The arm–leg (blood pressure) gradient is the difference between the blood pressure measured in the arms and that measured in the legs. It is normally less than 10 mmHg, but may be increased in e.g. coarctation of the aorta. Continue reading
Blood pressure is the amount of force (pressure) that blood exerts on the walls of the blood vessels as it passes through them. Two pressures are measured for a blood pressure reading:
Gestational hypertension or pregnancy induced hypertension is also a sign of eclampsia or hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. When you are pregnant and your blood pressure shoots up, it is not something that you could just dismiss. Pregnant women usually have lower than normal blood pressure because the demand for blood is increased. A woman’s blood supply has two routes to go to when she becomes pregnant—her own body and the developing fetus.
It is already a known fact that more and more people develop elevated blood pressure or hypertension at any given age already. This is a saddening condition that is faced by so many individuals, families, and institutions every single day.
Cigarette smoking can be really addictive and can become habit forming. Bad habits don’t change overnight. Quitting is a difficult task. The cold-turkey stage can be a tremendous nightmare. Many substance abusers often go back to zero. We all know that cigarette smoking is one of the many causes of death due to cardiac diseases, pulmonary diseases and several cancers. Cigarette smoking predisposes a person to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Hypertension, heart attacks and strokes are results of unhealthy lifestyles. Cessation of tobacco smoking results in a lower rate of cardiac events. A positive attitude is most likely needed in order to achieve good outcomes in quitting. Participating in an educational class, support group, or behavioral program can gradually change your habits and outlooks in life and health. Continue reading
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) is when your blood pressure is being measured as you move around, living your normal daily life. It is normally carried over 24 hours. It uses a small digital blood pressure machine that is attached to a belt around your body and which is connected to a cuff around your upper arm. It small enough that you can go about your normal daily life and even sleep with it on. Out-of-office measurements are highly recommended as an adjunct to office measurements by almost all hypertension organizations. Continue reading
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects about one in three U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and 25 percent of American adults have prehypertension. Although you can soon be one of the millions of people who must rely upon the daily use of medications to keep their blood pressure under control, I always believed that it is better to be proactive and try to prevent the need for expensive drugs that come with a list of side-effects of their own. Here are 8 tips you can use as preventative measures against high blood pressure. Or, if you already suffer from it, incorporate them and work with your doctor to reduce the medications you need! Continue reading
A heart attack, along with the many cardiovascular diseases, is one of the leading causes of death. The chest pain associated with a heart attack is due to myocardial ischemia, also known as the interrupted blood supply to the part of the heart. This interruption of blood supply causes the tissues of the heart to die, thus an injury. This takes place more commonly on the coronary arteries that supplies the heart with oxygenated blood. Without oxygen supply to the heart, an attack occurs. Continue reading
The symptoms of angina or chest pain can be very alarming to alarming and may cause people to panic. Rather than just plain panicking, a little bit of knowledge and careful assessment is needed to be able to receive appropriate treatment. Any chest pain should be addressed and should not be neglected. Continue reading
In February of this year, First Lady Michelle Obama presented her ambitious Let’s Move campaign to battle the terrifying childhood obesity epidemic. Lady Obama was inspired not only from her family and children’s lifestyle, but also by some startling obesity statistics that have been gathered by medical researchers over the past thirty years. A child is considered obese if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is 30 or higher, and this BMI level in anyone, especially children has the potential to cause very severe health issues. Continue reading