5 Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds (linseeds) on your
morning cereal Then mix 2 tablespoons into your spaghetti sauce or
yoghurt, or sprinkle over a salad later in the day. This could lower
systolic pressure significantly, one study found. The secret ingredient?
Probably the omega-3 fatty acids in flux.
6 Have tea tomorrow morning (and afternoon) instead of coffee For every cup of tea you drink in a day (up to four), your systolic blood pressure could fall by 2 points and your diastolic pressure could drop by 1 point, an Australian study suggests.
7 Stroll four times a day Exercise cut systolic pressure by 5 points and diastolic pressure by 3 points in one study of 21 women and men. But volunteers who took four brisk 10 minute walks a day kept blood pressure low for a whopping 11 hours, versus 7 hours for those who exercised for 40 continuous minutes once a day. Frequent activity keeps artery walls more fit and flexible.
8 Avoid overuse of pain-relievers Cut back on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen. Studies show that these popular pain-relievers can raise your blood pressure if you take them frequently.
9 Go for garlic A daily dose of garlic - as powder, oil or extract - produces significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, according to a review of 11 separate studies by Australian researchers. In some people, the fall was as much as that seen by taking antihypertensive drugs. Generally the higher the blood pressure at the start, the greater the fall when taking garlic - so garlic reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.6mmHG on average, but in those with high blood pressure the reduction was an impressive 8.4mmHG.
10 Buy a home blood pressure monitor A study presented at a recent European Society of Hypertension conference found that people who checked their blood pressure at home had lower blood pressure readings than those whose only checks were at the doctor's surgery. Relying on your doctor's tests alone misses 9 percent of high blood pressure cases, another study has found. When you are shopping for a mointor, make sure the cuff is the right size (ask your doctor or pharmacist what size you need), be sure you can read the numbers on the monitor and hear the heartbeats if it uses a stethoscope; and take the monitor to your doctor's office to compare results with a professional model.
11Turn off your mobile phone - and forget about it When 20 British students were asked to talk about their mobile phones to researchers their systolic blood pressure jumped 8 points - a sign that a ringing phone in your pocket or bag is stressful. After the students gave up their phones for three days, the same exercise increased blood pressure by just 3 points. Silence, it seems, is healthy, says lead researcher David Sheffield, PhD, of Staffordshire University.
12 Rediscover (low-fat) milk Around the world, milk consumption is dropping as we sip more fizzy drinks and other sweetened soft drinks. But milk and other dairy products are important for blood pressure control because they contain calcium, which helps to regulate fluid levels in the bloodstream.
3 Other risk factors
Even if you keep tabs on blood pressure and cholesterol, new evidence reveals that little-known threats could still be setting you up for trouble. The more researchers investigate, the more it seems that a number of chemical markers in the body are linked with your risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet your doctor may never mention these hidden risks, underestimate the danger or not even know about them yet. But if they're aware of them, and of what you can do reduce multiple possible risk factors, you have a much better chance of staving off the potential consequences - and perhaps of saving your life.
The good news: taking control can be as easy as snacking on walnuts (instead of processed snacks) or taking a multivitamin every day.
risk 1
C-reactive protein
This chemical is made in the liver when part of your body is inflamed. Studies show that high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) can raise your risk of heart disease even in your cholesterol level is healthy. High CRP is a warning signal of plaque building up in the artery walls.
So what cause high levels of CRP? Mostly, low-grade infections in your body, such as gum disease, and other ongoing irritants that mean your immune system is constantly doing battle. This is the 'chronic inflammation' problem talked about more and more in health circles.
Because blood levels of CRP can be raised by a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, measuring them has limited value in predicting risk of heart disease. However, studies have
Check your pulse
Another heart problem increasingly common with age is atrial fibrillatioin (AF), a condition that
causes a fat, irregular heartbeat. Symptoms may include palpitations, dizzness, breathlessness or the chest pains of angina - or it may go undetected until your doctor takes your pulse.
AF affects about 1in 200 people aged 50-60 but 1 in 20 over 65 and almost 1 in 10 of those aged over 80 in the UK. It can be caused by other heart diseases, high blood pressure, various medical conditions or something as simple as drinking too much alcohol or coffee. Its danger lies in the fact that up to 15 percent of people with AF suffer ischaemic strokes each year - and often, they're severe.
The unsteady heartbeats of AF create turbulent blood flow within the heart that may allow blood to
pool and tiny clots to form. If these get taken in the bloodstream to the brain, they can cause a stroke. The risk of stroke in someone with AF is four to six times higher than normal.
