High Blood Pressure (part 1)
Recently I was doing research on High Blood Pressure and was on the web. I thought the American Heart Association website was really good and thought I would pass on some of their information: According to recent estimates, nearly one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don't know they have it. In fact, many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. This is why high blood pressure is often called the "silent killer." The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against artery walls.
If this force is too strong for a long period of time, you have “high blood pressure.”
The medical term for high blood pressure is hypertension. Blood pressure measurements consist of 2 different numbers. One is called your “systolic” blood pressure. The other is your “diastolic” blood pressure. The first or top number is your systolic blood pressure. It is always the larger of the two numbers. It represents the pressure against your blood vessels when your heart is contracting (pumping out blood). The bottom or second number is your diastolic blood pressure. It is always the smaller of the two numbers. If either systolic or diastolic blood pressure (BP) is in the High or Very High range, you have high blood pressure.
The blood pressure categories are:
• Very High Range = Stage 2 Hypertension
Systolic blood pressure 160 mm Hg or higher OR diastolic blood pressure 100 mm Hg or higher
• High Range = Stage 1 Hypertension
Systolic blood pressure 140 - 159 mm Hg OR diastolic blood pressure 90 - 99 mm Hg
• Caution Range = Prehypertension
Systolic blood pressure 120 - 139 mm Hg OR diastolic blood pressure 80 - 89 mm Hg
• Normal Range = Normal
Systolic blood pressure below 120 mm Hg AND diastolic blood pressure below 80 mm Hg RECOMMENDATIONS
• Consider lifestyle changes
Blood pressure usually increases with age. You should consider making lifestyle changes now so your blood pressure stays as low as possible as you get older.
1. Know your blood pressure. Have it checked regularly. Know what your weight should be. Keep it at or below that level.
2. Don't use too much salt in cooking or at meals. Avoid salty foods.
3. Eat a diet low in saturated fat according to American Heart Association recommendations.
4. Control alcohol intake. Don't have more than one drink a day if you're a woman or two a day if you're a man.
5. Take your medicine exactly as prescribed. Don't run out of pills even for a single day.
6. Keep appointments with the doctor.
7. Follow your doctor's advice about physical activity.
8. Make certain your parents, brothers, sisters and children have their blood pressure checked regularly.
9. Check out their website for interactive tools. We will cover more ways to get off your blood pressure medications in the next newsletter. Get checked in our office today!
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Colic
I received this e-mail from a patient and thought it was good to pass along. It is from: parenting.iVillage website:
Almost all infants develop periods of fussiness. This is often referred to as colic. It has been defined as periods of irritability, fussiness and inconsolable crying in a healthy baby (that lasts for at least three hours a day, at least three days a week). But colic is actually a default diagnosis.
Pain from sources other than the gastrointestinal tract can be improperly diagnosed as colic. If a baby is crying inconsolably, it is very difficult to know if he is actually suffering from a digestive disturbance. Since many subluxations in infants are in the upper cervical area, there is a strong possibility, especially when there has been a history of birth trauma, that these babies are suffering from head and neck pain due to spinal subluxations in this area.In a study looking at babies receiving chiropractic care for colic, 94 percent of parents saw improvement in their baby's behavior within two weeks of initiation of care. A little over half of these babies had already been unsuccessfully treated, usually by pharmacological means (Klougart et al., 1989). Another study found 91 percent of babies experienced a reduction in colicky behavior following as little as two chiropractic adjustments (Nilsson, 1985). References:Killinger LZ; Azad, A. Chiropractic care of infantile colic: A case study J Clin Chiro Peds 1998; 3(1) :203-6 / Mantis ID: 39686 & Klougart N, Nilsson N, Jacobsen J, Infantile colic treated by chiropractors: a prospective study of 316 cases. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1989; 12(4):281-8 / Medline ID: 89361049 & Nilsson N; Infant Colic And Chiropractic. Eur J Chiropr 1985; 33(4): 264-265 / Mantis ID: 12365 & Pluhar GR; Schobert PD; Vertebral subluxation and colic: A case study. J Chiro Research and Clin Invest 1991; 7(3):75-6 / Mantis ID: 13429 & Talmage DM; Resnick D. Infantile colic: Identification and management. Top Clin Chiropr. 1997; 4(4): 25-9 / Mantis ID: 37795 & Van Loon M. Colic with projectile vomiting: A case study J Clin Chiro Peds 1998; 3(1) :207-10 / Mantis ID: 39687 & Wiberg JM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The short-term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: a randomized controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999;22(8):517-22 / UI: 20008926.
Since, I’ve been in practice I have found it takes from 1 to 5 adjustments if a baby is going to get relief. In my 12 years of practice 90% of the babies I’ve treated with colic have gotten better. Tell a friend about our office today.