Holidays and Sphygmomanometer Info

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Well, the Holidays are in full swing here.  Parties, food, meeting and joining in with friends and neighbors for joyous celebrations.  It is all wonderful and I am glad that using my High Blood Pressure monitor has allowed me to keep my hypertension under control.  When my hypertension is out of wack, I feel tired, dizzy and my eyes don’t even want to focus correctly.  So, it is very important to me to keep using my sphygmoimanometer at home so I know where my numbers are.

Food is also a big part of the holidays around our house, so I am also trying to watch what I am eating.  We all know that sugar and salt are hidden in all sorts of seasonal foods.  I have been eating more vegtables and making sure I do some exercise at least 3 times a week.  From my blood pressure readings, I am doing OK so far.

I do hope you are considering “healthy” presents for your loved ones this year.  See my previous blog (below) to see some of my ideas.  Have you purchased a “healthy” present for someone?  Care to share?

Have great Holidays at your home and hopefully, we will talk in the new year!

Hypertension, High blood pressure and Holiday gifts

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This morning I realized that Christmas is only 50 days away and I started thinking of holiday gifts to give to the people I love that have or may soon develop High blood pressure. Since I have been able to reduce my high blood pressure this year and I am feeling the health benefits, I decided that the gift of educating people on blood pressure would be a great gift to give. I have made a short list of those things that people could use to control their hypertension.

Of course, from my postings here, you know that my first gift would be a blood pressure monitor. There are quite a few models available as you can see at the right side of this posting. One of the most popular is the Omron BP742 5 Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor. This Omron has an irregular heart beat detector and 2 different people can use and store their information. It also has different cuff size options which are very useful. Advanced Averaging is another feature that automatically displays the average of up to the last three readings taken within the last 10 minutes. And maybe the most life saving feature is a Hypertension Indicator that alerts you if your blood pressure reading exceeds internationally recognized guidelines for normal home blood pressure levels. At $47.99 it could be a life changer for someone you love.

My next gift idea would be the book The High Blood Pressure Solution: A Scientifically Proven Program for Preventing Strokes and Heart Disease by Richard Moore MD PhD. It is written from a Doctor’s perspective and according to many reviewers, has lots of common sense advice for those suffering from High Blood pressure.

Eating is always associated with the Holidays, so another gift might be a cook book that not only has great tasting recipes but can also help make you healthier. One cookbook that I would recommend is 500 High Fiber Recipes: Fight Diabetes, High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Delicious Meals That Fill You Up and Help You Shed Pounds!
by Dick Logue. High fiber is often recommended by Doctors and Nutrition experts to help you fight disease and lose weight, but how do you find recipes to enjoy? This book gives you the start to eating better and feeling full.
As I have discovered, hypertension can also benefit from a more active lifestyle. So another gift might be a Pedometer. They are small and relatively inexpensive, yet can make a huge difference and a pedometer can make adding steps to your normal routine, simple and rewarding. Omron, the maker of one of the high blood pressure monitors we discussed, also makes a great Pedometer. It has features that include, Omron Dual-Axis Technology that counts steps accurately and quietly, an automatic reset to let you start off fresh daily, a weekly log to see how you are doing, and a six tracking modes that include a calorie, time and distance mode.

There are so many more gifts that could be included, but I hope this gets you started thinking of the Holidays ahead. Health is a very precious gift and helping your friends and family find ways to improve their health will make all of you feel better and fight high blood pressure.

Good news at the Doctor’s Office on My Blood Pressure

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I just had a Doctor’s appointment. After all the ups and downs of my blood pressure, I should have been nervous. But, since I have regularly been taking my medication, have lost a few pounds on a Green Smoothie diet, and have been monitoring my blood pressure readings using my home blood pressure monitor, I felt confident that my blood pressure would be in a safe range finally.

When the Doctor told me it was 117/79, I was floored. And I think the Doctor was also. My numbers were great. They are both in line with Normal Blood Pressure, that is Systolic less than 120 and Diastolic less than 80. I can’t remeber the last time I had Normal blood pressure!

I am sure this reduction was caused by: The right combination of drugs, losing a few pounds, and using a home model sphygmomanometer. And even better news is that the doctor believes I can start taking less medication. So in the next few weeks my Blood pressure cuffwill be getting a workout as I check my systolic and diastolic numbers daily.

My goal now is to lose more weight so I can get off more of the medication.

Sphygmomanometer Info- Buying a Blood Pressure Meter and Medication are keeping my blood pressure normal

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“But for the Grace of God”…… and a little help from the chemistry lab I have managed to survive one more year.

Just a little over a year ago and much to my dismay the annual trip to the Doctor revealed that my Blood Pressure was a steady 209/172. I have battled the blood pressure problem (hypertension) for over 15 years. However the 10 to 14 months leading up to my visit last year made for a critical difference. I am now 62 years old and like so many “Baby Boomers” watched my retirement dwindle away, bad investments, lower Stock Market, disappearing real-estate market. I even work in an industry that will be non-existent 3 or 4 years from now.

