THE RISKS AND CAUSES OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

by healtharticles.org

When the heart pumps blood into the arteries, the blood flows with a force pushing against the walls of the arteries. This force is called the blood pressure. When your blood pressure is measured, it is a measure of how hard the heart has to work to pump the blood.

When the arteries become hardened and narrowed with cholesterol plaque and calcium (atherosclerosis), the heart has to strain much harder to pump blood through them. This makes the blood pressure go abnormally high. High blood pressure is also called hypertension.

What makes high blood pressure important is that it usually causes no symptoms but can still cause serious complications.

Many people have high blood pressure and don't even know it.

The complications of high blood pressure include heart disease, heart attack, kidney failure, vision loss, and stroke.

Public awareness of these dangers has increased. High blood pressure has become the second most common reason for medical visits in the United States.

Blood pressure is measured with a Blood Pressure Monitor and recorded as 2 numbers, such as 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury).

The top, larger number is called the systolic pressure. This is the pressure generated when the heart contracts (pumps). It reflects the pressure of the blood against arterial walls.

The bottom, smaller number is called the diastolic pressure. This reflects the pressure in the arteries while the heart is filling and resting between heartbeats.

Scientists have determined a normal range for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after examining the blood pressure of many people.

Those whose blood pressure is consistently higher than this norm are said to have high blood pressure or hypertension.

High blood pressure in adults is defined as a consistently elevated blood pressure of 140 mm Hg systolic and 90 mm Hg diastolic or higher.

As many as 60 million Americans have high blood pressure.

That's about 1 in 4 adults aged 18 years and older.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure is indirectly responsible for many deaths and disability resulting from heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.

According to research studies, the risk of dying of a heart attack is directly linked to blood pressure. The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk.

The progress of heart disease caused by high blood pressure can be slowed down, however.

High Blood Pressure Causes

In about 10% of people, high blood pressure occurs as a symptom of another disease (this is called secondary hypertension). In such cases, when the root cause is treated, blood pressure usually returns to normal. These causes include the following conditions:

-Tumors or other diseases of the adrenal gland
-Chronic kidney disease
-Hormone abnormalities involving the adrenal glands or pituitary gland
-Pregnancy
-Use of birth control pills
-Alcohol addiction

Coarctation of the aorta - A narrowing of the aorta that you are born with that can cause high blood pressure in your arms
Thyroid dysfunction

In the other 90% of cases, the cause of high blood pressure is not known (primary hypertension). Although the specific cause is unknown, certain factors are recognized as contributing to high blood pressure.

Factors That Can't be Changed

Age: The older you get, the greater the likelihood that you will develop high blood pressure. This is largely due to atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries."

Race: African Americans have high blood pressure more often than whites. They develop high blood pressure at a relatively younger age. Their high blood pressure and complications tend to be more severe as well.

Socioeconomic status: High blood pressure is also more common among the less educated and among lower socioeconomic groups. Residents of the southeastern United States, both whites and blacks, are more likely to have high blood pressure than Americans from other regions.

Family history (heredity): The tendency to have high blood pressure appears to run in families.

Sex: Generally, men have a greater likelihood of developing high blood pressure than women. This likelihood varies according to age and among various ethnic groups.

Factors that can be changed

Overweight (obesity): Obesity is defined as being 30% or more over your healthy body weight. It is very closely related to high blood pressure. Medical professionals strongly recommend that all obese people with high blood pressure lose weight until they are within 15% of their healthy body weight. Your health care provider can help you calculate your healthy range of body weight.

Sodium (salt) sensitivity: Some people have high sensitivity to sodium (salt), and their blood pressure goes up if they use salt. Reducing sodium intake tends to lower their blood pressure. Americans consume 10-15 times more sodium than they need. Fast foods and processed foods contain particularly high amounts of sodium. Many over-the-counter medicines, such as painkillers, also contain large amounts of sodium. Read labels to find out how much sodium is contained in food items. Avoid those with high sodium levels.

Alcohol use: Drinking more than 1 ounce of alcohol per day tends to raise blood pressure in those who are sensitive to alcohol.

Birth control pills (oral contraceptive use): Some women who take birth control pills develop high blood pressure.

Lack of exercise (physical inactivity): A sedentary lifestyle contributes to the development of obesity and sometimes high blood pressure.

Drugs:

Certain drugs, such as amphetamines (stimulants), diet pills, and some pills used for cold and allergy symptoms, tend to raise blood pressure.

As body weight increases, the blood pressure rises.

Obese people are 2-6 times more likely to develop high blood pressure than people whose weight is within a healthy range.

Not only the degree of obesity is important, but also the manner in which the body accumulates extra fat. Some people gain weight around their belly (central obesity or "apple-shaped" people), while others store fat around their hips and thighs ("pear-shaped" people). "Apple-shaped" people tend to have greater health risks than "pear-shaped" people.

Eating Habits Can Make You Happier

Many people seeking help for mental health issues look first to chemical intervention in the form of a medication. There is another chemical intervention which you can utilize yourself - your diet. Having a healthy diet is crucial when trying to fight for your mental health, especially where mood disorders are concerned. How can dietary changes affect depression, anxiety and mood swings?

by intent.com & shine

Good mental health is about maintaining balance, in your thoughts, in your actions and especially in your emotions. When addressing nutrition for mental health it is important to understand how food nourishes and fuels your body as well as the part it plays in providing your body with necessary nutrients for maintaining that balance that it is important for peace of mind.


1. Complex Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy. Your body will burn carbohydrates first before turning to protein or fats. A lack of energy sources in the body will result in the body shutting down and altering activity levels. People who are chronically tired often feel sad and hopeless as a result. To keep your emotions on an even keel it is important to have a slow steady stream of carbohydrates broken down and made available in the bloodstream for energy.

People struggling with depression and/or mood swings often rely heavily on simple carbohydrates (sugars) rather than complex carbohydrates (starches). Simple carbohydrates (candies, table sugar, honey, sodas, fruits, milk products) break down quickly in the bloodstream and hit it with a bang that provides immediate energy. This is why they are preferred by people with depression. However, what goes up must come down, usually with the same speed and intensity. The surge of energy is followed by a crash when the sugar is quickly burned up. This crash exacerbates depression, fatigue, impaired concentration and memory and irritability. However, all simple carbohydrates are not equal. There is a difference between the simplest carbohydrates like table sugar, sodas and candies which are referred to as "empty calories" because they provide so much glucose, an easily broken down form of sugar, and no nutritional value. Compare these with fruits and milk products whose sugars (fructose and galactose respectively) are somewhat harder to break down, enter the bloodstream a bit more gradually and have a somewhat milder crash and provide significant nutrition such as vitamin C and calcium. If you are craving something sweet have an apple or orange rather than a candy bar.

Complex carbohydrates (whole grains, starchy vegetables and beans) are even harder for the body to metabolize and provide and slow, constant stream of fuel for the body's energy demands. This avoids the peaks and crashes of the simple carbohydrates. Whole grains also provide lots of B vitamins which calm and stabilize the mood and help your body metabolize carbohydrates for increased energy.

2. Proteins

It is important to eat high quality proteins like chicken, fish, turkey, soy, dairy products and beans. (I am a very big fan of beans. They are usually high in protein, low in fat and high in fiber.) Proteins are made of amino acids. Your body uses amino acids to make neurotransmitters in the brain. These chemicals (like serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and GABA) are the chemicals which antidepressants and anxiolytics (anti-anxiety medications) seek to increase to improve your mood and calm you. Chicken and turkey are also high in tryptophan, which the body also uses to make serotonin, one of the primary neurotransmitters for lifting and calming the mood. Running short on these neurotransmitters results in depression, irritability, difficulty thinking and remembering, insomnia, fatigue and anxiety. Having sufficient stores of these neurotransmitters available to the brain helps it regulate emotions and thinking. Providing your body with the necessary ingredients to manufacture these neurotransmitters is vital for improving your mental health and keeping things in balance.


3. Fats

The benefits of a low fat diet for fighting weight gain and heart disease have been highly touted. However, many don't realize that limiting your fat intake too severely of healthy fats can result in serious mood changes, irritability and aggression. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish have been found to help stabilize mood swings and decrease stress. "Good fats" burn clean in the bloodstream compared to "bad fats" which clog the arteries and narrow the blood vessels. Good fats include olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocadoes and fish. Exchange that fried chicken for a grilled salmon. Replace a mayonnaise dressing with an olive oil and vinegar splash.


