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!