Category: Blood Pressure

Controlling blood pressure is one of the keys to reducing the risk of stroke.

Thinking positive is linked to lower blood pressure in stroke survivors, research finds.

People who believe they can protect themselves from another stroke are better able to control their blood pressure.

The link is particularly strong in women.

Controlling blood pressure is one of the keys to reducing the risk of stroke.

Although it can be done with lifestyle changes or medication, many people find it hard to keep their blood pressure in check.

Blood pressure is not the only health condition that positive beliefs can improve.

For example, people who are more optimistic about their heart disease have better outcomes.

Similarly, holding more positive beliefs about ageing may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and those who believe they can control their weight eat more healthily.

Dr Emily Goldmann, the study’s first author, said:

“This perception that you can protect yourself from another stroke reflects the construct of self-efficacy, or a belief in one’s ability to achieve a specific outcome.”

The study included 552 stroke patients who had been treated at four New York City hospitals.

They were each asked if they agreed with this statement: “I can protect myself against having a stroke.”

One year later, the results showed that women who believed they could reduce their blood pressure were correct.

Their readings were, on average, 5.6 mm/Hg lower than those who did not believe they could reduce their blood pressure.

The finding was not statistically significant in men.

Dr Goldmann said:

“In this study, we found an association between self-efficacy and reduced blood pressure, which is consistent with previous studies linking positive psychological states to better health outcomes in the context of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Targeted strategies to improve health beliefs after stroke may be an important component to include in risk factor management among stroke survivors.”

Many mechanisms could explain why positive health beliefs may improve outcomes, the study’s authors write:

“Having positive health beliefs, such as higher levels of self‐efficacy and confidence, motivation to take action, greater ability to cope and adjust to adversity, and accurate risk perception, may promote healthy behaviors (eg, diet, physical activity, sleep, and treatment adherence) and result in better health outcomes.

Greater psychosocial resources and better physiological functioning noted among those with positive psychological well‐being may also explain this association.

In addition, positive emotions may buffer the impact of stress on health or reduce the stress itself.”

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (Goldmann et al., 2020).

High blood pressure can be difficult to spot as there are few symptoms.

A cup of tomato juice each day helps to lower blood pressure, research shows.

The drop in blood pressure is enough to move someone from stage 2 hypertension down to stage 1.

Drinking tomato juice is also linked to a decrease in the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol.

High blood pressure can be difficult to spot as there are few symptoms.

The condition is linked to cardiovascular disease.

Tomatoes, though, may help protect against the disease because, as the study’s authors explain, they…

“…contain a variety of bioactive compounds, such as carotenoid, vitamin A, calcium, and gamma‐aminobutyric acid, which may play a role in maintaining physical and psychological health, including the prevention of [cardiovascular disease].”

The study included 481 people in Japan whose blood pressure and other physiological factors were tracked.

People in the study were given unlimited access to tomato juice for one year.

They chose to drink around one cup each day (200 ml) on average.

The results showed that blood pressure dropped significantly in people with untreated hypertension.

The study’s authors write:

“To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to investigate the effects of tomato or tomato product intake on cardiovascular disease risk markers over the course of a year and over a wide age range.”

Other natural methods to lower blood pressure include increasing intake of fruits and vegetables and staying active.

Regular exercise helps to lower blood pressure and is also linked to weight loss.

For example, a thirty-minute walk in the morning significantly lowers blood pressure for the rest of the day.

The beneficial effect is almost the same as taking blood pressure lowering medication.

Avoiding sitting for prolonged periods during the day also helps keep blood pressure down.

The study was published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition (Odai et al., 2019).

A certain hot drink can lower a high blood pressure reading.

Olive leaf tea extract can lower systolic blood pressure, research finds.

Olive leaf tea has been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes.

Olive tree leaves contain polyphenols that can help protect against many conditions.

Now scientists have tested its antihypertensive effect in a group of 40 identical twins with borderline hypertension.

For the study, they were given either 500 mg or 1,000 mg of olive leaf extract.

After eight weeks their blood pressure was measured.

The results showed that in the high dose group, blood pressure had reduced.

The study’s results on humans build on similar findings in rats.

Mr Cem Aydogan, who works for the company that produces the olive tea extract and funded the research, said:

“The study confirmed that olive leaf extract EFLA®943 has antihypertensive properties in humans.

