Holiday Hypertension Healers

Make less stress, tolerate even less.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Meditate daily.

Eat heart healthy food.

Exercise at least fifteen minutes or more a day in your best way.

Pursue enjoyable hobbies that you like.

Sleep soundly at least eight hours per twenty-four.

Let love keep you healthy.

Smile a lot.

Pray often.

Own a blood pressure device and /or an application on a phone.

Check your blood pressure at home. 

Give a blood pressure monitor as a gift.

Use positive kindness as daily medicine.

Best health!

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: hypertension 

Diabetes Awareness Month

 Diabetes is on the rise around the world.  Current global statistics reveal that 1 in 11 persons had diabetes in 2015.  This is about 415,000 million people.  A recently published study by JAMA found that almost 50% of Americans have pre-diabetes or diabetes.  About one-third of these patients were unaware they had either condition, and were already showing signs of diabetes.  National cost was almost $300 billion in 2012.  International cost in 2015 was $673 billion which is 12% of global health expenditure.

Pre-diabetes and diabetes are often discovered during the routine physical, or in the emergency room with severe hyperglycemia or complications secondary to the disease.  Patients may present without any symptoms or the classic triad of polyuria (increased urination), polydipsia (increased thirst), polyphagia (increased hunger).  Blood tests that confirm diabetic disease include: FBS (fasting blood sugar) / FPS (fasting plasma glucose) over 126 mg/dl; two hour plasma glucose over 200 mg/dl HgbA1c over 6.5.  Weight loss and dehydration may be apparent clinically as the heavy glucose molecule depletes the body's water volume.


Comorbidities associated with diabetes include hypertension, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and general vascular disease.  These are all chronic disease states as is the eye disease (diabetic retinopathy) which may lead to total blindness.   Diabetic neuropathy involves nerves especially those to the extremities causing numbness, tingling, and decreased sensation.  If vascular disease is present, this may lead to poor circulation.  As a result diabetic foot ulcers may emerge.  Due to lack of sensitivity these may go unnoticed until an infection occurs which left untreated may lead to amputation.


Treatment includes diet, exercise, and medication.  Surgery is also a consideration.  It is of utmost importance that the proper diet is followed.  Counseling with a dietician provides necessary nutritional information to keep and help keep blood sugar in normal range.  Weight maintenance at a  healthy level is beneficial as overweight states have been correlated with an increased risk of diabetes.  Excess weight can make diabetes more difficult to control.  Adherence to diet leads to better control overall even if on medication.  Along with routine exercise this helps maintain a healthy weight.  If you are losing weight and eating the right foods, diabetes may come into control without medication.  It is important to check your blood sugar often when lifestyle changes are being made.  Keeping your blood sugar within normal limits will help defend against secondary complications.  Most important, you will feel better.  Best health!

Health Literacy Month: Read Health

Read what you need. Learn about what you need to maintain good health and well-being.  Health literacy is an important part of your self-care health care.  It helps promote better health and quality of life. During this Health Literacy Month make your health healthier with more medical information.

Medical science progresses so rapidly!  It is impossible for health care providers to keep up with all these new developments. Be aware of treatments your doctors and healthcare team have yet to hear about or are unlikely to ever find out about.  The overwhelming amount of new health information that comes out is far too much for many to stay current on every disease and treatment.  This should not stop you the patient from finding out all you can.  The same goes for wellness.  Participating in your health care is mandatory to maintain good health, achieve wellness, and overcome illness.

There are so many different treatments and modalities that compliment traditional medicine.  As many lack training in these areas they are unable to tell the patient.  Asking your doctor is a good starting place as is telling your doctor about the things you have read about or tried that helped.  In turn this may evoke a response by your physician to find out more, and even share with other patients and colleagues who may in turn share their “new” information which your doctor can share with you.

Reading and learning are vital to good health. Health literacy helps you make healthier, informed choices based on facts that have proven to yield better health outcomes.  Be health literate year round.  Best health!

Make Healthy Wealthy

Saving money is healthy and good way to promote good health and wellness. Health prices are escalating more rapidly than prices of other services right now.  There are some things you can do to help avert financial stress. This can include:

·       Shop around for best care and prices.  Your insurance company may cover a diagnostic test with partial payment. This may be higher than the actual charge if you pay yourself.  Call places in your area that offer the same test to check for prices that are cheaper and fit your budget.  If your health insurance deductible is a hefty $6,000 or more, this may fail to be attained.  Paying out of pocket may come out less expensive than $6,000.