Finding, and fixing, AF could cut your risk of a stroke by 60 percent. To check for an irregular heartbeat, find your pulse at your neck or wrist with the flat pad of your fingertip. Repeat the rhythm out loud: dum-dum-dum-dum. If what you get is more like dum-dum-da-dum or some other variation, report it to your doctor. You may need treatment with drugs or electrical stimulation (cardioversion) to regulate your heartbeat, and clot-preventing drugs such as aspirin or warfarin.
shown that lowering CRP slows the rate of progression of atherosclerosis - so it's well worth taking measures to keep your levels low. Here are three top ways to help to tame your CRP.
Brush, floss and rinse every day Even tiny pockets of gum disease increase inflammation levels throughout your body, raising the odds of a heart attack and even a stroke. Studies show that brushing carefully, flossing well, then rinsing with a gum-protecting mouthwash all help to protect your cardiovascular system.
Make all your sandwiches on wholegrain bread Research shows that getting 32g of fibre a day could slash CRP levels by half. You'll get there if you also choose high-fibre cereals, beans, lentils and wholegrain pasta.
Snack on a handful of walnuts instead of a chocolate bar Rich in fibre and 'good' omega-3 fatty acids, these nuts slash CRP levels .
risk 2
metabolic syndrome
As many as one in four people in the UK have a dangerous cluster of heart attack and stroke risk factors that doctors now dub the metabolic syndrome. It's also called insulin resistance, because a major feature is a combination of high blood sugar levels with high insulin levels.
Make all your sandwiches on wholegrain bread
Whereas normally insulin acts to increase the uptake of glucose by cells, so reducing levels in the blood, in this condition, the fat, muscle and liver cells fail to respond properly to insulin. The body pumps out more and more, is an attempt to reduce blood glucose levels, but they remain high - so a metabolic imbalance develops.
Metabolic syndrome also includes high blood pressure, out-of-balance blood fats, with increased levels of triglycerides and reduced HDL, and central obesity - the dangerous laying down of fat around the abdomen. All of these promote widespread inflammation and increase the tendency of the blood to clot - dramatically raising the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And if you don't deal with the features of metabolic syndrome, you're also at high risk of diabetes, liver and kidney disease, gallstones and other complications.
While a doctor may treat particular problems such as high blood pressure, blood fats or blood sugar, there is much you can do to lower your risk. Nearly every healthy eating and exercise tip in this discussion will help to reduce your chances of getting metabolic syndrome and prevent or delay its dire complications. And here are three steps that are guaranteed to help to make a difference.
6 Have tea tomorrow morning (and afternoon) instead of coffee For every cup of tea you drink in a day (up to four), your systolic blood pressure could fall by 2 points and your diastolic pressure could drop by 1 point, an Australian study suggests.
7 Stroll four times a day Exercise cut systolic pressure by 5 points and diastolic pressure by 3 points in one study of 21 women and men. But volunteers who took four brisk 10 minute walks a day kept blood pressure low for a whopping 11 hours, versus 7 hours for those who exercised for 40 continuous minutes once a day. Frequent activity keeps artery walls more fit and flexible.
8 Avoid overuse of pain-relievers Cut back on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen. Studies show that these popular pain-relievers can raise your blood pressure if you take them frequently.
9 Go for garlic A daily dose of garlic - as powder, oil or extract - produces significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, according to a review of 11 separate studies by Australian researchers. In some people, the fall was as much as that seen by taking antihypertensive drugs. Generally the higher the blood pressure at the start, the greater the fall when taking garlic - so garlic reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.6mmHG on average, but in those with high blood pressure the reduction was an impressive 8.4mmHG.
10 Buy a home blood pressure monitor A study presented at a recent European Society of Hypertension conference found that people who checked their blood pressure at home had lower blood pressure readings than those whose only checks were at the doctor's surgery. Relying on your doctor's tests alone misses 9 percent of high blood pressure cases, another study has found. When you are shopping for a mointor, make sure the cuff is the right size (ask your doctor or pharmacist what size you need), be sure you can read the numbers on the monitor and hear the heartbeats if it uses a stethoscope; and take the monitor to your doctor's office to compare results with a professional model.
11Turn off your mobile phone - and forget about it When 20 British students were asked to talk about their mobile phones to researchers their systolic blood pressure jumped 8 points - a sign that a ringing phone in your pocket or bag is stressful. After the students gave up their phones for three days, the same exercise increased blood pressure by just 3 points. Silence, it seems, is healthy, says lead researcher David Sheffield, PhD, of Staffordshire University.
12 Rediscover (low-fat) milk Around the world, milk consumption is dropping as we sip more fizzy drinks and other sweetened soft drinks. But milk and other dairy products are important for blood pressure control because they contain calcium, which helps to regulate fluid levels in the bloodstream.