This works showed that taking a 1000mg dose has substantial effects in people with borderline hypertension.”

Olive leaf tea is available as a tablet containing an extract and as a tea.

The study was published in the journal Phytotherapy Research (Perrinjaquet‐Moccetti et al., 2008).

A tool that encourages contributes to a reduction in blood pressure.

One-in-five Americans wears a smartwatch and this gadget proves more effective than we might think.

Smartwatches or fitness tracker watches can be beneficial to heart health by encouraging people to exercise more.

A study shows that people walk more steps when they track their activity levels with their watch, which in turn is a useful tool for lowering blood pressure.

The research team assessed risk factors such as high blood pressure leading to cardiovascular disease.

About half of American adults have high blood pressure and many more who don’t know they have this condition are therefore left untreated.

High blood pressure can narrow and weaken the heart blood vessels and arteries around the kidneys, increasing the risk of heart or kidney failure.

In this study, participants had to wear an Apple Watch at least five hours a day and keep a record of their blood pressure.

The average diastolic blood pressure was 76 mm Hg and 122 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure which are considered normal to slightly elevated levels.

Dr Mayank Sardana, the study’s lead author, said:

“Measuring habitual physical activity in community-based settings in this way distinguishes our study from prior studies that have looked at either self-reported physical activity or used accelerometers to measure daily activity for only a short amount of time, usually about a week.”

The team found that for every 1,000 steps a day, subjects’ systolic blood pressure reduced by 0.45 points.

This means that people who walked 10,000 steps daily had 2.25 points lower systolic blood pressure than those taking 5,000 steps a day.

This level of reduction could be enough given that participants’ blood pressure levels were between normal and slightly high.

Dr Sardana said:

“This study solidifies our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure and raises the possibility that obesity or body mass index accounts for a lot of that relationship.

Going forward, it would be useful to look at how smart devices might be leveraged to promote physical activity, reduce the burden of obesity and potentially reduce blood pressure.”

Over the five month study period, on average these subjects took 7,500 steps daily.

Those who walked more steps a day showed a significant greater reduction in their blood pressure.

The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology, March 2020.

These fruits help lower blood pressure better than cutting out salt.

Bananas and citrus fruits can help lower blood pressure, research finds.

These fruits are rich in potassium, which research has linked to decreased blood pressure.

Pomegranates have even higher levels of potassium than bananas.

High potassium levels could be more important than lowering salt intake for keeping blood pressure down, a study suggests.

The conclusions come from an analysis of 3,303 people involved in the Dallas Heart Study.

The results showed that higher levels of potassium in the urine were strongly linked to lower blood pressure.

Dr Susan Hedayati, the study’s lead author, said:

“The lower the potassium in the urine, hence the lower the potassium in the diet, the higher the blood pressure

This effect was even stronger than the effect of sodium on blood pressure.”

The study is particularly important for African-Americans, said Dr Hedayati:

“Our study included a high percentage of African-Americans, who are known to consume the lowest amounts of potassium in the diet.”

Along with lower sodium (salt), those worried about their blood pressure should eat foods that contain high levels of potassium.

Dr Hedayati said:

“High-potassium foods include fruits such as bananas and citrus fruits and vegetables.

Consuming a larger amount of these foods in the diet may lower blood pressure.”

The study was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (Hedayati et al., 2012).

Try this exercise but under hot and humid conditions to lower blood pressure.

Hot yoga is a trendy exercise which involves quick movements under hot and humid environment.

A study has shown that it can reduce high blood pressure after three months of classes.

It improves flexibility and strength as well as speeding up the heart rate, while it is a more rigorous workout compared to traditional yoga.

Hot yoga follows the Bikram style, which is practiced in heated rooms with temperature ranging from 27 to 41°C.

Dr Stacy Hunter, the study’s first author, said:

“Hot yoga is gaining popularity, and we’re even seeing other styles of yoga, like Vinyasa and power yoga, being offered in heated studios.”

The yoga group participants in the study completed Bikram yoga classes at 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5°C).

The classes were composed of three sessions per week and each session was an hour long.

These adult were either at stage 1 hypertension or had elevated blood pressure.

Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic pressure between 130 mmHg to 139 mmHg and a diastolic pressure between 80 mmHg to 89 mmHg.

Elevated blood pressure is a systolic pressure between 120 mmHg to 129 mmHg and a diastolic pressure less than 80 mmHg.

