Cutting down on salt if with high blood pressure

Eating less salt can help reduce blood pressure. We can all take steps to cut down on salt by shopping wisely and being sparing with salt at home.Lots of everyday foods are high in salt. In fact, 75% of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy.Foods such as bacon, cheese and pickles are salty because of how they are made. Soy sauce, yeast extract and stock cubes are also high in salt.Often foods such as breakfast cereal, baked beans, biscuits, soup, pizza and ready meals are high in salt. The amount of salt they contain varies from one brand or recipe to another. So compare different products by checking the labels.

How do I know if I have high blood pressure?

Most people with high blood pressure don't have any symptoms. The only way to find out is to have your blood pressure measured.Everyone's blood pressure goes up and down at different times of the day. Sometimes it can be higher when you're anxious or stressed. Usually your doctor or nurse will take your blood pressure several times before deciding if you have high blood pressure. Then your doctor may prescribe medication to lower your blood pressure.There isn't a fixed threshold between normal and high blood pressure. But generally a pressure below 140/90mmHg would be considered normal.

Type 2 diabetes: Risk Factors

Type 2 diabetes: Risk Factors

• Age 45 or older
• Family history of diabetes
• Overweight· Inactive lifestyle (exercise less than 3 times a week)
• African American, Hispanic/Latin American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American, or Pacific Islander ethnicity
• High blood pressure (140/90 mm/Hg or higher)
• HDL (“good”) cholesterol less than 35 mg/dL or triglyceride level 250 mg/dL or higher
• Have had diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or have given birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (metabolic disorder that affects female reproductive system
• Acanthosis nigricans (dark, thickened skin around neck or armpits)
• History of disease of blood vessels to the heart, brain, or legs
• Diabetes test history of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)

Type 1 diabetes: Risk Factors

Type 1 diabetes: Risk Factors

Having Other Immune Abnormalities
The incidence of type 1 is higher than average among people with other autoimmune diseases, including Grave's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (a form of hypothyroidism), Addison's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and pernicious anemia. Research has raised the possibility that all autoimmune diseases share a common genetic basis. T-cell immune factors in type 1 diabetes target the same self-antigens as in multiple sclerosis (MS). Both diseases have been associated with cow's milk protein. Many questions are unanswered, however. It is not known why the diseases develop in different locations to cause separate disorders or why some autoimmune events occur in everyone but not everyone develops an autoimmune disease.

Type 1 diabetes Risk Factors in Children

• Being ill in early infancy.
• Early foods. Some studies have reported that early exposure to cow's milk in infancy and not being breast fed increased the risk for type 1 diabetes. Two studies in 2003 suggested that very early exposure to cereal -- not cow's milk -- plays a role in risk. Any risk from early dietary factors is still very low and likely to affect children who already have a genetically impaired immune response to dietary proteins. Breast milk contains factors that may help regulate the immune response and prevent diabetes in such children. National differences in risk also suggest that not all cow's milk is the same, and some proteins may confer higher risks than others.
  Having a parent with type 1 diabetes.
• Having a parent with type 1 diabetes.
• Having an older mother.
• Having a mother who had preeclampsia during pregnancy.
• Obesity in children has long been linked to a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Two 2001 studies reported an association between high weight at birth and obesity during childhood as risk factors for type 1 diabetes as well. The common risk factor may be an increase in insulin secretion, which occurs with obesity. This theoretically could overstress the beta cells so that they become susceptible to damage by overactive immune factors (particularly cytokines), and eventually destruction in children genetically vulnerable to type 1 diabetes.

What are the symptoms of coronary heart disease?

The main symptom is angina, caused by insufficient oxygen reaching the heart muscle because of reduced blood flow.
Angina is a feeling of heaviness, tightness or pain in the middle of your chest that may extend to, or just affect, your arms (especially the left), neck, jaw, face, back or abdomen.
It's most often experienced during exertion - if you run for a bus, for example, or climb stairs. It may occur in cold weather, after a heavy meal, or when you're feeling stressed. It can subside once you stop what you're doing and rest, or take medication.