·       Cook at home.  Home cooked meals are healthier and cheaper.  You can get more meals from unprepared and uncooked grocery items.  The average cost of one restaurant meal without drinks is about $30.  The grocery equivalent would be two or more good, healthy meals cooked to your taste and perfection.

·       Use cheaper non-prescription medication.  There are many over the counter medication that can do the same as more expensive, newer drugs.  Many of these were prescription medication at one time.  They may be safer as well since they have been in use for a longer time and been proven effective.

·       Exercise at home.  Create your own exercise plan.  Use exercises you learned in school physical education classes.  Simple stretching, arm rolls, jumping jacks, deep knee bends, sit-ups, and more.  Walking and running on land or in the pool are good aerobic activities.  Exercise can also be done in bed and in a chair.

·       Read more.  The cost to read is better health, more knowledge, and more information of your choice.  The actual cost of reading material can be as free as you make it using the library and Internet.

·       Develop a home entertainment program.  Your choices of your interests have proven to be healthier.  There is less stress over programs and their content.  If it must include television, make your own library with your preferred DVDs and TV sticks that attach to the television.  This works on your schedule. It is free of thoughtless commercial time, unpleasant images, and loud opinions that take away from a program’s content.  Cutting the cable cord can be healthy and good for wellness as well as a big money saver.

·       Take more staycation.  Vacations at home and nearer to home can be much healthier, cheaper, and less stressful.

·       Try to buy mainly that which is necessary leaving the desired for another time when extra money is available.  Reward yourself every now and then but stay within your means.

·       Save consistently.

For more ways to save money check out “10 Money Saving Medical Tips” http://bit.ly/1Gt4f8I .  Best health!

Hypertension Healers

Make less stress, tolerate even less.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Meditate daily.

Eat heart healthy food.

Exercise at least fifteen minutes or more a day in your best way.

Pursue enjoyable hobbies that you like.

Sleep soundly at least eight hours per twenty-four.

Let love keep you healthy.

Smile a lot.

Pray often.

Own a blood pressure device and /or an application on a phone.

Check your blood pressure at home. 

Give a blood pressure monitor as a gift.

Use positive kindness as daily medicine.

Best health!

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: hypertension 

Make Positive Ways for Less Stressful Days

 If your thoughts or what you are listening to or watching is unkind and disrespectful delivering little to no joy or happiness, turn it off, avoid it, and delete it from your healthy life.  This is of utmost importance in staying well or healing because it decreases unhealthy stress towards zero.  As you move towards this goal you will feel the benefits as well keep your blood pressure, arthritis, and other medical conditions stable or away.

Good health includes more than physical wellness.  Mental, emotional, and spiritual health helps maintain the physical well being. When you have positive thoughts, you can look forward to a more positive, joyous, happy, healthy body and daily existence.  Healthy food and exercise keep your body functioning at optimal levels thereby enhancing nature's healing forces within you. 

Make time for quiet time to yourself at least twice a day for fifteen minutes.  Include meditation, prayer, and yoga on a regular basis several times a week keeping it simple and easy for you.  Start with ten minute routines.  Get in this habit and strive to do it routinely for at least a week.  Increase your time to five minutes per session for at least twenty minutes or longer three or more times per week.  Daily is optimal.  It is worth taking the time to make this a goal.

As you develop healthier habits and routines, you will feel better and your positive ways will lead to less stressful days.  Best health!  

High Blood Pressure Education Month: Hypertension Tension

Tension in the morning can be stressful. Hypertension may be contributing to this.  It may cause symptoms often associated with starting a new day and all you have to do.  This should be less stressful than many choose to make it.  Normal blood pressure at this time of day is associated with better health and less comorbidity.  

Hypertension in the morning may start as early awakening, anxiety. headache, chest discomfort, and general fatigue.  Studies have shown heart attacks are more likely to occur this time.  High blood pressure in the morning should be recognized. Often it may be associated with normal blood pressure for most of the waking hours without symptoms.  

Treatment must be specific for each person.  It is good to begin with simple common sense things like restful sleep, healthy diet, and exercise.  Meditation, yoga, and prayer are beneficial as well as easy to do upon waking up.  Reading books and watching instructional videos is an easy, inexpensive way to learn.  As these are made routine, stress reduction is also enhanced.  

Maintaining a healthy weight and BMI are important as well.  Foods specific for cardiac health like beans, greens, and grains are very beneficial. Lack of response to these may indicate a need for medication especially if blood pressure is elevated more than four hours upon and after awakening. Specific herbs and supplements may also be added.

