Medical News

At times you may feel very thirsty, nauseated, overheated and irritated. You may feel like you are about to faint. It gets difficult to walk or even to get out of the chair. The brain sends the signal to the heart to slow down, send blood to arms and legs and lower the blood pressure. This is when you feel heaviness in your legs. There are two types of low blood pressure.

1. Orthostatic intolerance - the systolic pressure (top) drops less than 20 and the diastolic pressure (bottom) drops by 10.
2. Orthostatic hypotension – the systolic pressure drops more than 20 and diastolic pressure drops around 10.

Mostly middle-aged women are prone to orthostatic intolerance. Aged people who are above 60 are prone to orthostatic hypotension.

Ways to Fight Low Blood Pressure

· Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. It helps to maintain a normal pressure of the blood.
· Salt – People avoid salt to maintain a normal blood pressure. But people suffering with low blood pressure can be liberal with quantity of salt uses in their food. Eat as much salt as you can tolerate as it increases blood pressure.
· Avoid going to over crowded areas as you may feel heaviness or dizziness.
· Have a sweet tooth – start your day with something sweet or some extra sugar in your tea/coffee. Have as many sweet dishes as you like unless you have diabetes. Sweets give you extra energy and immediately normalize the blood pressure.
· At home sit at a low chair such that your knees are at a higher level than your chest. This sends the blood towards heart thus increasing the pressure of the blood.
· Keep your feet on an elevated platform as gravity pull decreases blood pressure.
· Do not stay in a standing position for long. Keep moving your legs or shake them a bit.
· Always carry a chocolate with you. Whenever you feel a drop in your blood pressure or feel low, unwrap the chocolate and eat it as soon as possible. You would feel better with every bite.

Important – If your blood pressure drops too low at time then keep your family, friends, relatives and colleagues informed about your problem. Always keep a glucose sachet in your pocket, car, and office and let everyone know where it is kept. Tell them that they need to act immediately if such a situation rises and make a thick paste of glucose in a little water (around 3 sips) such that there is more glucose and less water.

Insert this paste in mouth by using a spoon till the time one regains consciousness. Do not close your eyes. Stay awake as you may go in an unconscious state, which can be very risky. Relax and when you feel better, have something to eat to regain some energy. Once you feel better do visit a doctor as soon as possible. People suffering from low blood pressure often have morning sickness.

They find it difficult to get up from bed. After a bath they feel heaviness in their legs. It takes a lot of effort to do any kind of work. In such a situation eat something sweet the first thing in the morning, take more sugar in your morning tea or coffee. This gives you a boost in your energy and helps you to overcome morning sickness.

Doctors, researchers, and medical professionals are not entirely sure what the link between stress levels and high blood pressure or hypertension is, but there certainly does seem to be a connection. Stress itself may even be a risk factor for heart disease. There are numerous possible reasons why stress increases blood pressure and medical professionals are still attempting to determine why stress and hypertension are linked.

One of the possible reasons for the link is that stress and anxiety seem to lead to more risky behaviors like smoking more or exercising less. Many researchers suspect that the link between stress and high blood pressure may be caused simply be the increase in risky behavior. This is one of several theories on the connection.

Another possible reason that there is a connection between high blood pressure and stress is stress hormones. When an individual is under prolonged stress the body will react to it physically as a way of trying to send a signal that something is wrong. The stress hormones that are release may be the cause of the increase in blood pressure.

Some physical signs of high stress levels are dizziness, aches and pains, grinding or tapping teeth, shaking, muscle tension, trouble sleeping, indigestion, and exhaustion. These are just a few of the possible affects that stress can have on the body. Some of the mental signs of symptoms are worry, restlessness, constant worry, loss of humor, lessened creativity, and less interest in things that were once of interest.

Stress comes in a variety of forms and from a variety of sources; for that reason, stress has widely varied affects. Researchers may not completely understand what causes the link between stress and hypertension, but they do recognize that there is a connection between the two. Stress and anxiety can have serious affects on wellness and even lead to a higher risk of heart disease.

