Majority of women unaware of female-specific stroke symptoms

Washington, April 28 (ANI): It turns out that most women don't know many female-centric symptoms and risks of strokes.
A national survey of 1,000 women by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center released in time for Stroke Awareness Month found that only 11 percent of women could correctly identify pregnancy, lupus, migraine headaches and oral contraception or hormone replacement therapy as female-specific stroke risks.
The survey also found that only 10 percent were aware that hiccups combined with atypical chest pain are among the early warning signs of a stroke in women when accompanied by or followed by typical stroke symptoms.
According to the National Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death for women.
Dr. Diana Greene-Chandos said that things like pregnancy, hormone replacement therapy and even something as trivial as a case of the hiccups could all play an important role when it comes to strokes in women, and there was a need to be more aware of it.
Some risk factors are the same for both women and men, including smoking, not exercising or having a blood pressure higher than 140/90. Other stroke risk factors for men and women include having a hemoglobin A1C of more than 7 if you are already diabetic, or 5.7 if not; as well as having a LDL cholesterol of less than 100 if you are without additional stroke risks, or less than 70 with additional stroke risks, particularly diabetes, she said.
Greene-Chandos added that both women and men should focus keeping their blood pressure under 140/90, because having high blood pressure consistently puts people at risk for having a stroke.
But symptoms of stroke can be different for women, and may include hiccups, dizziness that is not classic vertigo, headaches, atypical chest pain and/or numbness of the entire body with one side being more numb than the other.
Greene-Chandos, who is also a member of Ohio State's Neurological Institute, said that pregnancy also increased the risk of stroke, particularly in the final months and the immediate period after delivering the child.
Recognizing a stroke quickly and seeking medical help immediately is crucial. Treatment with a clot-busting drug is only consistently an option within three hours of the onset of the stroke.
The Ohio State survey also found that nearly half of all women said they don't know what problems females face after stroke. In addition to nerve damage and problems swallowing, depression is common among women and often keeps them from getting the rehab that is vital to their recovery, Greene-Chandos said. (ANI)

Blood pressure , Females , Stroke , Symptoms , Women

Majority of women unaware of female-specific stroke symptoms

Unknown Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Insufficient sleep increases blood pressure during night

Washington, Mar 16 (ANI): A new research has revealed that people, who are exposed to prolonged shortened sleep, have a significant increase in blood pressure during nighttime hours.
The study led by Mayo Clinic researchers examined healthy and normal weight people who had prolonged shortened sleep and observed that during the nighttime, people with restrictive sleep systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure averaged 115/64 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) compared to the normal sleep phase.
The study added that the expected fall in blood pressure during the night was suppressed when people had inadequate sleep, and nighttime heart rate was higher with sleep restriction than in normal sleep.
Naima Covassin, lead author said that high blood pressure, particularly during the night, is one of the major risk factors for heart disease, and as per some studies Americans usually didn't get enough sleep. (ANI)

Blood pressure , Care , Heath , Sleep

Insufficient sleep increases blood pressure during night

Unknown Tuesday, March 17, 2015

An avocado a day to improve heart health ?

Most of us have heard the age old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, we might want to reconsider apples and turn to daily avocado consumption instead.
While avocados are known to be high in fat, they are rich in the “good fats”, known as monounsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids have been found to help with a number of heart problems, such as high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke.
To further prove the benefits of avocados and monounsaturated fatty acids on heart health, M. Kris-Etherton, PhD, a professor of Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, and a team of researchers evaluated 45 individuals who were considered to be either obese or overweight.
The participants were divided into three groups to follow a cholesterol-lowering diet over the course of five weeks.
The first group consumed a lower fat diet, consuming 24 percent of their calories from fat (11 percent from monounsaturated fatty acids). The other two groups followed a moderate fat diet, consuming 34 percent of their diet from fats (17 percent from monounsaturated fatty acids).
The third group was instructed to eat one Hass avocado per day, while the other two groups did not eat any avocados in the five week study.
To evaluate the results of the study, the researchers took blood work from the panel of participants. They discovered that the first group, who followed the lower fat diet, lowered their levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, also called the “bad cholesterol”) by 8.3 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) from their baseline average. The second group, who followed a moderate fat diet without avocados, lowered their LDL levels by 7.4 mg/dL.
Remarkably, the third group, who followed a moderate fat diet eating one avocado per day, lowered their LDL levels by 13.5 mg/dL from their baseline average. The team also found that the third group’s other blood measurements, which included total cholesterol, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), were better than the other two groups.
While this study does promote that consuming a moderate fat diet with avocados is beneficial to heart health, it does not prove that eating avocados on a daily basis will guarantee lower cholesterol levels. The study was very small (only 45 participants) and was evaluated over a short period of time (just 5 weeks). Not to mention, it was controlled by the researchers and could have been skewed to yield their expected results.
With that said, we still know that foods high in monounsaturated fats, like avocados, are indeed good for heart health. So even if you cannot eat an entire avocado every single day, you can still find ways to add more into your diet to help improve your well-being. And even if you do not like the taste of avocados, there are numerous recipes that completely hide the taste of this heart-healthy food. Check out some of these ideas below:

• Add avocados into your smoothie for a smoother texture and a delicious, nutritious start to your day.
• Substitute butter with avocado in baked goods. You will not taste the difference and your heart will thank you!
• Make a quick and tasty chicken salad by mixing chopped rotisserie chicken with avocado (instead of mayonnaise).
• Slice an avocado in half and fill each half with a cracked egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees for a protein-packed breakfast
• Look up some heart-healthy guacamole recipes and enjoy with whole wheat tortillas or baked chips.