Other symptoms of coronary heart disease

• Unusual breathlessness when doing light activity or at rest, or breathlessness that comes on suddenly.
• Palpitations - awareness of your heart beat or a feeling of having a rapid and unusually forceful heart beat, especially if they last for several hours or recur over several days and/or cause chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness.
  
• Fainting - although not always a serious symptom, fainting is due to insufficient oxygen reaching the brain, so you should report it to your doctor.
  
• Fluid retention or puffiness is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the ankles, legs, lungs or abdomen, for example. Although a mild degree of ankle oedema may be quite normal - for example, on a hot day - it can be a sign that the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should (this is known as heart failure). Fluid retention in the lungs, or pulmonary oedema, can cause intense shortness of breath, and may be life-threatening.
  
• Bluish-tinged fingernails or lips can be the result of too little oxygen in the blood.
  
• Fatigue is a common symptom of heart disease, but has numerous causes, including depression. It's always worth seeing your doctor if you feel unusually tired, especially if this is combined with symptoms that can’t be explained.
  

What is heart disease?

One of the commonest diseases to affect the heart is coronary heart disease (CHD). It's usually caused by atherosclerosis, a build up of fatty materials within the walls of the arteries.


Other heart diseases
Other diseases that commonly affect the heart include:
Infection: bacterial infections are much rarer these days thanks to antibiotics, but can damage the valves of the heart as well as other tissues. Viral infections can damage the heart muscle leading to heart failure, or cause abnormal heart rhythms.

Congenital heart disease: there's a range of structural abnormalities that can develop in the heart as a baby grows in the womb. These may cause abnormal flow through the heart (for example, through a septal defect or 'hole in the heart') or through the rest of the circulation, and put excessive strain on the infant's heart after it's born.

Cardiomyopathy: this is disease of the heart muscle and may occur for many different reasons, including CHD, high blood pressure, viral infection, high alcohol intake and thyroid disease.
For many people with heart disease, there are a combination of factors that can cause problems. For example, CHD (most adults have some degree of atherosclerosis, especially if they smoke) and high blood pressure are often found together.

What should be the maximum intake of sodium per day for a 55-year-old person trying to control blood pressure?

People with pre-hypertension (blood pressures higher than 120/80 but lower than 139/89) and those with established hypertension (140/90 and above) vary in their response to restricting dietary sodium. For many, the improvement can be dramatic (known as salt-sensitive hypertension); for others, the numbers may barely change.

The Institute of Medicine recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day for people with high blood pressure. But the goal should be 1,300 milligrams daily for someone over age 50. For someone less than 50, the goal can be a little higher -- 1,500 milligrams per day. There are approximately 2,400 milligrams of sodium in one teaspoon of table salt.

If you take a diuretic, such as hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone, salt restriction has an additional benefit. Diuretics tend to lower potassium levels, especially if you eat a lot of salt. By reducing salt intake, your potassium blood level would drop less.

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Blood Pressure

Healthy lifestyle changes are an important first step for lowering blood pressure.

• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day
• Maintain normal weight
• Reduce salt intake
• Increase potassium intake
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Consume 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 such a dietary plan.)
• For more information http://www.americanvistas.com/

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

Hypertension has aptly been called the "silent killer" because it usually produces no symptoms. Untreated hypertension increases slowly over the years. It is important for anyone with risk factors to have their blood pressure checked regularly and to make appropriate lifestyle changes. Such recommendations are especially important for individuals who have prehypertension or hypertension, a family history of hypertension, are overweight, or are over age 40.

• People should call a doctor immediately if these symptoms occur:
• Drowsiness
  
• Confusion
  
• Headache
  
• Nausea
  
• Loss of vision
  

Guidelines for Preventing and Treating High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

Guidelines for Preventing and Treating High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
The American Heart Association’s 2006 guidelines recommend that people should:
Maintain a healthy weight
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day
Reduce salt intake
Increase potassium intake
Limit alcohol consumption
Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet offers these healthy choices