The heart attack symptoms are the heart of the matter. Are you overly concerned about the possibility of a heart attack? We all know that it is a very serious lifestyle disease that could end a life in a matter of minutes.

When the attack actually takes place, one might feel feverish, nauseous, short of breath, sweat a lot, chest pain, and excessive tingling in the arms. Many victims-to-be act like they are in denial about their condition. They brush aside the signs that are telling them a full-blown heart attack is happening. Necrosis of a region of the heart muscle caused by an interruption in the supply of blood to the heart, usually as a result of occlusion of a coronary artery resulting from coronary artery disease. Heart disease remains the number one reason for death in both men and women. Because many women don’t even know that they have heart disease, it’s important to know the early warning signs and when it’s time to see your doctor.

For men the feeling of heaviness in the chest is often described. This can be felt by women, but only 30% of women who have heart attacks state they experienced any chest pain at all through this process. You can feel pain in the same area as you do when you have eaten something you shouldn’t have eaten. Don’t dismiss heartburn pain. Silent heart attack symptoms do not resemble the classic heart attack symptoms. A known cause of this condition is Silent Ischemia (Decreased blood supply to the heart muscle). Eat low sodium foods, reduce salt intake, avoid top salt. Check your blood pressure regularly. Take proper medication to control blood pressure.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Those mostly at risk for a silent heart attack are people who have had a previous heart attack. Also at risk are diabetics and those over the age of sixty-five and people prone to strokes. Stress and heart attacks are correlated. Interpersonal relationships and financial worries may cause stress leading to heart attacks. If someone’s skin suddenly goes an ashen color and their lips go blue, they will probably need your help anyway, but this can also be the symptoms of a heart attack, generally not on their own, but if they also feel faint and dizzy watch out.

Women do have different heart attack symptoms than men do, but heart disease is just as disabling and just as fatal to women as it is to men. Silent heart attacks can be identified by studying one’s medical history, testing the blood regularly for cardiac enzymes, and measuring one’s heart activity via electrocardiograms. Heart attacks may have the symptoms that you see in movies, but there are some that have no clear manifestations or very mild ones, but don’t let them cheat on you and don’t mistake them for indigestion or anxiety. A heart attack is nothing to mess around with. If you have any of these symptoms, even if you are not sure, especially if you are not sure, please have yourself checked out. With a heart attack, time is critical.

Health is the most important thing in life. Without health we can’t do anything. What is the use of a million dollars if you can’t run along the beach filling fresh air, or taking your dog for a walk, or just being able to get out of the bed in the morning and feel good. Not being able to do any of those things is a heartbreaking situation. So in order to be healthy we need to take care of ourselves, and there are a lot of things we need to do, from healthy food consumption, to regular workout and doctor checks to some other things that will benefit our health. But one of the most serious problems with health is that sometimes even if we do everything right we can’t make a difference, but sometimes we can. Many people don’t know that they have a blood pressure problem until it’s too late, so having a cardiac pressure monitoring device at home is a very useful thing. They don’t call blood pressure the silent killer for no reason.

So here are a few basic blood and cardiac pressure monitor devices for you to take care of your health.

Omron lA1B Pressure Monitor large cuff is an all-around blood and cardiac pressure monitor. I’m reviewing this item especially because it has personalized inflation. And that means that this monitoring device will take all your blood pressure changes in consideration and adjust to your pressure every time you take a measurement. And this item can also store measurements for two different users which includes everything from the reading to the time of that reading in particular. Special benefit of this pressure monitor device is that it comes with a lifelong warranty. So this is the top model for anybody that has pressure issues.

And here we have a good, solid blood and cardiac pressure monitor that is for those who want to measure their blood pressure even though they don’t have a problem with it. Of course this is not only for them anyone can use this item. Zewa automatic blood and cardiac pressure monitor is the easiest monitor to use, you just wrap it around your arm and press start, in just a few seconds you will have your blood pressure and your pulse on the big display. This is the basic type of blood pressure monitor that is mostly used by athletes; you can take it anywhere with you and it comes with a 5 year warranty.