All these factors combined formed an almost unbeatable foe when it came to keeping my blood pressure normal…roughly 120/80 which I believe is being re-adjusted to an even lower set of numbers today.(Normal blood pressure is in the 120/80 range) After some trial and error my Doctor and my heart settled on a combination of (4) different medications daily; Amlodipine Besylate, Indapamide, Losartan and Metoprolol ER Succinate.

For years my Doctor strongly recommended that I take my Blood Pressure daily however being the strong willed male that I am, I felt that would be an activity for a weaker man. Well, after my close brush with a potential Stroke and the involved experimentation until we reached the correct combination of drugs, I realized it was easier to check my pressure every few days than any of the alternatives.

I have become very proficient, over this past year, at taking my own blood pressure with a shiny new Blood Pressure meter. I tried using a Sphygmomanometer, but found it difficult to use by myself. So, the next best thing was a battery operated Blood Pressure Monitor. Although there are several makes and models on the market I wanted the most reliable unit that my money could buy. I am using mine almost daily and really think this is an easy and worthwhile product to help control my hypertension. Hypertension meters can be found in many local drugstores, Walgreens, CVS, Wal Mart, and through medical supply companies. I found a great one on Amazon and think I got a good deal and was able to research the comments of others to see which model meter would work for me.

Do people DIE of High Blood Pressure? Top 10 Causes of Death in the US

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When the Nurse or PA (Physicians assistant) said my blood pressure was too high, I always told myself that after an hour in the waiting room, their blood pressure would be high also.  I racked it up to hurrying around getting to the Doctors, the traffic, the weather, the wait, anything but my body needing attention.  No one dies of high blood pressure, right?

You hear of so many people who have high blood pressure (hypertension) and you don’t see that as a leading cause of death on any national campaign, so I wanted to check out my assumption.  So I went to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) to find out what the leading causes of death are in the United States.  In 2009, Heart Disease was listed as number 1 and a Stroke was number 4.    See the chart below….

  • Heart disease: 599,413
  • Cancer: 567,628
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 137,353
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,842
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 118,021
  • Alzheimer’s disease: 79,003
  • Diabetes: 68,705
  • Influenza and Pneumonia: 53,692
  • Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 48,935
  • Intentional self-harm (suicide): 36,909

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm/

According to WebMD, high blood pressure should also be considered a contributing factor to a stoke.  They say that: “Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases a person’s stroke risk by four to six times. Over time, hypertension leads to atherosclerosis and hardening of the large arteries. This, in turn, can lead to blockage of small blood vessels in the brain. High blood pressure can also lead to weakening of the blood vessels in the brain, causing them to balloon and burst. The risk of stroke is directly related to how high the blood pressure is.”

http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-high-blood-pressure-stroke

So that means to me that 728,255 people could have died in part because of high blood pressure. Uh OH, maybe I should take this more seriously.  I am blessed to have reached 60 years of age and I am ready for the inevitable…after all “nobody makes it out alive” as they used to say on Westerns.  But I don’t want to have a stroke and lie in a hospital bed for months or years, incapacitated and a drain on my family.

The Doctors advice was, lose weight, exercise more and start paying attention to your blood pressure.  OK, I will get a sphygmomanometer or blood pressure monitor and start tracking my numbers.  That is a whole lot easier than giving up my nightly bowl of ice cream!

What is a Sphygmomanometer and how can it help me?

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When your Doctor tells you that you have hypertension, high blood pressure, he might recommend you get a Sphygmomanometer.  You can use the Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) to keep track of your blood pressure.  There is no pain involved in this test, just some pressure on your arm. The Sphygmomanometer has a pressure cuff that you place around your arm and then use the bulb to add air and constrict the flow of blood.  As the air is released your blood flows again and with a stethoscope, you can hear the blood flow.  The number when the blood starts flowing is your systolic reading.  When all the pressure is released, the number that results is your diastolic reading.  So if your reading is 140 over 80, your systolic number is 140 and your diastolic number is 80.

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbp/), below are the target blood pressure numbers:

Normal blood pressure   Systolic less than 120   and   Diastolic less than 80

Pre-hypertension              Systolic 120-139       or     Diastolic 80-89

High Blood Pressure         Systolic 140 and Up   or     Diastolic 90 and up

Readings taken at different times of the day and/or when you may be ill can cause the readings to fluctuate.  Your readings will change during the day, so it is a good idea to always do you’re at home testing in the same location and at the same time of day.  I usually check mine mid morning at my office desk.

High blood pressure is often called the silent killer, since there are no glaring symptoms.  Left untreated, high blood pressure can damage your heart, kidneys and blood vessels.

Many health professionals use a Sphygmomanometer in their daily tasks and they are trained in its use.  For at home care, many people recommend a blood pressure cuff, or blood pressure monitor.  It is easier to use and you don’t need a stethoscope.