BLOOD PRESSURE CHART: WHAT YOUR READING MEANS

Dec 9, 2017 | Healthy Tips

BLOOD PRESSURE CHART: WHAT YOUR READING MEANS

By Mayo Clinic Staff

This blood pressure chart can help you figure out if your blood pressure is at a healthy level or if you’ll need to take some steps to improve your numbers.

Blood pressure readings fall into four general categories, ranging from normal to stage 2 high blood pressure (hypertension). The level of your blood pressure determines what kind of treatment you may need. To get an accurate blood pressure measurement, your doctor should evaluate your readings based on the average of two or more blood pressure readings at three or more office visits.

Here’s a look at the four blood pressure categories and what they mean to you. If your readings fall into two different categories, your correct blood pressure category is the higher category. For example, if your blood pressure reading is 125/95 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), you have stage 1 hypertension.

If you’re a healthy adult younger than age 60, or if you have chronic kidney disease, diabetes or coronary artery disease, your treatment goal is less than 140/90 mm Hg. If you’re a healthy adult age 60 or older, your treatment goal is less than 150/90 mm Hg.

If your blood pressure is normal, maintaining or adopting a healthy lifestyle can prevent or delay the onset of high blood pressure or other health problems. If your blood pressure isn’t normal, a healthy lifestyle — oftentimes along with medication — can help bring it under control and reduce your risk of life-threatening complications.

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WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T TREAT BLEEDING GUMS

Dec 9, 2017 | Healthy Tips

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T TREAT BLEEDING GUMS?

Reviewed By Michael Friedman, DDS

If your gums bleed, it’s important to get it under control. Though it might be due to a simple reason, like using a toothbrush that’s too hard, there’s more to it than that sometimes. Research suggests bleeding gums may be connected to a variety of medical conditions.

“When they say the mouth is the window to the body, it’s really true,” says family dentist Mark Burhenne, DDS. What happens in your mouth may be a snapshot of your overall health.

Research suggests that periodontal disease, which may be the reason for your bleeding gums, is linked to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and premature birth.

If you don’t treat periodontal disease, Burhenne says, not only will you slowly lose all of your teeth, but it may affect your health.

What’s the Link?

The connection between your gums and your health is inflammation. Inflammation is a normal reaction your body has to infection or injury. So if you have gum disease, your gums may become inflamed and bleed.

As inflammation builds up in your blood, it can make other health conditions worse. Some studies suggest that people with gum disease are more likely to have heart disease or diabetes. Others show that it raises a pregnant woman’s risk of premature delivery.

Your Heart

Many people who have gum disease also have atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in the arteries. Both are related to inflammation.

Experts don’t fully understand the relationship between heart disease and gum disease. “It’s not entirely clear why they occur together,” says Harmony Reynolds, MD, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Centre. “Researchers are not sure whether infection in the gums is actually the cause of inflammation in the artery walls.”

It’s also unclear whether treating gum disease now will cut your risk of heart attack or stroke later. But experts recommend it, no matter what.

To boost both your gum health and your heart health, try to:

·        Exercise regularly

·        Give up smoking

·        Limit sugary foods and drinks

·        Manage your blood pressure

·        Stay at a healthy weight

Blood Sugar

Gum disease and diabetes are closely tied.

“It can go both ways,” says Gregory B. Dodell, MD, assistant clinical professor of endocrinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. If you have diabetes, you’re more likely to get gum disease. If you have gum disease, it’s harder to control your blood sugar levels and can make diabetes worse.

Brushing and flossing, rinsing every day with an antibacterial mouthwash, and regular dental cleanings — along with the other things you do to treat your diabetes — can help lower this risk.

Your Baby

If you’re pregnant and have gum disease, your odds of delivering your baby early may be higher.

Recent studies suggest that bacteria from gum disease may get into your bloodstream and travel to your foetus. That can bring on premature labour and raise your chance of having a baby with a low birth weight.

Cancer

Some experts suggest there may be a link between periodontal disease and certain cancers, but it hasn’t been scientifically proved.

If your bleeding gums are from long-term periodontal disease, the inflammation may increase your odds of having cancer.

What You Can Do

If you treat your bleeding gums now, it can be an investment in your future.

“Diligent brushing and flossing is the best way to prevent gum disease,” says Sean Anderson, DDS, a dentist in San Ramon, CA, adding that check-ups are key for addressing other health issues that may be related, like heart disease or diabetes.

“I can’t overstate the importance of seeing the dentist every 6 months for an exam,” he says. “When the dentist evaluates your gums, it’s an opportunity to catch these serious conditions early.”