So it’s not just blood pressure monitoring that is important, it’s also important to manage your blood and heart pressure. By managing your blood and heart pressure you will most likely avoid major complications caused by high or low pressure. Managing your blood and heart pressure consists of a healthy diet, regular exercises, and taking dietary supplements. With constant blood and cardiac pressure monitoring and blood pressure management you will certainly find out if your blood pressure is acting up before any damage and complications happen, so you will have the time to go to a doctor and get that taken care of.

Traumatic injuries cause damage to tissues. The incidental rupturing of ancillary and primary blood vessels supplying these tissues causes internal bleeding at the site of injury. The blood supplies normally bring nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and remove waste materials along with metabolic by-products from tissues. With damage though, the delicate piping systems of vessels burst at smaller capillary, arteriole, or venule vessels–or even in larger vessels causing heavy bleeding.

This bleeding is what causes swelling at the site of the person’s injury. The injury is enclosed within the skin, creating increased fluid and blood pressure inside the body at the injured site. When the trauma site fills and expands with bleeding, it tamponades the traumatic site. This may depress or cut off circulation. This occurs by increasing the site’s inner body pressure at or above the person’s normal blood pressure. This pressure is what naturally stops the bleeding at the site.

The heart pumps blood out to the tissues by way of the arteries. About 99% of all blood pumped out of the heart is returned by the venous return system. Being an enclosed plumbing system, the arterial pressure within the capillary bed drives the blood back to the heart by the pressure in the enclosed venous system. The generally low right-sided heart pressure allows naturally decreased pressures to direct blood from the venous systems back into the heart. This, in turn, allows the blood to be re-circulated and be pumped again and again back to the heart. The remainder of blood plasma is returned by the lymphatics.

In addition to the heart, artery, and venous systems, there is a passive lymphatic pipe system carrying the tissue fluids back to the heart. This lymphatic system acts as a cleaning sewage system allowing extra fluid to drain from the capillary beds and injured sites, via the venous system and then to the heart. Lymphatic vessels, like veins, have one-way valves which act as pumps. Passive pumps called lymph nodes are located behind joints or at sites of pressure from physical movement. They are much like a hose with a bulb and a valve attached to another hose. When the bulb is squeezed, the system pumps fluid in one direction only: towards the heart. When a joint is flexed and extended, the bulb is naturally compressed and it pumps moving fluids from the extremity towards the heart. This naturally removes blood, fluid, and potential infections fluid from the site of the injury. This reduces the on-site pressure after bleeding is stopped to allow new circulation and healing.

The elevation of a traumatic point is applied by measuring from the floor directly vertical to the heart, and then measure from the floor directly vertical to the site of injury. This means that the point of injury should be elevated approximately 12-16 inches higher than the position of the heart at any time and from any position, i.e. sitting in the chair with your foot on an ottoman if the foot is the site of injury, is not elevated. The distance to the floor from the foot must be less than the heart to the floor by 16″ or more. Laying flat on a couch with your foot up high on the back of the couch at the head level is elevation of a traumatic site, decreasing pain and removing the fluids for healing.

Preventions and Treatments for Internal Hemorrhoid

Hemorrhoid is a condition where veins in the anus are enlarged or inflamed and appear as hard lumps. It occurs due to increased pressure and strain on the rectal vein. When hemorrhoids occur inside the rectal region these are known as internal hemorrhoids while the external ones are visible around the rectum. Hemorrhoids are categorized depending on their symptoms and formation on the body.

The prominent causes of internal hemorrhoid includes prolonged constipation, eating disorderly foods containing low fibrous contents, staying longer sitting or still-standing. The sports like cycling also sometimes becomes the cause of hemorrhoids. In women, pregnancy is the most frequent cause for occurrence of hemorrhoids. When blood pressure in the area is increased due to certain diseases, it also causes hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids, be it internal hemorrhoids or external, cause annoyance.

