HEALING US, HEALTH CONDITIONS A-Z, High Blood Pressure/ Hypertension

VARIABLE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE INCREASES RISK OF STROKES

No Comments 07 April 2011

VARIABLE HIGH BLOOD

PRESSURE AND STROKE RISK

The research is from an article by Dr. Gabe Mirkin in his Fitness and Health E-Zine: March 21, 2010

Four studies in the British medical journals, Lancet and Lancet Neurology (March 10, 2010), show that people whose blood pressures go up and down are up to six times more likely to suffer strokes than those who have more stable high blood pressures. The greater the variability in blood pressure, the higher the risk. This is astounding because doctors usually reassure people with intermittent high blood pressure and often do not treat them.

High blood pressure is a powerful risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.
Lifestyle changes lower high blood pressure to markedly reduce these risks.
Blood pressures that vary over time markedly increase risk for stroke.

91 % of Americans will have high blood pressure during their lifetime!

While cancer and cardiovascular ailments top the list of causes for death, high blood pressure probably tops the list of serious chronic ills that trigger a visit to a doctor.

Lifestyle changes for high and variable blood pressure

High blood pressure can be reversed and eliminated, not just controlled, with significant lifestyle changes:

Add lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts to the diet
Reduce meat, dairy and refined sugar and carbohydrate intake
Exercise regularly
Begin a weight loss program if overweight
Reduce of salt intake
Avoid of tobacco smoke and alcohol

What you should do

Buy a blood pressure cuff - Check your blood pressure each night before you go to bed. If your systolic blood pressure is above 120, you have high blood pressure and are at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes. If your systolic blood pressure varies from 120 to 135 or higher, you are at greater risk for a stroke. The greater the variance, the greater the risk
Make the above lifestyle changes.
Slowly reduce the taking of drugs – A meta-analysis of 389 randomized trials involving different classes of anti-hypertensive medications found that calcium channel blockers were the only ones likely to protect against blood pressure variability, but ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and angiotensin receptor antagonists tended to cause wide swings in blood pressure.

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COMMENT - A problem with calcium channel blockers is that they are weak blood-pressure-lowerers so they almost always have to be given in combination with toxic drugs to become effective. We recommend slowly winding down drug usage (radical changes can be harmful or dangerous) and as you apply more of the natural approach. If you have a serious condition, be sure you make changes under the guidance of a health professional. See our article on supreme heart health for more detailed suggestions.

Diet and Nutrition, High Blood Pressure/ Hypertension, Juicing

Study Shows Blood-Pressure-Lowering Benefits Of Of Raw Beet Juice

No Comments 01 August 2010

Source: As reported by AliveRaw.com with the original study posted at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20585108

A new study published in the American Heart Association’s Hypertension journal concludes that drinking a small amount of fresh, raw beet juice not only lowers high blood pressure quickly and effectively but could also be a natural approach to reducing future cardiovascular problems.The research was conducted by scientists at London’s Queen Mary University on red beets, called beetroot in Britain. Beets have drawn attention from nutritional scientists in recent years because of their health benefits. Specifically, beets have been found to be rich in betaine, a nutrient which reduces the blood concentration of homocycsteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease and stroke.

In an earlier study conducted two years ago, the same Queen Mary University research team first observed that drinking beet juice lowered blood pressure in test subjects within 24 hours and proved equally as effective as a control group taking nitrate tablets to treat hypertension. The team’s recent study explains why.

During a press conference, study author Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Biology at Queen Mary’s William Harvey Research Institute, said the research team proved the organic form of nitrate found in beet juice is the source of the vegetable’s blood pressure lowering benefits. They showed beet nitrate increased levels of nitric oxide in the circulation. Nitric oxide acts as a biological messenger in the body. Among its functions is to increase blood flow, leading to a lower blood pressure.

Professor Ahluwalia added: “We gave inorganic nitrate capsules or beetroot juice to healthy volunteers and compared their blood pressure responses and the biochemical changes occurring in the circulation. We showed that beetroot and nitrate capsules are equally effective in lowering blood pressure indicating that it is the nitrate content of beetroot juice that underlies its potential to reduce blood pressure. We also found that only a small amount of juice is needed –just 250 ml – to have this effect, and that the higher the blood pressure at the start of the study the greater the decrease caused by the nitrate.”

Professor Ahluwalia also noted that the research is good news for people suffering from high blood pressure who want to use a natural approach to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

IMPORTANT TIP: As the Professor noted, a little beet juice goes a long way so do not overdo it. Also, beet juice should always be mixed with other vegetables because pure beet juice can cause hives and other side effects.