Angency: Copyrights of this content are with modvive.com | To Advertise on Cnstimes @ Low Rates, Please Click here

Blood pressure , Care , Health

An avocado a day to improve heart health ?

Unknown Monday, January 12, 2015

Reduce salt intake for better kidney health

Too much salt in one's diet increases the risk of contracting kidney problems, says a new research.

The researchers found high sodium intake (an average of 4.7g a day) is linked with an increased risk of needing dialysis, but no benefit was seen for low sodium intake (average 2g a day).

"Our findings extend the known benefits of healthy eating and show that the consumption of a healthy diet may protect from future major renal events," said Andrew Smyth from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

"As dietary modification is a low-cost, simple intervention, it offers the potential to significantly reduce the burden from chronic kidney disease, while also protecting from cardiovascular disease," Smyth added in the study involving 544,635 participants.

These findings were confirmed by a separate study that found that reducing salt intake reduces albuminuria, or excess protein in the urine, which is a hallmark of kidney dysfunction.

In the study involving 120 rural villages in China, researchers analysed the results of an 18-month sodium reduction programme.

The findings of the study led by Meg Jardine from The George Institute for International Health, in Australia and her colleagues revealed that individuals who underwent sodium reduction had a 33 percent decreased likelihood of having albuminuria compared with individuals in the control villages.

Both the studies were presented at ASN (American Society of Nephrology) Kidney Week Nov 11-16, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

IANS

Blood pressure , Care , Health , Kidneys , Salt

Reduce salt intake for better kidney health

Unknown Tuesday, November 18, 2014

4 ways to control high blood pressure without medication

By making these 10 lifestyle changes, you can lower your blood
pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease.
By Mayo Clinic staff
If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure
— the top number — of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure — the
bottom number — of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking
medication to bring your numbers down.
Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood
pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a
healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delayor reduce the need for
medication.
Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood
pressure and keep it down.
1. Lose extra pounds andwatch your waistline
Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Losing just 10
pounds (4.5 kilograms) can help reduce your blood pressure. In
general, the moreweight you lose, the lower your blood pressure.
Losing weight also makes any blood pressure medications you're taking
more effective. You andyour doctor can determine your target weight
and the best way to achieve it.
Besides shedding pounds, youshould also keep an eye on your waistline.
Carrying too much weight around your waist can put you at greater risk
of high blood pressure. Ingeneral:
Men are at risk if their waistmeasurement is greater than 40 inches
(102 centimeters, orcm).
Women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (89 cm).
Asian men are at risk if theirwaist measurement is greater than 36
inches (91 cm).
Asian women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 32
inches (81 cm).
2. Exercise regularly
Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the
week — can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9millimeters of mercury
(mm Hg).And it doesn't take long to seea difference. If you haven't
been active, increasing your exercise level can lower your blood
pressure within just a few weeks.
If you have prehypertension — systolic pressure between 120 and 139 or
diastolic pressure between 80 and 89 — exercise can help you avoid
developing full-blown hypertension. If you already have hypertension,
regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer
levels.
Talk to your doctor about developing an exercise program. Your doctor
can helpdetermine whether you need any exercise restrictions. Even
moderate activity for 10 minutes at a time, such as walking and light
strength training, can help.
But avoid being a "weekend warrior." Trying to squeeze all your
exercise in on the weekends to make up for weekday inactivity isn't a
good strategy. Those sudden bursts of activity could actually be
risky.
3. Eat a healthy diet
Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and
low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can
lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg. This eating plan is known
as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
It isn't easy to change your eating habits, but with these tips, you
can adopt a healthy diet:
Keep a food diary.Writing down what you eat, even for just a week, can
shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Monitor what you
eat, how much, whenand why.
Consider boosting potassium.Potassium can lessen the effects of sodium
on blood pressure. The best source of potassium is food, such as
fruits and vegetables, rather than supplements. Talk to your doctor
about the potassium level that's best for you.
Be a smart shopper.Make a shopping list before heading to the
supermarket toavoid picking up junk food. Read food labels when you
shop and stick to your healthy-eating plan when you're dining out,
too.
Cut yourself some slack.Although the DASH diet is a lifelong eating
guide, it doesn't mean you have to cut out all of the foods you love.
It's OK to treat yourself occasionally to foods you wouldn't find on a
DASH diet menu, such as a candy bar or mashed potatoes with gravy.
4. Reduce sodium in yourdiet
Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduceblood
pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg. The recommendations for reducing sodium are:
Limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less.
A lower sodium level — 1,500 mg a day or less — is appropriate for
people 51 years of age or older, and individuals of any age who are
African-American or who have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic
kidney disease.
To decrease sodium in your diet, consider these tips:
Track how much salt is in your diet.Keep a food diary to estimate how
much sodium is in what you eat and drink each day.
Read food labels.If possible, choose low-sodium alternatives of the
foods and beverages you normally buy.
Eat fewer processed foods.Potato chips, frozen dinners, bacon and
processedlunch meats are high in sodium.

Ad: Free Recharge to Your Mobile, get it www.talkitives.tk/registration_0.xhtml

Advice , Blood pressure , Care , Tips

4 ways to control high blood pressure without medication

Unknown Monday, August 19, 2013