They were not on any blood pressure drugs and they were inactive — in other word they were not doing any exercise and physical fitness activities for six months before they took part in the study.

After 12 weeks of doing hot yoga classes, the subjects saw a drop in blood pressure and stress levels.

The average systolic blood pressure was reduced to 121 mmHg and the average diastolic pressure dropped to 79 mmHg.

An ideal blood pressure is between 90 mmHg over 60 mmHg and 120 mmHg over 80 mmHg.

Supporting evidence have shown the positive effect of regular yoga at room-temperature on lowering blood pressure.

However, the potential impact of hot yoga is not well-known and this research is one the first studies on hot yoga and hypertension.

Dr Hunter said:

“The results of our study start the conversation that hot yoga could be feasible and effective in terms of reducing blood pressure without medication.

However, larger studies need to be done before we can say with confidence that hot yoga has a positive impact on blood pressure.”

She advises that people taking hot yoga classes should drink water during the sessions and stay hydrated, wear suitable clothes, and patients should let their doctor know before taking up this exercise.

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Hunter et al., 2019).

The effect is almost the same as taking medication.

A thirty-minute walk in the morning significantly lowers blood pressure for the rest of the day, research finds.

The beneficial effect is almost the same as taking blood pressure lowering medication.

Avoiding sitting for prolonged periods during the day also helps keep blood pressure down.

Standing up every now and then in the afternoon can also boost the benefit of morning exercise for women, the study found.

Mr Michael Wheeler, the study’s first author, said:

“Traditionally, the health effects of exercise and sedentary behavior have been studied separately.

We conducted this study because we wanted to know whether there is a combined effect of these behaviors on blood pressure.”

The study included 67 people aged 55 to 80, all of whom were overweight or obese.

Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure was reduced, the results showed.

Mr Wheeler said:

“For both men and women, the magnitude of reduction in average systolic blood pressure following exercise and breaks in sitting, approached what might be expected from antihypertensive medication in this population to reduce the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

However, this reduction was greater for women.”

Mr Wheeler said:

“Having the study participants begin with exercise was intentional, because we wanted to focus on the novel aspect of combining exercise with breaks in sitting.

However, it means that we cannot say for sure that breaks in sitting alone had no blood pressure lowering effect in men, as any effect could have been masked by the preceding effect of exercise.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Wheeler et al., 2019).

This is the most effective pill to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and cut the risk of heart disease.

The ‘polypill’ is a new hope to cut heart attacks and strokes by a third, research finds.

The polypill is a once-daily pill with a combination of four different drugs at a low dosage.

Several studies have focused on the effect of the polypill and all suggest that the tablet can substantially reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The polypill tablet contains two blood pressure lowering drugs, a blood-thinning drug and a cholesterol-lowering statin.

Currently, prescriptions for each individual drug are much higher than the polypills at a fixed dosage.

For example, cardiovascular-related drugs such as lisinopril is 10 mg, aspirin is 75 mg, atenolol is 50 mg, and simvastatin is 40 mg.

However, a daily polypill contains a lower dose of four medications used in preventing heart attack and stroke.

One study treated their patients with polypill made of three blood pressure lowering medications: 25 mg losartan, 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, 2.5 mg amlodipine, and one cholesterol lowering drug: 10 mg atorvastatin.

Patients who were on the polypill saw a reduction of 9 mm Hg in their systolic blood pressure, whereas the usual care group patients only had a 2 mm Hg reduction in one year.

Also, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), known as “bad” cholesterol, in the polypill group dropped by 15 mg/dL compared to those in the usual care group who only had a reduction of 4 mg/dL.

The researchers points out that patients are naturally more likely to stick with a one-a-day pill rather than following procedures and routines for taking several medications at different times of day.

On top of that, it is more cost effective and it can be made available universally, making it cheaper for those with low socioeconomic status and in poorer countries.

Dr Munoz, the study’s first author, said:

“Patients face a variety of barriers to getting the care they need.

Those barriers can include cost and complexity of medication regimens, so innovative strategies are needed to improve the delivery of preventive care, especially when it comes to socio-economically vulnerable individuals.

When it comes to preventing cardiovascular disease, simple strategies like the polypill may offer key advantages for patients who face barriers to accessing medical care.

Simplicity is a big advantage of the polypill.

It’s once daily; easy to understand; and doesn’t require adjustment.

Patients are more likely to take their medications as prescribed, which is good for them and their frontline providers.”

The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine (Munoz et al., 2019).

High blood pressure puts extra pressure on internal organs like the heart, brain and kidneys.

Poor sleep can be a sign of high blood pressure, research reveals.

A lack of deep sleep is a particularly strong sign of the condition.

Without deep sleep during the night, people often do not feel refreshed despite sleeping for 7-9 hours.

High blood pressure puts extra pressure on internal organs like the heart, brain and kidneys, all of which worsen sleep.

Lack of sleep, in turn, can make it harder for the body to regulate stress hormones, which leads to high blood pressure.

Signs of poor sleep include more awakenings during the night, shorter sleep duration and sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea causes shallow breathing or breathing to stop for a few seconds during sleep.

The conclusions come from a study of 784 men over 65 who were followed for an average of 3.5 years.

The results showed that men who spent less time in the deepest phase of sleep were significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure later on.

Professor Susan Redline, study co-author, said:

“Our study shows for the first time that poor quality sleep, reflected by reduced slow wave sleep, puts individuals at significantly increased risk of developing high blood pressure, and that this effect appears to be independent of the influence of breathing pauses during sleep.”

Professor Redline said that while women were not included in the study, the results would probably be the same for them.

Professor Redline continued:

“People should recognize that sleep, diet and physical activity are critical to health, including heart health and optimal blood pressure control.

Although the elderly often have poor sleep, our study shows that such a finding is not benign.

Poor sleep may be a powerful predictor for adverse health outcomes.

Initiatives to improve sleep may provide novel approaches for reducing hypertension burden.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Fung et al., 2011).

How to reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in 30 days without statins, using only natural, healthy foods.

The most well-known side-effects of statins — the cholesterol-lowering drugs — are headaches and muscle aches.

Other common side-effects of statins include stomach pain, dizziness, constipation and feeling sick.

However, some people taking the cholesterol medication report problems in their hands and feet.

The sensation of pins and needles is usually caused by the blood being cut-off to a part of the body for a period.

However, some people report pins and needles in their hands and feet as a side-effect of taking statins.

Statins lower LDL cholesterol

Statins are usually used to try and lower levels of LDL cholesterol, known as the ‘bad type’ of cholesterol.

If left untreated, this type of cholesterol can cause the arteries to block and serious complications can ensue.

A high level of the ‘bad type’ of cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease.

It affects around half of adults over the age of 50-years-old.

Statins work by blocking the body’s mechanism for producing cholesterol.

Statins are also prescribed for people who have a high rate of cardiovascular disease in their family or have a condition that leads to high levels of cholesterol.

New alternatives to statins

Because of the side-effects of statins, researchers are looking for alternatives to lower cholesterol.

One method which has recently attracted attention is the use of natural foods with cholesterol-lowering properties.

One study gave patients foods with real ingredients, such as walnuts, dark chocolate and smoothies containing strawberries and bananas.

The foods used typically have high levels of plant sterols, fibre, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

The results showed that cholesterol levels were decreased by 9 percent on average in three days, with some seeing reductions of 30 percent.

Dr Stephen Kopecky, the study’s first author, said:

“Based on the outcomes seen in our study, using this type of food as medicine approach expands the options for medical professionals and patients.

Many patients who are unwilling or unable to take statin drugs may be able to help manage their high cholesterol, or hyperlipidemia with a realistic food-based intervention.”

Diet lowers cholesterol

Studies have consistently found that ‘bad’ cholesterol levels can be lowered by diet.

For example:

• A plant-based diet — particularly a vegan diet — can substantially lower total cholesterol.
• Eating barley and barley products lowers the levels of two types of “bad” cholesterol; LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and non-HDL (non-high-density lipoprotein).
• Eating almonds improves the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol as well as removing ‘bad’ cholesterol.

The difficulty it getting people to change their habits when a pill is much easier to take.

Dr Elizabeth Klodas, study co-author, said:

“Nutrition contributes to 5 of the 7 modifiable risk factors for heart disease, but getting patients to change diet is incredibly challenging.

This study underscores what’s possible when we succeed. The implications of attaining such a significant cholesterol impact from a small food based intervention are profound.

We could change the health of our country in 30 days.”

The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition (Kopecky et al., 2022).