4. Caffeine

It's always amazing to me to find people struggling with serious anxiety problems who are still drinking a significant amount of caffeine everyday. Since I don't drink caffeine on a regular basis I have no tolerance for it and it literally makes me shake when I do drink it. I can't imagine throwing that in on top of an anxiety problem. If anxiety is the problem, I would eliminate caffeine all together and see if it helps.

For people with mood disorders, caffeine provides a serious rush of energy, but like simple carbohydrates (sugars) you crash when it wears off. This peak and crash pattern is not good for people trying to stabilize mood swings and the crash will exacerbate depressive symptoms.

Exercises for Weight Loss

Weight loss exercises to lose Weight Naturally
by medsavailable

1. Brisk Walking/Tranquil Stroll :
Walking is the easiest and best way to kick start your weight loss program. A brisk, 45 minute walk, in the morning is beneficiary. A sigh of relief in a fresh ‘air’ do wonders in reducing up the 'Weight` but is a slow and gradual exercise that demands time in particular. In order to see `Visible` results one has to keep patience to let this exercise do its work for your stomach weight. A frequent result can only be achieved if one is punctual enough to leave home every day early in the morning. Sudden results our non-beneficiary for such form of work-out? Your metabolism start kicking off once again as soon as there is a daily rhythm of the number of steps one walks (takes a `Sprint) or might `Jog` around because it has been proven that `Jogging` is 100 times better than just having a `Sprint` for a while, it could be beneficial if the time or the length of the route can be increased because the more you walk for a longer distance the better will be the digestive system with reduced weight due to burning of `Calories` in abundance.

2. Aerobics:
Aerobics involve the `Dancing` of the human body on a `Music`! The voluntary and involuntary movements of the human body defines the `Perfection` and the elasticity with subtleness to reduce `Weight` in a form of burn-out exercises for longer hours with less `Food intake` before different preparation procedures. It is a great way to unwind and burn those extra calories. The two main types of aerobics are `hard impact aerobics` and `low impact aerobics`. To reduce `Weight` instantly through such procedure `One` has to exercise rigorously till `One` gets completely exhausted and starts perspiring a lot. There are indeed! Different `Mediums` for different demands and wants of people to reduce `Weight`! `Women` as such must do `Light Impact Aerobics` whereas `Men` can exercise rigorously to achieve the specific target of `Weight Loss`! Special Aerobic schools/institutions are been run for various categories available in-hand.

3. Swimming :
To reduce `Weight` through ‘swimming’ is a recreational or refreshment criteria as some are ‘professionals` of swimming with extreme firm belly with six packs abdominals whereas others take it as fun to visit a swimming pool or to swim in near by `Beaches or seas, oceans,` etc. Try to stretch the body with every organ stretched to its limit as in swimming there isn’t a specific portion i.e. left unfocused by one but is stretched and focused as far as possible to remain inside the ‘water’ for a longer span of time. Doing just a few laps of the pool will give a whole body workout and burn those extra calories. Hit the water surface for 30 minutes continuously and keep an eagle eye on what you eat immediately after having a `Swim`?

4. Gymnasium with Hot Spa :
A good gym routine consists of cardio vascular exercise, strength training and flexibility training in order to tone the body. Work-outs at gymnasium requires step-by-step tricks and techniques through the exerciser by the `Instructor`/personal trainer to instruct you systematic arrangement of exercise needed for reducing extra weight of the body. Chain pulling; push-ups; chilling; light weight aerobic gymnasium, weight-lifting, etc are the number of exercises that relates to gymnasium and `Hot Spa` helps burn calories or bulges coming out from the stomach area in a hot bating room available. A `Treadmill` is the most important tool for any exerciser to run over and over again after certain gaps from other related exercises and decrease the `Laziness or drowsiness` from the body very easily. Please! Follow the diet chart.

5. Playing Sports :
‘Sport’ requires physical activity as well as mental stability to burn out that extra weight from your body because there are different variations in playing different sort of `Sports` people fancy the most and these variations define the stability of continuing a specific sport for a specific personality for ex: Cricket requires running in excess; Playing squash in a room; Kab-badi, river-rafting; badminton; Lawn and Table Tennis, etc. are some of those examples that help reduce the `Obesity` with remarkable results in-hand. They are rather defined as `Outdoor and Indoor` games availability.