cells to communicate with each other. Unfortunately even small increases in blood pressure can cause harm to the tiny blood vessels that sustain the white matter. This damage causes interruptions to those signals.

The new studies found that MRI scans revealed that women 65 and older with hypertension had notably more white matter lesions in their brains eight years later. The journal Stroke just published comparable evidence from a John Hopkins University-led study that observed 983 people for more than 15 years, beginning in middle age. The results showed that the more time people spent with uncontrolled high blood pressure, the more white matter harm they incurred.

All this said, hypertension by itself doesn’t mean one is condemned to get dementia. There are far more people with hypertension than dementia; about one in three adults in the U.S.