Home blood pressure checks remain beneficial for keeping track of daily blood pressure measurements.  A record of these should be kept along with notes on present activity and treatment.  After two weeks or sooner, you will be able to see patterns, and what is working.  Continue your hypertension diary for at least three months or longer.  It will become apparent what you can do to keep a normal blood pressure without symptoms and hypertension tension.  Best health!

"Healthy Life Lines" Free Kindle Book

Live healthy. Live simply healthy.  “Healthy Life Lines: Simple Tips to Improve Your Health” is a book that helps you attain good health and keep it stable.   This short book consists of one line health tips that promote wellness and good health.  These tips will encourage you to live a lifestyle of good health.  “Healthy Life Lines: Simple Tips to Improve Your Health” is free on Kindle Unlimited and available in large print paperback book. 

Check it out https://amzn.to/2WCH7oM 

Healthy life lines include;

·       Be literate in health.

·       Focus on prevention to avoid intervention.

·       Constantly do things to improve your health

·       Embrace healthy routines.

·       Limit and avoid multitasking.

·       Find funny and laugh daily.

·       Keep a health diary.

·       Know your family medical history.

Best health!

Medication Safety

The choice to try new medication can indeed be a difficult challenge.  You want to get better, but with each new medication the challenge can get harder even possibly unhealthy. How do you consider taking a medication to help one disease, but can cause new diseases or worsen ones you already have? This may be hypertension, diabetes, asthma, or even cancer. These may be listed as adverse reactions or side effects instead of disease.  Symptoms like back pain, migraine headaches, impotence, decreased vision, and many more have also been described.

For example, the thiazide diuretics may cause an increase in cholesterol, glucose, and uric acid (causes gout). The ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) used for high blood pressure may lead to rebound hypertension and orthostatic hypotension. Some medicines used for treatment of hyperlipidemia list potential for hypertension and diabetes.  There may be need for additional medication to treat what these may have caused or worsened. What a conundrum if you are on all three!  Studies have shown that medication errors increase as the number of medicines increases, especially after three in those over seventy.

In addition, the high cost and availability can be a challenge as well.  Many have special offers to make it affordable should your insurance fail to do so are available. The challenge here is an extremely low income to qualify for monetary assistance. Many on Medicare and Medicaid are also ineligible for some of these costly prescription medications.  For Medicare some may be zero cost.  Prescription assistance programs are usually the only source for many who lack funds for medication.

The solution is simple.  Make medication safe and affordable. Your doctor will hopefully help you as much as possible.  If you find yourself in this dilemma, you can be offered medication that is just as effective or better within your budget.  This is similar to changing to a medicine that is intolerable for whatever reason. Compliance is key.  Too expensive with serious "side effects" is a main reason for noncompliance.

It is also important to remember good health basics such as diet, exercise, and sleep.  Food is essential.  The price of food is the highest ever.  Food is a major health problem that is often overlooked.  Food is nutrition and medicine.  It is hard to afford food and other necessary needs, on a meager limited income.  There is very little, if any, room for expensive medication.  

Look up and research medication you have been prescribed as well as the conditions for which it may be used.  Review your medical chart.  Check the website of the medication maker as well as a general web search.  Discuss all your concerns and options with your doctors and healthcare provider especially alternatives. 

You may find staying with a healthy lifestyle with safe medication for you is a sure treatment that works for you and lasts.  Maintain a healthy weight, eat healthy nutritious food, do regular consistent exercise, and get adequate sleep to help and possibly cure.  Best health!

Nutrition Month: Culinary Medicine Makes Healthy More Wealthy

Cooking is good medicine.  What you cook is better medicine.  Culinary medicine can help you get better and stay healthy.  The healthy food plus cooking adds to great, healthy feelings.  This is what more doctors and healthcare providers are studying to recommend for their patients.  More residency training programs are including culinary medicine in their school curriculum.  

Food as medicine is hardly a new treatment.  Hippocrates quoted it thousands of years ago.  Research continues to show that proper nutrition with natural foods keeps low risk for disease lower, and it also keep high risk conditions from progressing and perhaps even occurring. Starting before birth is the optimal time.  Early good nutrition is important.

Make your healthy more wealthy by learning to shop for healthy food to prepare healthy meals.  This can save your money as well as your health.  Let it begin and/or continue with education (March is National Nutrition Month) and action with the intent of adding it to your healthy lifestyle.  Best health and eating!

Know Your Medical History

One of the first things your doctors and healthcare providers want to know is why you made your appointment. Once you answer this question (hopefully before interruption) there will be questions about your general health and wellness, as well as more information about your reason for the visit. For specific concerns you may be asked:

• How long has this been going on?
• What have you done for it?
• Have you had it before?
• Where does it bother you?
• How often does it occur?
• What makes it better or worse?
• Are there any other symptoms?

