More on High Blood Pressure

Definition

Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure.
Blood pressure readings are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and usually given as two numbers. For example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mmHg).

• The top number is your systolic pressure, the pressure created when your heart beats. It is considered high if it is consistently over 140.
• The bottom number is your diastolic pressure, the pressure inside blood vessels when the heart is at rest. It is considered high if it is consistently over 90.

Either or both of these numbers may be too high.
Pre-hypertension is when your systolic blood pressure is between 120 and 139 or your diastolic blood pressure is between 80 and 89 on multiple readings. If you have pre-hypertension, you are more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Symptoms

Most of the time, there are no symptoms. Symptoms that may occur include:

• Chest pain
• Confusion
• Ear noise or buzzing
• Irregular heartbeat
• Nosebleed
• Tiredness
• Vision changes

If you have a severe headache or any of the symptoms above, see your doctor right away. These may be signs of a complication or dangerously high blood pressure called malignant hypertension.

Causes & Risk Factors

Blood pressure measurements are the result of the force of the blood produced by the heart and the size and condition of the arteries.

Many factors can affect blood pressure, including:

• How much water and salt you have in your body
• The condition of your kidneys, nervous system, or blood vessels
• The levels of different body hormones

High blood pressure can affect all types of people. You have a higher risk of high blood pressure if you have a family history of the disease. High blood pressure is more common in African Americans than Caucasians. Smoking, obesity, and diabetes are all risk factors for hypertension.
Most of the time, no cause is identified. This is called essential hypertension.
High blood pressure that results from a specific condition, habit, or medication is called secondary hypertension. Too much salt in your diet can lead to high blood pressure. Secondary hypertension may also be due to:

• Adrenal gland tumor
• Alcohol abuse
• Anxiety and stress
• Arteriosclerosis
• Birth control pills
• Coarctation of the aorta
• Cocaine use
• Cushing syndrome
• Diabetes
• Kidney disease, including:
  • Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of kidneys)
  • Kidney failure
  • Renal artery stenosis
  • Renal vascular obstruction or narrowing
• Medications
  • Appetite suppressants
  • Certain cold medications
  • Corticosteroids
  • Migraine medications
• Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
• Henoch-Schonlein purpura
• Obesity
• Pain
• Periarteritis nodosa
• Pheochromocytoma
• Pregnancy (called gestational hypertension)
• Primary hyperaldosteronism
• Renal artery stenosis
• Retroperitoneal fibrosis
• Wilms' tumor

Tests & Diagnostics

Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and check your blood pressure. If the measurement is high, your doctor may think you have high blood pressure. The measurements need to be repeated over time, so that the diagnosis can be confirmed.
If you monitor your blood pressure at home, you may be asked the following questions:

• What was your most recent blood pressure reading?
• What was the previous blood pressure reading?
• What is the average systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) reading?
• Has your blood pressure increased recently?

Other tests may be done to look for blood in the urine or heart failure. Your doctor will look for signs of complications to your heart, kidneys, eyes, and other organs in your body.
These tests may include:

• Chem-20
• Echocardiogram
• Urinalysis
• Ultrasound of the kidneys

Treatments

The goal of treatment is to reduce blood pressure so that you have a lower risk of complications.
There are many different medicines that can be used to treat high blood pressure, including:

• Alpha blockers
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
• Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)
• Beta-blockers
• Calcium channel blockers
• Central alpha agonists
• Diuretics
• Renin inhibitors, including aliskiren (Tekturna)
• Vasodilators

Your doctor may also tell you to exercise, lose weight, and follow a healthier diet. If you have pre-hypertension, your doctor will recommend the same lifestyle changes to bring your blood pressure down to a normal range.
Often, a single blood pressure drug may not be enough to control your blood pressure, and you may need to take two or more drugs. It is very important that you take the medications prescribed to you. If you have side effects, your health care provider can substitute a different medication.

 

Complications

• Aortic dissection
• Blood vessel damage (arteriosclerosis)
• Brain damage
• Congestive heart failure
• Kidney damage
• Kidney failure
• Heart attack
• Hypertensive heart disease
• Stroke
• Vision loss

Prevention

Adults over 18 should have their blood pressure checked routinely.
Lifestyle changes may help control your blood pressure:

• Lose weight if you are overweight. Excess weight adds to strain on the heart. In some cases, weight loss may be the only treatment needed.
• Exercise regularly. If possible, exercise for 30 minutes on most days.
• Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products while reducing total and saturated fat intake (the DASH diet is one way of achieving this kind of dietary plan). (See: Heart disease and diet)
• Avoid smoking. (See: Nicotine withdrawal)
• If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar under control.
• Do not consume more than 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks per day.
• Try to manage your stress.

Follow your health care provider's recommendations to modify, treat, or control possible causes of secondary hypertension.

Strange Fruit Burns Average 12.3 Pounds of Fat Every 28 Days

Move over Weight Watchers — an exotic new superfruit called 'African Mango' has quickly become the hottest new way to lose weight.

After one of America's most popular medical doctors and daytime TV talk show hosts called African Mango (mentioning no specific brand) a "miracle in your medicine cabinet that can help you lose 10 pounds," sales of the supplement have skyrocketed, making it now one of the most popular weight-loss product in America today. 

Internet searches reveal countless blog postings and Facebook messages, calling African Mango, "The hottest new way to lose weight" and "a weight loss supplement without side effects."

 

 

Study: Reduces 12.3 Pounds of Body Fat Every 28 Days 

 

Beyond the success stories on social networking sites, new clinical research shows African Mango may indeed be the real deal when it comes to causing fast weight loss. 

 

According to a recent study published in the scientific journal Lipids in Health and Disease, African Mango extract helped men and women lose an average of 12.3 pounds of body fat in just 28 days without diet or exercise. 

 

What's more, those taking African Mango lost an average of over 2 inches of dangerous belly — and their bad LDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels plummeted. 

 

 

Test subjects taking African Mango lost an average of 2 inches of dangerous belly fat in 28 days without diet or exercise.

 

What Is African Mango, and How Does It Work? 

 

Despite the recent frenzy surrounding African Mango and its weight-loss benefits, the fruit has actually been used as a diet aid for centuries in Cameroon, Africam — the only place in the world where African Mango is grown. 

 

The brightly-colored tropical fruit is found exclusively in Cameroon's west-coastal rainforests. African mango, or bush mango, differs from other mango fruits in that it produces a peculiar seed, which natives of Cameroon refer to as "Dikka nuts." 

 

For hundreds of years, an extract from the seeds called irvingia gabonensis have been used among Cameroon villagers for its wide-ranging medicinal benefits, which range from reducing and preventing obesity to lowering cholestrol to regulating blood sugar to treating infections. 

 

Recommended by Leading Doctors for Safe Weight Loss 

 

While a popular weight-loss treatment in Africa, African Mango only recently became popular in America when on September 13, 2010, the slimming super fruit was featured on one of America's most popular TV shows.

 

On the show, the host, who is also one of America's preeminent medical doctors, called African Mango a "breakthrough supplement" and "a miracle in your medicine cabinet which can help you lose 10 pounds." 

 

Other leading doctors have similar high praise for African Mango. Dr. Judith Ngondi, a physician and professor of biochemistry at Cameroon's University of Yaounde, calls African Mango a highly effective natural alternative for reducing bodyfat and improving overall health. 

 

"Studies have shown supplementation [with African Mango extract] signficiantly reduced bodyweight, total blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides," says Dr. Ngondi. "Its use should be further encouraged for the purposes of control of dietary lipids as well as for weight reduction." 

 

 

Keeping Cool in the Heat

SATURDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- As summer approaches and temperatures rise, so does the risk of heat-related illnesses, experts say.

"We are not invincible when it comes to exercise in the heat," said Brendon McDermott, an athletic trainer with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and member of the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) Medical and Science Advisory Board, in a news release from the National Athletic Trainers Association. "In extreme cases, if medical care is not provided in a timely manner, long-term damage and sometimes death can occur."
Among the most common heat-related illnesses:

• Exertional heat stroke, a serious and potentially fatal illness that can occur when core body temperature tops 104-105F. Symptoms include seizures and confusion, nausea, vomiting, headache and dizziness. Get immediate medical attention if heat stroke is suspected.
• Heat exhaustion, which is less serious than heat stroke but still something to take seriously. This results from the loss of fluid or sodium. Symptoms include loss of coordination, dizziness or fainting, headache, nausea and persistent muscle cramps. A person with heat exhaustion should be quickly moved to a cool, shady place. They should also rest with their feet elevated and drink plenty of water.
• Heat cramps, characterized by intense pain and persistent muscle contractions that continue during and after exercise. Heat cramps are treated by drinking water, resting, stretching and eating foods high in sodium.

To prevent and treat these illnesses before they become serious or fatal, KSI and the National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends that people who are going to exert themselves in the heat:

• Allow time for heat acclimatization. Increases in the duration or intensity of physical activity should be gradual. This process can take up to 14 days to complete.
• Take breaks. Be sure to include adequate rest between exercise regimens.
• Hydrate. Drink plenty of water or sports drinks before, during and after outdoor activities. Urine that is darker in color is a key warning sign of dehydration.
• Time it right. Whenever possible, exercise during the early morning or late evening when the temperatures are cooler.
• Know when to quit. Fever or other pre-existing illnesses can make a person more susceptible to heat related conditions.

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Is Skim Milk Making You Fat?

You probably spend all of one second deciding what kind of milk to put in your coffee. What's to debate? If you want to keep the pounds off and avoid heart disease, choose skim. This is gospel, after all: It's recommended by the USDA and has so permeated our thinking that you can't even find reduced-fat (2%) milk at places like Subway—and forget about whole.

But is it true? Let's start with the question of what's fattening. Whole milk contains more calories and, obviously, more fat. A cup has 146 calories and almost 8 grams of fat, reduced-fat (2%) has 122 calories and almost 5 grams of fat, low-fat (1%) has 103 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, and nonfat (skim) has 83 calories and virtually no fat.

But when it comes to losing weight, restricting calories has a poor track record. Evidence gleaned from numerous scientific studies says that if you starve yourself for lunch, you typically compensate at dinner. And according to a 2007 report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, telling overweight and obese patients to cut calories led to only "transient" weight loss—it didn't stay off.

The same goes for cutting saturated fat. In 2003, the Cochrane Collaboration, a respected source for unbiased reviews of research, compared low-fat diets with low-calorie diets and found that "fat-restricted diets are no better than calorie-restricted diets in achieving long-term weight loss." As Walt Willet of the Harvard School of Public Health wrote in the American Journal of Medicine, "Diets high in fat do not appear to be the primary cause of the high prevalence of excess body fat in our society, and reductions in fat will not be a solution."

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4G Voice Plan offer prizes worth RM 36000 + iPad

Get your gears ready and be really furious about your activation!

Why? Because The Furious Voice is here and we have the best prizes up for grabs!

How? Be a P1 4G subsriber and activate P10, P30 or P50 Voice plan.

What? Oh, prizes you mean?? P1 is giving away iPad, Panasonic dect phone and more!

Now click for details and be the proud owner of those prizes!!

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SUNSILK offer prizes worth RM35,000

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Be a Sunsilk Perfectionista & win prizes worth RM35,000!

Model in a designer dress, get a perfect hair makeover and be featured in a fashion magazine! And while you’re at it, you’ll get to discover more about getting on the journey to perfection! Be a Sunsilk Perfectonista NOW!

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Hair Treatment

MAD Deal of the Day: RM68 instead of RM341 for Hair Color + Treatment + Cut + Wash + Blow at Stage, Kota Damansara.

Need a fresh look? Refresh your hair by going for a hair treatment, wash, cut and then coloured! There will be definite turning heads after stepping out of this hair boutique!

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Holiday Package at Rainforest Resort, Taman Negara

MAD - RM290 per person for a 3D 2N Holiday Package: Superior Room (Twin sharing) + 2 Breakfasts + Jungle Trekking & Canopy Walk + River Rapids Shooting + Tour Guide at Rainforest Resort, Taman Negara. Min 2 Pax.

MAD Deal of the Day: RM290 instead of RM480 per person for a 3D 2N Holiday Package: Superior Room (Twin sharing) + 2 Breakfasts + Jungle Trekking & Canopy Walk + River Rapids Shooting + Tour Guide at Rainforest Resort, Taman Negara. Min 2 Pax.

Say what? Nature! Say what? LIVING IN the Rainforest?! Are you sure you city folks could do that? Well, in THIS option, you could live in a proper hotel BUT yet still in the middle of the Rainforest! Come on, buy an experience - canopy walk, river rapids shooting, jungle trekking amongst tall trees..


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Live in a proper hotel BUT yet still in the middle of the Rainforest! #TamanNegara is gonna be real fun! #MilkADeal

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Dutch Lady Milk election!

Uh oh! Word got out, Churpers, and mums and children alike have been gunning for their favourite flavour for Dutch Lady's FIRST EVER Milk Election !

In conjunction with its 4th World Milk Day, Dutch Lady Milk Elections is developed to find the newest flavour for their UHT milk, to encourage Malaysians to drink more milk

Why? Because you have the power to determine a stronger Malaysia with MILK!

Who can vote? Anyone!

Candidates:
1. Dutch Lady Red Bean
2. Dutch Lady Sweet Corn
3. Dutch Lady Moo Melon
4. Dutch Lady Caramel Toffee

So now, Churpers, you gotta share this with your friends and may the team with the most votes by 28 May win ! Hehe.. I know I am definitely a "Team Sweet Corn"! :P

You can also sample the four flavours when sampling starts from 13-28 May. Check out Dutch Lady Facebook page for details.

Have fun!

I love corn! Who doesn't? What's better than combining milk & corn together. It's a perfect match. Vote today! #DutchLadyWMD

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Turn an iPad into a phone!

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Have iPad or and iPod Touch? Want to make it into a mobile device? With yes life, that is possible. This 018 mobile number could even be used on your iPhone to save even more on calls and SMSes. Oh and by the way, when you're aboard, there's no roaming charges!

Sounds great? But don't have one? Well win an iPad! All you've got to do is join 'Say Yes. Win Big' and complete the slogan to stand a chance of winning an iPad 2!

Want iPad? Want to make that iPad into a mobile device? With yes life, that is possible. #YES4G

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Is it ok Mom Gave her Child Botox?

It's hard to fathom that a mother would give her 8-year-old daughter Botox injections for the purpose of reducing the appearance of wrinkles, but that's exactly what one California mother does.

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday, Kerry (who didn't want to use her last name) explained to reporter Lara Spencer that her 8-year-old daughter Britney participates in beauty pageants.
Apparently, when Britney began complaining about having wrinkles in her face, Kerry suggested Botox; she said Britney "was all for it."

Dr. Ramona Bates wrote about this specific case for EmaxHealth and explained that the FDA requires a safety label on Botox which reads "BOTOX Cosmetic is not recommended for use in children younger than 18 years of age."

Additionally, Bates wrote, "The FDA also requires a black box warning on the package label for Botox and Botox Cosmetic (botulinum toxin type A); Myobloc (botulinum toxin type B); and a new FDA-approved product, Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA)."

What do u think about it?? Is it ok? But still not crime is it??
Please leave a comment.

Promotion only for RM30 for reflexology

MAD Deal of the Day: RM30 instead of RM75 for 60 Minutes of Foot Reflexology + Aromatic Shoulder Massage Therapy and get RM10 Cash Vouchers for your 2nd & 3rd visit at Wellness Avenue, Greenlane, Penang.

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