While talking about preventions and treatments of hemorrhoids, it is also important to know about the symptoms of hemorrhoids. Symptoms of hemorrhoids include difficulty in passing bowl movement and blood stains with stool. Internal hemorrhoid, when over enlarged and appear hanging out from anus are mistakenly external hemorrhoids; but these are, in fact, prolapsed internal hemorrhoid. Swelling, itching and pain around anus and rectum especially at the time of defecation are other common symptoms of hemorrhoids. There are some other diseases like anal fistula, rectal cancer, peri-anal hematoma, anal fissures, and anal abscesses that have similar symptoms like that of hemorrhoids. Procedure of treatment of hemorrhoids vary depending on their condition.

To treat hemorrhoids, two pronged strategy is more suitable; one includes preventive measures while other includes treatment. The preventive part includes keeping hygienic conditions and avoiding scratching the anus, taking fiber rich diet such as vegetables, fruits, whole-meal bread besides consuming plenty of fluids and water, avoiding pressure during bowl movement, using soft toiler paper or cleansing the anal with warm bath. Taking hot baths in the area two to three times daily also helps a lot in overcoming the problem. As preventive measure, very spicy foods and alcohol should be avoided.

In mild condition of hemorrhoids, some preventive measures clubbed with analgesics, herbal remedies, some ointments and topical creams help overcome the problem. Many treatments exist that are very effective in curing an internal hemorrhoid. Usually blood circulation is cut off to the hemorrhoids by applying rubber band ligations with elastic bands and in a few days hemorrhoids are sloughed off with bowel movement. One of the most common non-surgical procedures that is followed in US includes Infrared Coagulation. Electric cauterization and, Laser, and sclerotherapy are some other methods of treatment of hemorrhoids.

Quite a number of persons walk the streets with hypertension but are never aware they have the problem. This is because sometimes the warning signs come up too lately. Sometimes too, people do not go to have their blood pressure checked in a health facility.

When an individual has hypertension, there are several signs and symptoms that would make him/her know or at least suspect that he/she may have become hypertensive. A combination of two or more of these signs should actually give the individual some concern and make him/her to want to see the doctor. Some of the signs include:

1. Headache: The individual who has hypertension begins to feel unusual headache on the back of of the head especially on waking up in the morning. This kind of headache is very discomforting.
2. Weakness: One of the signs of hypertension is weakness. So when you begin to feel unusually weak you should see the doctor.
3. Nervousness: Another sign of hypertension is nervousness. The individual experiences a state of mental and physical restlessness or unrest.
4. Dizziness: This is also one of the signs that accompany hypertension. It is a feeling of unsteadiness accompanied by tension or anxiety.
5. Ringing in the ears: One other thing that would make you suspect you may have hypertension is when you begin to experience a ringing, buzzing or roaring sound in your ears.
6. Loss of sleep: Hypertension can interfere with your sleep. Because of the involvement of the brain you may be unable to sleep at night when you have hypertension. This condition is known as insomnia.
7. Nose bleed: Bleeding from the nose otherwise known as epistaxis also accompanies hypertension. When the small vessels in the nose rupture as a result of their raised pressure, the individual bleeds from the nose.
8. Light-headed: A hypertensive also may feel lightness of the head.
9. Shortness of breath: The individual with hypertension may also experience some difficulty with breathing. The person feels as if his/her breathing is going to cease.
10. Chest pain: Chest pain especially on the left chest wall or around the shoulder or neck may be present. The pain is usually provoked by physical exertion as the heart muscles are deprived of sufficient blood and oxygen supply.
11. Fainting: The individual may also experience a fainting attack. In some cases there is a feeling of rotation of objects in the surrounding environment or within oneself.
12. Changes in vision: Hypertension is also accompanied by changes in vision. This includes poor vision, cloudy vision, or blindness. This occurs as a result of changes in the capillary blood vessels in the eyes.