TIRED OF YOUR DIABETES? HERE’S HOW TO KEEP GOING

Dec 9, 2017 | Healthy Tips

TIRED OF YOUR DIABETES? HERE’S HOW TO KEEP GOING

By David Steen Martin

When you have diabetes, your daily to-do list can seem like a lot. You track your blood sugar, take medicine, watch your diet, and exercise.

It can make you feel overwhelmed and burned out. If you’re there:

1. Know that no one is perfect.

There are no vacations from diabetes. Even the most diligent people can’t keep their blood sugar or diet or physical activity on target all the time.

“Diabetes is unique because [you’re] actually making medical decisions, day-to-day, minute-to-minute,” says Alicia McAuliffe-Fogarty, PhD, a clinical health psychologist.

This can be stressful, says David Nathan, MD, director of the Diabetes Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“If people are always stressed out about diabetes, they’re miserable,” Nathan says.

He says people need to forgive themselves if they miss their goals for a day, a week, or even more.

“Chill a little bit,” Nathan says. “We’re going to do the best we can. We need to recognize no one is perfect.”

2. Pay attention to what stresses you out.

Living with diabetes can cause fear, anger, worry, and sadness.

Lawrence Fisher, Ph.D., director of the Behavioural Diabetes Research Group at UCSF School of Medicine, has studied what doctors call “diabetes distress” in people with type 1 and those with type  2 diabetes. He learned that during any 18-month period, from a third to a half of people with diabetes will feel a good bit of it.

He cites seven common sources of diabetes distress among people with type 1 diabetes. The most common is a feeling of helplessness.

“The [blood sugar] numbers have a life of their own. They go up. They go down. You’re constantly making adjustments,” Fisher says. “There’s a feeling of powerlessness that is really hard to tolerate.”

Other common sources of diabetes distress among people with type 1 diabetes include:

·        Worry about what those around them assume

·        Concern about access to good healthcare

·        Perceived lack of support from family or friends, or feeling like they’re the “diabetes police”

·        Fear of dangerously low blood sugar

·        Stress over managing blood sugar levels

·        Bother over what to eat and when

Fisher says people with diabetes should pay attention to what stresses them out and try to address those things. He suggests programs or workshops that focus on what gets you down.

“There are things you can do,” he says.

He found that people with type 2 diabetes also had a feeling of helplessness. A sense of failure and negative social perceptions were other common sources of bother among type 2 folks, he says.

Paying attention to what gets to you about your diabetes is important. The less spun-out you are, the better you’ll be able to manage your disease.

3. Set realistic goals.

That’s important to avoid burnout. It can mean taking a big goal and breaking it into more manageable pieces.

“Taking small steps to achieve a larger goal often makes sense,” says McAuliffe-Fogarty, who has type 1 diabetes.

If you need to lose 50 pounds, shoot for 2 pounds a month, she says. If you drink regular soda, try switching to diet. If you normally eat a pint of ice cream, switch to a half a pint.

“You should adapt your treatment plan to your lifestyle rather than the other way around,” says McAuliffe-Fogarty, who is also vice president of the lifestyle management team at the American Diabetes Association.

4. Ask for help.

Build a support network — and use it.

In addition to your doctors, look for counsellors or family friends who can be there for you when you feel down. Sharing stories as part of a diabetes support group can be very helpful.

Ask those closest to you for specific help you need. This can be anything from asking a family member to remind you to take your medication to asking a friend to go for a walk with you a few times a week, McAuliffe-Fogarty says.

“Without that support, people often get down,” she says.

5. Know transitions can be hard.

Change can be a challenge for anyone. Going through it while you manage your diabetes can be really tough.

Heading to college, being diagnosed with a complication, and trying a new treatment are types of adjustments that can bring worry, McAuliffe-Fogarty says.

To ease stress, try to anticipate and prepare for big changes in your life. That’ll lessen the impact on how you manage your diabetes.

6. Tell your doctor all about it.

See him regularly. When you go, make sure to share your physical symptoms, and how you’re feeling about things. Your diabetes can make it more likely for you to be depressed or anxious. What’s more, how you feel plays a big role in your ability to control your diabetes.

“That’s a component that’s often forgotten or left out,” McAuliffe-Fogarty says of mental well-being. “It’s equally important as eating right and exercising.”

It’s important that you take an active role in communicating with your doctor. He’s trained in managing diabetes. But he may not be as knowledgeable about the emotional toll the disease can take, McAuliffe-Fogarty says.

WebMD Feature

HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR HEART IF YOU QUIT SMOKING

Dec 3, 2017 | Healthy Tips

HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR HEART IF YOU QUIT SMOKING

Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, FACC

Whether you’re a long time smoker or you just picked up the habit, do your heart a favour and say goodbye to tobacco. As far as your ticker’s concerned, it’s never too late to quit. Your body starts to heal as soon as you smoke your last cigarette.

There are many reasons your heart will thank you for not lighting up. Every time you inhale cigarette smoke, your heart rate and blood pressure go up temporarily. That puts extra stress on your ticker and forces it to work harder.

Over time, smoking damages you in other ways, too. It:

•    Clogs your arteries

•    Increases clotting

•    Fills your lungs with tar

•    Thickens your blood

•    Weakens your bones

•    Increases inflammation

•    Weakens your immune system

Quit smoking now and you’ll see fast results. Just 20 minutes after you stop, your blood pressure and heart rate go down. In 2 to 3 weeks, your blood flow starts to get better.

Your odds of heart disease will go down, too. After a year without cigarettes, you’re half as likely to get it as you were when you smoked. After 5 years, it’s about the same as someone who never lit up.

How Smoking Hurts Your Heart

The chemicals in cigarettes harm your heart in many ways.

There’s carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that enters your lungs and then your bloodstream. It steals oxygen from your red blood cells, so less of it gets to your organs and tissues. It also makes your artery walls hard and stiff, which can put you on the path to a heart attack.

Don’t forget nicotine, an addictive chemical in both tobacco and e-cigarettes. It makes your blood vessels narrow. It jacks up your blood pressure and heart rate, too. Your heart has to pump harder and faster than normal.

Smoking also causes chemical changes in your body. Cells in your bloodstream called platelets clump together when they react with toxic cigarette ingredients. This makes your blood thicker and stickier. It becomes harder for your heart to push it through your blood vessels.

Your cholesterol levels get out of whack, too. Cigarette smoke raises levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and a blood fat called triglycerides. Those cause waxy plaque to build up in your arteries. At the same time, it lowers HDL, or “good” cholesterol — the kind that prevents plaque from forming.

When your blood pressure is high, like it is while you’re smoking, arteries get stretched and scarred. Their lining gets damaged, which lets plaque grow and combine with sticky blood cells. All of this raises your risk for blood clots, which can block blood flow to your heart or other organs. That can cause heart attacks or strokes.

Smoking damages your lungs and makes it harder to breathe, too. That can keep you from exercising as much as you should. You need to get about 150 minutes of physical activity each week to keep it fit and strong.

Reap the Benefits of a Smoke-Free Life

Luckily, most of the damage tobacco does to you is reversible. When you quit, your risk of blood clots gets lower. Your “bad” cholesterol will go down and your “good” cholesterol will go up. That’ll help slow the buildup of new plaque deposits.

Within 2 weeks, you may notice it’s easier to exercise without feeling short of breath. Over the next few months, you’ll be able to breathe deeply again. Your hacking cough should disappear, too.

Don’t worry if you put on a few pounds at first. Many people swap food for smoking when they first quit. After a little while, you and your body will get used to a smoke-free life. When you get more exercise and improve your diet, you’ll get your weight under control.

If you have heart disease, it’s not too late to make a difference. If you give up cigarettes after a heart attack, you can cut your risk of having a second one in half. Quitting after you’ve had bypass surgery can keep your arteries healthy and help prevent further clogs and disease.

When you quit, you’ll also protect your friends and family from the health risks of second-hand smoke.

Talk to your doctor to get suggestions on how to end your tobacco habit. He can also put you in touch with programs that offer tips and support.

WebMD Medical Reference

TIPS FOR HEART-HEALTHY LIVING WITH DIABETES

Dec 3, 2017 | Healthy Tips

TIPS FOR HEART-HEALTHY LIVING WITH DIABETES

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Keeping control of your “ABCs” — A1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol — can go a long way to help prevent heart disease, stroke, and other heart problems when you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. And your heart health is very important: You are two to four times more likely to have strokes and heart disease if you have diabetes. Follow these guidelines for a heart-healthy living to meet your ABC goals. Your doctor may tailor your goals based on your age, blood sugar (also called glucose) levels, and heart or other diabetes-linked problems you may have.

A is for A1c Testing for Diabetes

Why Does A1c Matter?

Keeping control of your blood sugar over time helps lower your risk of problems such as kidney, nerve, and eye disease. It may also make you less likely to have a heart attack, stroke, and death from heart disease. Each percentage point you drop in your A1c test result (from 8% to 7%, for example) can drop your risk of kidney, eye, and nerve disease by a whopping 40%.

If you have diabetes, you should check your blood sugar often to make sure your levels are in check. A haemoglobin A1c test is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar level over the past 2 to 3 months. It’s a way to check how well you control your blood sugar over time. A1c measures how much glucose has been “sticking” to your red blood cells. If your treatment changes or your blood sugar control is not on target, then you should repeat the test every 3 months.

What’s Your A1c Goal?

Aim for an A1c of around 7% or less. How Can You Improve Your Score?

If you think of daily blood sugar testing like a pop quiz, the A1c test is a midterm. Steady daily blood sugar control improves your A1c score, which shows your past efforts. Take your diabetes drugs and make sure you eat healthily, get exercise, and follow the other heart-healthy guidelines below. This will help you reach your A1c goal.

B is for Blood Pressure and Diabetes

About 70% of people with diabetes either have high blood pressure — a score of at least 140/90 (read as “140 over 90”) — or use prescription drugs to keep their blood pressure down. High blood pressure raises your chance of having other health problems that diabetes can cause, like eye disease and kidney damage. It also makes you more likely to have heart disease and stroke.

Why Does Blood Pressure Matter?

Keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level lowers your chances of having heart disease by 33% to 50% — a big benefit. It can also help prevent or delay kidney disease, another common problem with diabetes.

What’s Your Blood Pressure Goal?

Aim for a blood pressure score below 140/80 most of the time. Get your blood pressure checked at least four times a year or at each diabetes check-up. You could also use a blood pressure monitor at home to check your blood pressure more often.

How Can You Improve Your Blood Pressure?

All the things that are good for your heart will help you control your blood pressure: eat a low-salt diet, eat more foods high in potassium, get regular exercise, limit alcohol, quit smoking, and stay at a healthy weight. When lifestyle changes aren’t enough to control high blood pressure, drugs can help lower it.

C is for Cholesterol and Diabetes

The wrong kinds of fats in your blood can build up in your arteries. This raises your chance of heart disease and stroke. The biggest problem is “bad” cholesterol — called LDL cholesterol. Other things that raise your risk of heart disease and stroke are included in a calculation to find out if you will need medication to lower your cholesterol.

Why Does Cholesterol Matter?

Keeping your LDL cholesterol at a healthy level can bring down your chances of having heart disease. Your doctor will let you know how much your cholesterol should be lowered.

What’s Your Cholesterol Goal?

Has your cholesterol checked at least once a year? Aim for these scores:

LDL below 100 for most people with diabetes under the age of 40 or those without heart disease. Experts advise a goal below 70 if you have had a heart attack or other heart problem.

HDL above 50 for women, and above 40 for men.

Triglycerides lower than 150.

How Can You Improve Your Cholesterol?

You can lower your cholesterol and your chance of heart disease by making changes in what you eat and how active you are. Eat a mix of colourful fruits and vegetables. Make other foods that are low in saturated and trans fat and cholesterol, and high in whole-grain fibre, a big part of your diet. Adding omega-3 fatty acids and plant stanols/sterols help. Lose weight if you need to, and get regular exercise. If that’s not enough to get your cholesterol to healthy levels and your doctor determines you are at a high risk of future heart attacks or heart disease, your doctor may prescribe a drug to help you reach your goal.

Improve Your ABCs with Heart-Healthy Living

Your doctor will likely advise you to eat well and exercise most days to help manage your ABCs.

These tips can help you get there:

Watch Your Blood Sugar: Keep clear records of your blood sugar levels. Write down anything that may have affected your blood sugar. Then you can see how diet, exercise, and any drugs you take affect your readings. Talk to your doctor or diabetes team about what you can do to improve your blood sugar control.

Control Your Weight: If you’re overweight, lose weight by eating healthier. Get more exercise to help control your A1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Get Moving: Do 30 to 60 minutes of combined aerobic and strength training exercises, such as brisk walking or lifting weights, on most days. Even without weight loss, being active helps your diabetes control.

Eat Healthily: Fill your plate with lots of fruits and vegetables. Choose foods low in salt and sugar. Eat plenty of fibre from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains like brown rice and oatmeal. Choose heart-healthy fats such as olive and canola oil, fatty fish, nuts, and avocados. If you drink alcohol, do it in moderation.

Take Drugs as Prescribed: Take your diabetes drugs exactly as your doctor advises, even when you feel healthy.

Quit Smoking: If you’re a smoker, get help to quit. Try a smoking cessation program to boost your chance of success.

Get Support: Ask your family and friends to help you stick to a heart-healthy lifestyle.