We hear the following questions asked many times in one form or another...
"I am not so old...Do I really have to worry now that my blood pressure is high at times?"
YES, you do!
A recent study in Sydney, Australia found that there is no difference in age groups on the outcome of a major cardiovascular event as it relates to age. Which means if you get a heart attack at a young age from high blood pressure, it is not going to be any less in severity for you just because of your age than if you where to get one at age 65. The study also revealed that it didn't matter what drug you used to lower blood pressure as long as you lowered the blood pressure.
Bottom Line Reality Check:
High blood pressure causes bad stuff. All ages are at risk; treatment works to prevent that, all ages need to get it under control. The choice of drug seems irrelevant as long as it lowers the blood pressure, and you can live with the side effects...
This has been a Corphealth reality check ticker... (The opinions expressed are solely those of the author). Always check with your health provider before making decisions regarding your health.
Does Good Cholesterol really protect you against heart disease?
High levels of "good" HDL cholesterol protect against heart disease even if your LDL is high...
An article published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that high levels of "good" HDL cholesterol offer protection against heart disease and stroke even if the LDL, "bad" cholesterol was elevated. In this study, the incidence of heart attack stroke and other heart problems was 40% lower in one-fifth of the participants in this study who had the highest HDL "good" cholesterol regardless of their LDL, "bad" cholesterol. While this is only one study, the take home message is that the higher your HDL level the better, and HDL levels can help interpret what your cholesterol numbers mean
in terms of your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Does Nicotine Patches and the such work?
Yes, According to investigators at Oxford. They found that nicotine replacement therapy improves the quit rate by 50% to 70%. They also found that the nasal spray was the most effective.
Bottom Line Reality Check: Time to quit! Stop with the excuses!
High Blood Pressure needs to be treated regardless of age. True or False?
Welcome to our medical news café..
Corphealth wants to keep our family of clients and employees informed and up to date on relevant medical news. Any topic is fair game. Check back often as we update at least weekly. If you have a topic of interest, please drop us an email and we will try to post information on the matter. Stay informed, stay healthy!!
CORPHEALTH® Medical and Wellness Solutions, Inc
Where is most of your body fat? Does it matter?
YES
Abdominal obesity increases risk for heart disease and cancer...
Investigators at the NIH studied the risk of abdominal obesity in more than 44,000 women in the Nurses Health Study, for cardiovascular, and cancer deaths. Reported in the journal Circulation in 2008. They found a significant increase in relative risk for increased waist circumference rising as the abdominal obesity got bigger. Those with significant abdominal obesity had up to 63% higher risk for cancer, and 99% higher risk for cardiovascular mortality. Even normal-weight women with elevated waist circumference experienced a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular death.
Bottom Line Reality Check:
NO question, abdominal obesity is hazardous to your health, Stop eating so much. Loose the weight, get moving and do your crunches!!
What's Better For You? Weight loss through exercise or counting calories?
Exercise Versus Calorie Counting Well, it seems that if the goal is to lose weight then both give the same results. A very interesting study just published in the December issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, tried to answer this question, and found a very interesting thing. According to this study, over a year's time it appears that either calorie restriction or exercise give similar weight loss results. However, the important fact that was revealed was that persons that lost weight through calorie restriction had a significant loss of bone mass as well, but the persons that lost the weight through exercise had NO loss of bone mass anywhere in their bodies! Well, you may ask, how can I lose all the weight I need by just exercise? Do I have to run a trillion miles a day? Climb Mount Everest? Swim the Atlantic? No you don't, but you have to do both, so you can counter the bad effects that calorie restriction has on your bones. Let me say this again, the practical approach is a combination of both so you don't lose your bones trying to fit into that size 0.