NOTE: All these signs do not occur in just one person. However, one person may have several of these signs if adequate measure is not taken on time to detect and treat the condition

There are many people in the world today who are falling prey to high blood pressure. The chronic condition in which blood pressure is elevated is called hypertension. There are two types of hypertension and they are primary and secondary. The causes of primary hypertension have not yet been ascertained and there are a large number of people who suffer from this condition. Secondary hypertension indicates that the high blood pressure is the result of another condition that can be a kidney disease or the tumors of adrenal and pheochromocytoma. Those people who suffer from persistent hypertension are susceptible to strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, arterial aneurysm and are the major contributing factor to chronic renal failure.

According to a recent study that was conducted by the American Heart Association it was observed that around 90 to 95 per cent of hypertension cases have no causes in particular, however, there are factors that have contributed to high blood pressure. As one ages, the blood vessels in the body begin to constrict and this brings about a reduction in the volume of blood flow. This in turn results in an increased amount of pressure that is exerted by the blood so that it can pass through the narrowing blood vessels.

It had been also observed that people who have a darker skin tone are more prone to hypertension compared to people with a lighter skin tone. The researchers also observed that black people also have higher chances of developing other complications that are associated with hypertension like strokes and heart disease. The exact reason of the above fact has not yet been ascertained but medical statistics have shown these results. There are some genetic and hereditary factors that also lead in the etiology of hypertension. There are studies that have proved that it has the tendency to run in the family. Those with a family history of hypertension have the increased risk of developing the condition than those who do not. These heredity factors are responsible for the transmission of the condition from one generation to another.

Another contributing factor to the etiology of hypertension is smoking. This leads to increased blood pressure as the chemicals that are accumulated over the walls of the arteries and the blood vessels. Passive smokers also have the risk of getting hypertension and so it is advised to avoid smoking. There are also some other factors that contribute to the etiology of hypertension like deficiency of vitamin D, low potassium levels, excessive consumption of alcohol and stress.

Suffering from high blood pressure is an unfortunate condition that affects a vast majority of Americans. It could be attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle, with the addiction to processed and fast foods and a lack of exercise. This is a problem that exists throughout the world as well, and there are many more people that suffer from this condition already and don’t even know it.

Your doctor, to combat the symptoms that arise from either high or low blood pressure, will usually prescribe anti-hypertensive drugs. If you have never considered holistic blood pressure treatment, then it may be a good time to start, as there are many options you can choose from and they allow you to be in charge of your health.

Holistic treatments have proven to be some of the most effective available. They will provide effective relief, meaning regular medications and the nasty side effects can be reduced. It is a good idea to use traditional medicines and a holistic treatments at the same time. Discuss the issues you have with your doctor and explain to them the holistic methods you are wishing to try.

One of the most important factors with the potential to increase blood pressure is an unhealthy diet. Following a healthy diet will allow you to lose weight and control this problem at the same time.

Another holistic blood pressure treatment you could try is to consider the vegetarian food choices that are available. Evidence has revealed that people who are vegetarians have a much lower instance of this condition on average. Vegetarianism may not be the way to go for you, and if you think it is not, then simply increase fruit and vegetable intake each and every day. Through a sensible eating plan with a reduction in sodium intake, you should notice a significant change in your blood pressure readings.

As always, exercise is crucial.You should ensure you go for a walk each day for a minimum of half an hour; another option to try could be yoga or meditation. Massage can also be included in any holistic blood pressure treatment as there are many benefits from this in regards to your whole health as well. Improved sleep, relaxation, reduced anxiety and an improvement in concentration can also be gained through massage.

Have you given any thought to owning a pet? Studies have shown that pet owners have much less chance of suffering from this problem. In cases where blood pressure is high, a cuddle from your pet can lower the reading within a short time frame.

You may have heard of naturopathy. This technique reveals a great holistic treatment and the focus is on enabling your body to heal itself. You will be able to apply this method to every area of your life. Some of the technique variations may include the following: