Lowering Your Blood Pressure: The Options

Can The Warm Weather Affect Your Blood Pressure?

Summer is here and new information might be particularly useful for high blood pressure sufferers as the seasons change. A recent study has demonstrated the effect that warm weather has on blood pressure and the findings just may surprise you.

Weather Does Matter

The results were from a European study published by the American Heart Association. It appears that hot weather results in blood pressure decrease during the daytime, but an increase in the top number at nighttime.

If you suffer from high blood pressure, you might want to check with your doctor and investigate the effect that hot weather could have on your blood pressure. There are many factors to consider: age, gender, degree of high blood pressure, climate where you live, and how long you’ve suffered from high blood pressure.

It’s possible you might simply not need as much blood pressure medication during the summer months, but you will need to check with your doctor so he or she can make new recommendations.

If you use any natural remedies for high blood pressure in lieu of conventional treatments, you might want to make adjustments seasonally.

Keep an Eye on It

You should definitely observe how the climate affects your own blood pressure. Invest in a home blood pressure monitor, which can be purchased at your local pharmacy. Get into the habit of taking your blood pressure twice a day, once at noon and once prior to bedtime.

Record your blood pressure reading and the outdoor temperature on each day. After one month, evaluate the results and look for evidence that indicates how the temperature affects your reading. Discuss these results with your doctor.

Posted by Henry at 5:37 PM | Permalink

White Coat Hypertension Explained

White coat hypertension is a condition that not all medical professionals can agree on. Some physicians feel that white coat hypertension is a real and legitimate concern while others feel that you should try to monitor blood pressure in circumstances that mimic everyday life. Below you’ll learn more about white coat hypertension and what you can do about it.

What is White Coat Hypertension?

White coat hypertension explains the experience that some patients have when getting their blood pressure tested: high blood pressure at the doctor’s office (the place where doctors wear “white coats”) and normal blood pressure readings at home. It’s important to rule out the possibility of white coat hypertension before aggressively treating high blood pressure.

Some physicians firmly believe that getting blood pressure tested in the doctor’s office is an accurate indicator of blood pressure. However, other physicians disagree. If you are usually in a hurry to get to your doctor’s office or you tend to get nervous and uneasy at the doctor’s office, you are a likely candidate for white coat hypertension.

Digging Deeper

If you always have a high blood pressure reading at the doctor’s office but aren’t totally convinced you suffer from high blood pressure, then you might want to investigate the matter further.

You can purchase a home blood pressure monitor and take readings yourself. You can also request a blood pressure monitor that you would wear for a period of time that would automatically record your blood pressure at predetermined intervals throughout the day. The results can give you a better indication of whether or not you suffer from white coat hypertension.

Why Does It Matter?

If you really don’t have high blood pressure and just have white coat hypertension, you might start taking medicine that does more harm than good. Taking medication unnecessarily is never wise.

With certain high blood pressure readings, medication might be necessary and there won’t be time to record blood pressure readings over multiple days. It really depends on how high your blood pressure is.

Posted by Henry at 3:39 PM | Permalink

How Pets Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

Do you have a high-pressure profession that leaves you feeling stressed out and with high blood pressure at the end of a typical work day? You may need to add a pet to your household to bring that blood pressure down.

The Research Speaks for Itself

There have been several long term scientific studies to prove that pets could dramatically lower your blood pressure. A few years ago, researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo conducted a large study on pets and individuals who had high blood pressure.

The university studied 48 stockbrokers that were already taking Lycinprol for hypertension. A group of these stock brokers were provided a pet in addition to their Lycinprol medication. The other group represented the control group and continued to take their Lycinprol medication.

Six months later, the study simulated a high stress situation for entire group of stockbrokers. Those with pets at home only had their resting systolic (top number) blood pressure elevate from 120 to 126. The stock brokers without pets had an increase in blood pressure from 120 to 148.

Dogs AND Cats May Be Man’s Best Friend

The study showed no difference between dogs and cats when it comes blood pressure. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you may wan to add a pet into your home environment.

Having a pet is a big responsibility, but cats tend to be lower maintenance than dogs. If you can’t have either of these, try goldfish.

You might also want to find an employer that will allow you to take a pet to work. There are some companies who allow their employees to do this. Usually the companies that allow employees to bring their pets to work tend to be “young” cutting edge companies.

Even if you can’t find a company who allows you to bring along Fido, you (and your blood pressure) can still benefit from having a pet at home.

Posted by Henry at 10:28 AM | Permalink

The Correlation between Your Blood Pressure and Your Environment

Some scientific studies have attempted to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure and the environment. While there is definitely a genetic component to blood pressure, it's not yet clear how influential environmental factors are in contributing to high blood pressure.

Good News for Control Freaks

The relationship between blood pressure and environment is too important to ignore. After all, we can control our environments to a degree and it's important to focus on what we can control when it comes to high blood pressure factors. This should be good news to those who feel that developing high blood pressure is out of their control.

High Stress = High Blood Pressure

Not everyone will develop high blood pressure from being in a high-stress environment, but many people are susceptible to it. If you are sensitive to stress, it can take a physical toll on your body and high blood pressure may be the result. Because of this, you need to eliminate as much stress from your environment as possible.

What's Your Kitchen Look Like?

Is the only working appliance in your kitchen the microwave? Is your freezer filled with high-sodium frozen dinners and your cupboard chock full of chips and other junk food? If so, your environment is definitely playing a part in the development of high blood pressure.

No one denies the fact that diet plays an important part in cardiovascular health. If you're eating all the wrong foods, you're going to develop high blood pressure.

Make sure you stock heart-healthy foods in your kitchen. A few dietary supplements (such as fish oil pills) that contribute to cardiovascular health might also be a good idea if you are at a high risk of developing high blood pressure.

Remember, genetics may have quite a bit to do with high blood pressure, but lifestyle and environment can tip the deck. Make sure you do your part to keep your environment heart-healthy and keep your blood pressure at a good level.

Posted by Henry at 4:22 PM | Permalink