3 Other risk factors
Even if you keep tabs on blood pressure and cholesterol, new evidence reveals that little-known threats could still be setting you up for trouble. The more researchers investigate, the more it seems that a number of chemical markers in the body are linked with your risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet your doctor may never mention these hidden risks, underestimate the danger or not even know about them yet. But if they're aware of them, and of what you can do reduce multiple possible risk factors, you have a much better chance of staving off the potential consequences - and perhaps of saving your life.
The good news: taking control can be as easy as snacking on walnuts (instead of processed snacks) or taking a multivitamin every day.
risk 1
C-reactive protein
This chemical is made in the liver when part of your body is inflamed. Studies show that high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) can raise your risk of heart disease even in your cholesterol level is healthy. High CRP is a warning signal of plaque building up in the artery walls.
So what cause high levels of CRP? Mostly, low-grade infections in your body, such as gum disease, and other ongoing irritants that mean your immune system is constantly doing battle. This is the 'chronic inflammation' problem talked about more and more in health circles.
Because blood levels of CRP can be raised by a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, measuring them has limited value in predicting risk of heart disease. However, studies have
Check your pulse
Another heart problem increasingly common with age is atrial fibrillatioin (AF), a condition that
causes a fat, irregular heartbeat. Symptoms may include palpitations, dizzness, breathlessness or the chest pains of angina - or it may go undetected until your doctor takes your pulse.
AF affects about 1in 200 people aged 50-60 but 1 in 20 over 65 and almost 1 in 10 of those aged over 80 in the UK. It can be caused by other heart diseases, high blood pressure, various medical conditions or something as simple as drinking too much alcohol or coffee. Its danger lies in the fact that up to 15 percent of people with AF suffer ischaemic strokes each year - and often, they're severe.
The unsteady heartbeats of AF create turbulent blood flow within the heart that may allow blood to
pool and tiny clots to form. If these get taken in the bloodstream to the brain, they can cause a stroke. The risk of stroke in someone with AF is four to six times higher than normal.
Finding, and fixing, AF could cut your risk of a stroke by 60 percent. To check for an irregular heartbeat, find your pulse at your neck or wrist with the flat pad of your fingertip. Repeat the rhythm out loud: dum-dum-dum-dum. If what you get is more like dum-dum-da-dum or some other variation, report it to your doctor. You may need treatment with drugs or electrical stimulation (cardioversion) to regulate your heartbeat, and clot-preventing drugs such as aspirin or warfarin.
shown that lowering CRP slows the rate of progression of atherosclerosis - so it's well worth taking measures to keep your levels low. Here are three top ways to help to tame your CRP.
Brush, floss and rinse every day Even tiny pockets of gum disease increase inflammation levels throughout your body, raising the odds of a heart attack and even a stroke. Studies show that brushing carefully, flossing well, then rinsing with a gum-protecting mouthwash all help to protect your cardiovascular system.
Make all your sandwiches on wholegrain bread Research shows that getting 32g of fibre a day could slash CRP levels by half. You'll get there if you also choose high-fibre cereals, beans, lentils and wholegrain pasta.
Snack on a handful of walnuts instead of a chocolate bar Rich in fibre and 'good' omega-3 fatty acids, these nuts slash CRP levels .
risk 2
metabolic syndrome
As many as one in four people in the UK have a dangerous cluster of heart attack and stroke risk factors that doctors now dub the metabolic syndrome. It's also called insulin resistance, because a major feature is a combination of high blood sugar levels with high insulin levels.
Make all your sandwiches on wholegrain bread
Whereas normally insulin acts to increase the uptake of glucose by cells, so reducing levels in the blood, in this condition, the fat, muscle and liver cells fail to respond properly to insulin. The body pumps out more and more, is an attempt to reduce blood glucose levels, but they remain high - so a metabolic imbalance develops.
Metabolic syndrome also includes high blood pressure, out-of-balance blood fats, with increased levels of triglycerides and reduced HDL, and central obesity - the dangerous laying down of fat around the abdomen. All of these promote widespread inflammation and increase the tendency of the blood to clot - dramatically raising the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And if you don't deal with the features of metabolic syndrome, you're also at high risk of diabetes, liver and kidney disease, gallstones and other complications.
While a doctor may treat particular problems such as high blood pressure, blood fats or blood sugar, there is much you can do to lower your risk. Nearly every healthy eating and exercise tip in this discussion will help to reduce your chances of getting metabolic syndrome and prevent or delay its dire complications. And here are three steps that are guaranteed to help to make a difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment