Tag Archive for high blood pressure

Hypertension Medication Side Effects

24/12/2011 admin high blood pressure solutions, how to lower high blood pressure, hypertension medications, medication side effects No comments

Blood pressure medication side effects are one of the main reasons that people seek alternative treatments for high blood pressure problems.

My own personal experience with side effects from hypertension medications was a persistent dry cough that would keep me up at night.

It would be fair to say that this blood pressure medication side-effect was the all the inspiration I needed to explore and practice alternative methods of lowering my high blood pressure.

So I call it a blessing in disguise :) .

If you are suffering from high blood pressure medication side effects I have some good news for you. You can lower your blood pressure without taking any medication and suffering no side effects.

Best of all, getting your blood pressure back to healthy levels by natural methods has a number of benefits apart from the lack of unpleasant side-effects.

You will feel better mentally and physically including more energy, better sleeps, and more optimistic and engaged in life.

Those are the normal ‘side-effects’ of adopting a healthier lifestyle.

The biggest obstacle to to positive lifestyle change and lower blood pressure is you brain.

That’s right. That big stubborn lump of grey matter between your eyes is highly creative when it comes to inventing excuses for inaction and resisting change.

The hardest part about trying something different and inviting positive change into your life is taking the first step. Just getting started is the often the sticking point.

Once we surmount that initial hurdle the rest is downhill. In no time at all you’ll be wondering what ever held you back.

The better you feel and more energy you have the more you will look forward to healthy eating and exercise – wondering what ever held you back in the first place.

It’s just a matter of getting the ball rolling.

You can start the ball rolling my downloading the e-book How to Lower Blood Pressure without Drugs

Consider it you first step to achieving healthy blood pressure while avoiding high blood pressure medication side effects.

High Blood Pressure and Christmas

18/12/2011 admin causes of hypertension, high blood pressure solutions No comments

It’s coming around to the holiday season and the time for everyone to relax and enjoy – right?

The fact is that a lot of pressure comes the holidays and health concerns, along with blood pressure, sky rockets for a lot of people.

Could Christmas be bad for your health? Well it doesn’t have to be. Imagine a healthy and enjoyable Christmas an New Years. I sincerely believe it’s possible.

The three big causes of high blood pressure and poor health in general are – poor diet, lack of exercise, and anxiety. All three of these factors can be exasperated during the holiday season as we sit around the dinner table gorging ourselves on various mixtures of sugar and grease, too stuffed to move and getting annoyed  with our relatives.

OK, that’s the worse case scenario ;) . It’s never usually that bad – but if we approach the holidays with a bit of forethought we can avoid the pitfalls and still have a really good time.

I’d even go as far as saying that a healthy Christmas could be happiest too.

So what to do? Live like a ascetic monk forgoing all the fleshy pleasures? Of course not. No need. Just try to strike a balance.

Enjoy Christmas dinner but don’t stuff yourself. Get some exercise before and after the meal.Strive for balance. You’ll feel better, more relaxed, and it’s less likely that that irritating cousin of yours will get under your nose and raise your blood pressure as usual.

Have a couple of drinks for New year’s Eve – but knock ‘em back till your comatose – less fun and really bad for your health – you’ll only start the New Year hung over and miserable.

Strive for balance. A balanced life is a happier life – and one were blood pressure stays within expectable limits.

Most importantly of all – stop worrying so much. Worrying never solved anything and simply put, it’s bad for your health. Worrying raises stress levels and blood pressure.

So the most important holiday message I have for you is – try not to get too stressed. Stress is the silent killer, not high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a symptom.

Keeping blood presure down

03/06/2011 admin blood pressure readings, Breatheasy, causes of hypertension, Food & Exercise to lower blood pressure naturally, how to lower high blood pressure, hypertension dialogues, lower high blood pressure No comments

It’s been over two years now since my battle with high blood pressure began and I started this blog – both to help myself and others who are in the same boat.

Here are some reflections two years on:

The main cause of hypertension is modern life.

Life in the 21st century leads to high blood pressure by a number of means.

  • First of there is increasing stress levels that come with increasing levels of personal debt. There are far fewer home owners (people without a mortgage) than there ever was in the previous century. Debt, increased competition, less opportunity, struggling finances, etc., all equal greater stress levels which result in hypertension and poorer all-round health.
  • The increasing dominance of the car and other ‘labour-saving’ devices result in us moving our bodies less and less. We are starving for exercise. As our muscles, lungs, and heart get neglected our ability to keep our cardiovascular system in good health decreases. Result: weaker heart working harder to pump blood around constricted blood vessels.
  • The food industry is not helping us either. Processed foods containing large doses of hidden salt, sugar and fat clog our veins, reduce our overall health, and jack up our blood pressure.

So what’s the solution to the ailments caused by modern life? Buck the trend. Live within your means and try to eliminate those nagging credit card bills and the stress that come with them. Learn to relax. Try meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, whatever interests you. Leave the car keys at home and take a walk to the store the next time. Buy wholesome basic foods and rediscover the joys of home cooking.

Sure, these solutions may seem rather flippant and may not apply to everyone reading this but I’m sure you get the jist. Reducing high blood pressure is really a mater of making changes to your life style – taking back control of your life.

Healthy blood pressure is a long-term committement

If you make the necessary changes your blood pressure will come down over time – without the need of taking a daily dose of hypertension medications (and dealing with the many negative side effects that come with these pills).

But the catch is it’s not a ‘do-it-once’ solution. It requires a change in lifestyle and that change has to be permanent. No going back to sitting on the couch all day eating junk food worrying about the next credit card bill.

The shift to a more healthy lifestyle must be a permanent one if you want to see your blood pressure levels come down to an acceptable range and stay there. The good news is that one you move to a healthier lifestyle not only will your blood pressure improve but so will your general outlook on life. You’ll feel in  a better mood generally. Living is simple better and more enjoyable when you are healthier.

So what gives me the authority to make such sweeping statements? In one word – experience. Two years ago I was suffering dangerously high blood pressure with a reading of 190+ systolic and 120+ diastolic.

After a year of switching to a healthier lifestyle without the use of high blood pressure medication, my reading came down to a 135 / 90 level. A little highr than the ideal of 120/80 but within an acceptable range and well out of the danger range. This year my reading regularly go a little below the ideal such as 115/75 region.

I never would have believed it two years ago. I and didn’t try too hard. just switched to a healthier diet and dusted off my bicycle. I also take supplements every day – Vitimin C, and multi-vitimin, and calcium/magnesium. If you stick to it blood pressure will drop and your health will increase.

That’s what has worked for me, my solution to high bloood pressure and I’m confident it will work for you too.

 

 

High Blood Pressure – the genetic link

28/03/2011 admin causes of hypertension, high blood pressure solutions One comment

The fact is that genetic factors play a large role in your susceptibility to developing high blood pressure later in life.

Take for instance my own case. Both my parents were dogged by high blood pressure despite living a relatively healthy lifestyle.Now I struggle with high blood pressure as I age. Surely there is a large genetic factor in that equation.

On the other hand, some people seem genetically immune to high blood pressure. A former girlfriend of mine is one such example.

She used to drink alcohol and smoke tobacco with enthusiasm. She was adverse to exercise and her diet was far from exemplary. On top of that she was often and easily stressed.

Being in her mid-forties, reason would suggest she was a likely candidate for high blood pressure. But oddly enough, she was more concerned about developing too low a blood pressure. Her systolic pressure was often below 100.

The only explanation I can offer for this phenomenon is that she was simply genetically programmed to have low pressure – and no amount of substance abuse, bad diet, or lack of exercise seemed to alter this fact.

Simply put, some of us are genetically programed to be susceptible to high blood pressure. Some of us are not.

Note I wrote ‘susceptible’, not determined.

Having high blood pressure in your family doesn’t mean you have to suffer it too. But it does mean that you will have work a little harder at keeping your blood pressure withing healthy limits.

That certainly applies to me and perhaps to you too. If I lived the lifestyle of my former girlfriend mentioned above my blood pressure would have gone through the ceiling and my cardio-vascular health levels would be seriously compromised.

Today I enjoy blood pressure readings that often fall below the 120/80 benchmark – but it’s not because I’m lucky, or am genetically programmed for low blood pressure, or I take medication daily.

I am genetically susceptible to high blood pressure but I keep it down through exercise, diet and avoiding high levels of stress.

For example:

I’m currently staying on my yacht Saint Martin in the West Indies. There are many sailing boats here from all over North America and Europe. Almost without exception everyone gets ashore on their dingies powered by outboard motors.

I row. It´s not that far and it´s great exercise.

I start everyday with a bowl of oatmeal and a banana along with some dietary supplements such as multi-vitamins, calcium and magnesium. It helps keep my body happy and my blood pressure down.

I’ll often do stress-relieving exercises, like 15 minutes of slow breathing in the evening before bed ensuring a good sleep.

Combined and practiced daily this approach keeps my blood pressure healthy and safe – despite my genetic propensity to be hypertensive.

In short, there is a healthy option to hypertension medications and their sometimes not so pleasant side effects.

If I can do it – anyone can :-) .

High Blood Pressure Remedies – Free Downloads

12/03/2011 admin high blood pressure solutions, how to lower high blood pressure, lower high blood pressure No comments

They say that you get what you pay for and that’s often the case when it comes to alternative remedies for high blood pressure.

But occasionally a free report crops up that can be worth it’s weight in gold (speaking figuratively of course because these digital e-books don’t actually weigh anything ;-) .

Here’s a short list of free downloads that will be of interest to people with high blood pressure. I include download links so you can checkout any one that may interest you. Simply click on the link and download it to a folder on your computer. You will then have to double click on the zip folder to extract it.

First the is the 12 medical breakthroughs from the Barton Health Group. A short report looking at some of the most recent and exciting discoveries in the alternative medical field. Definitly worth a look through. Click the link below:

12 Medical Breakthroughs

Second we have a report on stress reduction. The author argues that tradition ‘Stress Reduction techniques’ don’t work because they only deal with the symptoms, not the underlying causes. He goes on the reveal 7 mistakes many of us make that increases our stress levels and how to avoid them. This is an interesting approach to reducing stress and should be of particular interest to sufferers of high blood pressure – considering that strss is often the primary cause of hypertension. Click the link below to download.

7 Mistakes that Lead to Stress

Then there is the specter of heart disease and heart attacks which people with high blood pressure have a greater risk of suffering. This is a nifty Poer Point Presentation that could literally save your life if you feel a heart attack coming on and no one around to help or get you to the hospital on time. It only takes a couple of minutes to go through and is well worth it. I learnt something new and you probably will too. Click the link to downlaod.

Heart Attack Prevention

And then of course there’s my own e-book, How to Lower Your Blood pressure Without Drugs

That’s all for now but I put more links up as I come across them so bookmark this page and check back in now and then.

Dementia and High Blood Pressure – Is there a connection?

02/11/2010 admin hypertension dialogues No comments

From the desk of highbloodpressuremed.com

If you have high blood pressure, then you should keep in mind that it may also lead to loss of memory with time (Dementia). According to recent studies, managing your blood pressure could be the best protective action against loss of memory (Dementia)

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and elderly populations are related with high blood pressure. It is wellknown that high blood pressure is a risk factor for infarcts in brain and ischaemic subcortical white-matter lesions. Blood-brain barrier dysfunction is also seen in hypertensive patients which has been suggested to be involved in the cause and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Psychological stress, and the formation of free oxygen radicals may also play a role in this regard. The findings of relationship between dementia and hypertension may have implications for prevention and treatment.

Closed relationship between high blood pressure and brain has been established according to recent research and studies. These studies revealed a kind of scarring or scars in brain due to hypertension or high blood pressure. In later years of hypertensive patients these scars can lead to diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. Although these hypertensive scars appear in early ages but memory loss can accur much later. So if you have high blood pressure but have no memory disturbances, it does not mean that in future you will not have such problem.

There is very simple relationship between dementia and high blood pressure. Our brain has lot of white matter lesions which act as telephone network for the brain. These white matter lesions do provide a system of nerve fibers and axons that allows communication of various brain cells with one another. Even marginal blood pressure increase may destroy blood cells that nourish this white matter. This interrupts the signals that brain cells send to one another and leads to issues like loss of memory.

Many experts do endorse this medical fact althogh this is relatively a new study and needs the backing of recognized healthcare professionals. If aggressive management of hypertension can help protect the brain, National Institute of health may soon start a research in this regard. The basic aim of this research will be to make sure if lowering blood pressure levels than the currently advised values is usefull for both brain and the heart.

The basic premise of this study is not exactly novel as the findings of this recent study may come across as new. Primary factor is always the high blood pressure that can be managed to avert cognitive decline in old age. So we will admit here that by simply controlling blood pressure can assist in delaying behavioral changes that occur in old age such as impatience, restlessness, memory loss and managing blood pressure properly can be a substantial aid in keeping memory problems like Dementia at bay in elderly.

Quality of your life can be disturbed badly by this serious problem like dementia. So, it only makes sense that you try to prevent the problem by keeping your blood pressure in normal range.

Causes of Hypertension

22/10/2010 admin Breatheasy, causes of hypertension, hypertension dialogues, lower high blood pressure 2 comments

If you want to tackle the problem it helps to know the cause. That’s certainly the case with high blood pressure (a.k.a. hypertension). The causes of hypertension can be neatly summed up in 5 main categories:

  • poor diet
  • lack of exercise
  • stress
  • age
  • genetics

The first three causes of hypertension can be easily dealt with as out lined in How to Lower High Blood Pressure. Or to put it succinctly – get moving, eat the good stuff, and learn to relax.

The last two causes of hypertension are a bit more complicated – but can be dealt with too.

Starting with aging – it’s a fact that as we age our circulatory system doesn’t work as good as it used to. Our veins tend to narrow and harden pushing our blood pressure up.

But don’t despair. There are still are range of things you can due to stave off the ravages of time. Simply eating better, exercising and relaxing (see above) can keep you looking and feeling younger than your age along with your blood pressure levels.

Recently put on the market are concentrated antioxidant supplements like Resvertrol, often sold as fat burning / quick weight loss pills, these antioxidants can help reverse the effects of aging on your circulatory system – cleaning out your veins and lowering your blood pressure.

So aging can’t be stopped, bet the damaging effects of aging can be slowed down and even reversed in many cases :-) .

The most stubborn cause of hypertension is your genetic makeup. Some families seem to suffer hypertension and some families don’t. I belong to the former camp – both my parents suffered from high blood pressure and I too am prone to it too.

However I managed to bring my blood pressure down despite my genetic propensity to develop hypertension via the methods outlined above.

Being genetically predisposed to having high blood pressure is not the same as saying your are condemned to it. It just means that you have to work harder at getting it down and keeping it down. It means that people who have no ‘hypertensive genes’ in their genetic makeup can get away with things that you can’t.

To sum up – the causes of hypertension can be dealt with and overcome without needing to be on a daily round of prescription medications. It takes some attention and commitment to life a healthier life but if you make the switch you’ll be happy you did.

A healthy stress-free life is a happy life. :-)

How to lower high blood pressure

19/10/2010 admin causes of hypertension, lower high blood pressure No comments

An increasing number of people are seeking how to lower high blood pressure naturally without the use of anti-hypertension medications. I’m happy to announce that there are a number of ways to reduce blood pressure as alternatives to medications and each of these methods is directly related to the causes of hypertension.

The three main causes of hypertension are stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise. When you’re learned to tackle these three causes head on you’ve learned how to lower high blood pressure without the need for medications.

Starting with stress, I think most people would agree that we live in an increasingly stressful world with rising debt levels and decreasing opportunities. Many of us suffer high stress levels without even realizing it. Thankfully there are ways of getting it down to healthy levels along with your blood pressure. Yoga and meditation are the traditional methods but slow breathing exercises with the aid of an audio program like BreathEasy has become very popular. Another stress reducing program is Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises.

The bottom line is this: Reduce stress and you will reduce blood pressure because it is an established fact that stress is one of the major causes of hypertension.

Moving on to poor diet, it’s a fact that our eating habits here in the developed world has much to be desired. Fried food and fast food with too much bad cholesterol and salt is a principle cause of hypertension. Switching to a healthier diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains along with a reduction of salt and cholesterol can significantly lower blood pressure over time.

In the modern world we spend far too much time sitting in our cars or sitting in front of the TV and computers, physically inactive. We no longer spend enough time moving our bodies and getting sufficient exercise. A lack of exercise is regarded as one of the significant  causes of hypertension for many people.

The solution is simple: get some exercise. You can start with just a walk around the block once or twice a day to start if you’re seriously out of shape. Work your way up to a more rigorous routine when you feel ready. You’ll look better, feel better and be on you way to eliminating one of the major causes of hypertension.

As you can see, how to lower high blood pressure without the use of medications isn’t rocket-science. It’s actually pretty straightforward. The key is to stop reading about it, stop thinking about it, stop worrying about it – and just start doing it! Go for a walk, take 15 minutes to do a slow breathing exercise, prepare a good healthy meal for yourself – and you’re on the road to a healthier and happier life. Keep it up and you’ll never have to worry about how to lower high blood pressure again. That’s because you won’t have high blood pressure anymore.

The causes of hypertension can be tackled and eliminated for good.

Start today. :-)

Smoking and high blood pressure

07/09/2010 admin hypertension dialogues, smoking and high blood pressure No comments

love smoking and quitContrary to rumors, there is no definite established link between smoking tobacco and high blood pressure. What I mean by that is that smoking is not a main causal factor of high blood pressure.

I know of one chain smoker that who’s only concern is that their blood pressure is too low.

However, if you suffer from hypertension then smoking tobacco can make it worse without a doubt. Nicotine has the effect of restricting arteries which of course raises the pressure.

The bottom line is this: If you are prone to high blood pressure and you smoke then quitting smoking is definitely a good step to take to get your health back in shape. It will help lower your blood pressure.

But stopping smoking isn’t easy. I should know, I smoked for more years than I care to count – starting at the age of 14. That’s why I put together the Preach-Free Guide to Smoking and Quitting. For those of you who love smoking find it hard to imagine life without your long-time companion, a cigarette, there for you when you need it, the Preach-Free Guide is for you.

Why Preach-Free? Well let’s put it this way – if knowing that smoking was bad for your long-term health made you stop smoking, there wouldn’t be many smokers left on the planet. Preaching, finger-wagging, warnings of ill health and premature death simply don’t work for the majority of us committed smokers.

Or like my friend used say after watching an anti-smoking message on TV – “Anyone can quit smoking. You gotta be brave to face lung cancer everyday”.

OK, that was only a dark joke – but it shows the degree of mental gymnastics we can accomplish to justify continuation of smoking. Preaching the anti-smoking message simply doesn’t work on committed smokers.

The preach-free guide is a humorous look at the habit. Smokers will enjoy reading the text and comics. When they are ready to stub out for the last time they’ll know how to do it and be successful – as easy as “jumping over a large puddle” as the guide will show.

Check it out: onelastpuff.com

Hidden salt and high blood pressure.

30/08/2010 admin Food & Exercise to lower blood pressure naturally, Good Food = Lower Blood Pressure, high blood pressure solutions, how to lower high blood pressure, hypertension dialogues No comments

The link between excessive salt intake and high blood pressure have been firmly established. In response a lot of people will sprinkle less salt on their meals or stop using salt altogether. Yet the high blood pressure remains. Why?

First of all, its important to point out that high blood pressure has a lot of causes such as stress, genetics, high cholesterol, genetics, etc. If too much salt is the main cause of your hypertension then cutting down on salt should lower your blood pressure. But for many of us it’s simply not enough. we need to incorporate a range of healthy measures into our daily lives.

Secondly, salt effects people and their blood pressure differently. Some people display a high ‘sodium intolerance’ which means that their bodies can not tolerate the same salt levels as others without developing negative symptoms such as elevated blood pressure. However, the majority of us do not suffer from sodium intolerance – but that’s not the same things as saying we can consume all the slat we want with no ill effects. Moderation is always the key when it comes to salt.

The recommended intake of salt a day per adult is below 6 grams – although 3 or less grams considered safer. By the way, there is approximately 6 grams salt  in 1 teaspoon of table salt  and around 2 grams of salt in 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt.

Very few of use sprinkle more than 3 grams a day on our meals with a salt shaker. I would suspect that very few of us would even reach 1 gram a day with the shaker. Even 1 gram is a lot of shaking.

We overdose on salt no t with the shaker but with the salt content hidden in a lot of food we buy. I’m not just talking about fast food, restaurant food, or highly processed ‘treats’ like crisps / chips. Take you everyday white sliced bread for example. On average there is 0.4 grams of salt in each slice. Have a few slices, with salted butter and a preservative and you are soon exceeding your daily recommended salt intake – without ever touching the salt shaker.

Many breakfast cereals are also another  high salt food meal that we normally would consider healthy. So what’s on to do?

First, shop for food wisely and choose the ‘low salt/sodium’ variety over the standard one. Secondly go back to basics and prepare more meals yourself from simple unprocessed food. Learn to bake bread and control the amount salt, if any, you care to put in.

If you do this you can get out the old salt shaker and start using it again. After all it’s good to have some salt in your diet. if you lived solely on a diet of raw food prepared by yourself you could suffer salt deprivation.

sel de guerande harvesting

Harvesting salt in Brittany

Personally I like salt, good salt that is, genuine harvested sea salt from the shores of Brittany – Sel de Guerande. Unlike the bleached chemical sodium available in stores, genuine sea salt is a light grayish color, full of all the trace elements and nutrients from the sea. It cost more, (around $14 for a 1,000 grams), but a kilogram should last me for many years.

So there you have it. Don’t be a victim of overconsumption of hidden salt in common foods. Choose low salt varieties or prepare food yourself. You’ll then be able to enjoy salt on your food again in much smaller and healthier quantities.

For the ultimate guide in good eating and healthy eating that will help you lower your blood pressure and enjoy your food more, I can give no higher recommendation than Kevin Riley’s Get Natural. This book and food guide has changed the way I eat and look at food forever – all for the better. If you already have a copy you know what I mean. If not you can grab one thriough the link below:

Get Natural! by Kevin Riley

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