You will be asked about how the other parts of the body are working, such as your eyes, ears, heart, breathing, and so on. This is called the “review of systems” (ROS). If there are any problems not related to your main problem, now is the time to let the doctor know.
This will be followed by your past medical history (PMH), which includes:

1. Diseases you have (high blood pressure, sugar diabetes, arthritis, cancer, depression,
   etc.), or have had that are better or gone (including childhood diseases such as
   measles, mumps, and inherited disease)
2. Operations and times you were in the hospital (including accidents)
3. Medication, including prescription, over-the counter (don’t forget about vitamins),
   natural (garlic, aloe), and herbal
4. Allergies and reactions to anything and what it did to you (for example: breaking out in a
   rash, swelling, itching, upset stomach, etc.)
5. Smoking, alcohol, drug use (how much, how often)
6. Shots (childhood, flu, last tetanus, etc.)
7. Sexual (active, using protection, number of partners, diseases)—in females this will also
   include menstrual period, pregnancy, last mammogram, and Pap test
8. Family history (conditions that run in family
   such as cancer, high blood pressure, etc.)
9. Social history—your job or jobs; family; marital status; living arrangement (house,
   apartment, alone, etc.); transportation (drive self, public transport, walk); ambulation
   (use walker, wheelchair); disability (deaf, blind, amputee, etc.); religion, ethnic customs, and traditions

If there is anything left out or that you feel the doctor should know, now is the time to speak up. It is sometimes hard to get someone’s full attention, so take advantage of it while you have it. Some doctors’ offices will have you fill out forms asking the above questions or will ask you the questions and fill out the form for you. This is not a substitute for the doctor’s personal interview and questions.
Writing or typing this information is a sure way to keep all of your PMH http://bit.ly/f8FZ55 . Make a copy for your doctor. While talking you both can refer to this vital source of health information.

Healthy life line: Know your medical history. Best health!

Your Health Plan: Maintain Good Health

Start your day out in good health.  Make self-improvement and healthcare maintenance your first priority.  When you do this, you will find that good health is worth it.  Each person has a different level of good health and should do their best to stay as healthy as they can be.  When you take care of yourself with proper nutrition, rest, and other good health habits, it is less likely illness will occur.

Poor health costs more than feeling poorly.  The extreme high money cost can add to that.  In addition, limits on certain coverages like three pints of blood, and $50,000 lifetime maximum on some health services especially for those with chronic diseases and pre-existing conditions, are likely to slow progress of getting better if illness occurs while you wait a year or save more money.  It is important to focus on preventive medical services as well as positive healthy lifestyle for early disease detection and diagnosis can lead to prompt treatment.  This is why self-care health helps pay for good health and more financial stability.

Your health is your responsibility.  Be dedicated to good health.  Make healthy self-care a daily habit.  Best health!

New Year Resolution: Make Mental Health Primary

Good health includes mental health.  You can be healthier without anxiety and depression that diminishes good mental health.  This is so important in the formative years.  It is during this time of infancy and childhood that mental health starts developing.  During this time, it is important that good healthy things are happening.  Children need love and care all the time, but in these years much more is medically necessary.  This is important for healthy mental development.

Today's anxiety provoking atmosphere promote poor mental health especially in schools.  School attendance should be a pleasant, safe experience fit for learning. The mind needs this to learn and develop.  Today schools are "forced" to counter arm with physical enforcement measures to prevent unhealthy armed attacks.  This is far from the ideal learning environment for teachers and students as is thinking about this all day at school.  Good healthy thoughts and actions are indicated to prevent school dropout, substance abuse, suicide and more.

Mental health for adults and children must be healthy.  More school mental health programs would be healthier than any type of violence or tools thereof.  Today's youth are diagnosed with mental health (anxiety, depression, ADHD primary) issues at average age of 14 or younger. The stress associated with going to school and learning is plenty without any distractions, or unhealthy behaviors. 

Healthy suggestions include healthy behavior in the home.  The family is vital to maximizing mental health.  Seeking professional health for each family member as well as the family can help.  Absence of unhealthy, harmful behavior is necessary.  Decrease watching any programs on any platform with violence (even cartoons, video games) and persistently negative behavior.

Healthy thoughts and actions are indicated versus negative, unhealthy unrewarding behavior.  Maximize mental health with goodness for less anxiety, depression and unhealthy feelings. "Don't worry about a thing.  Every little thing is going to be alright." Best health!