Tips on Relieving Pain Between Shoulder Blades

A lady experiencing shoulder blade pain

Tips on Relieving Pain Between Shoulder Blades

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When the area between your shoulders hurts, it can make your life tough. Getting groceries out of your car or your child out of their car seat can be difficult. You may have problems sleeping or working. There is assistance available regardless of how you are suffering pain between your shoulder blades. This article delves into shoulder blade pain, describing what it is, what causes it, and how to relieve pain from your shoulder blade.

Cause of Pain Between Shoulder Blades

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When you don’t know what’s causing your pain, it can be very stressful.

These are a few of the reasons why you might be suffering from shoulder blade pain. This information, however, cannot substitute a physician’s formal diagnosis. If the pain between your shoulder blades persists or becomes severe, consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Arthritis is a rather frequent ailment. There are about 100 different types of arthritis, with osteoarthritis being the most common. Shoulder osteoarthritis can cause stiffness, reduced range of motion, and nocturnal shoulder pain.

Shoulder bursitis arises when the protecting sacs in your joints, called bursae, become irritated or inflamed. When you execute specific actions, such as raising your arm to the side or pressing down on the affected shoulder, you may have shoulder pain. Injuries, arthritis, and repetitive movements are all common causes of bursitis.

Although mental illnesses such as depression are labeled as such, they do involve physical components, such as pain. Even if you obtain therapy for your mental illness, if your physical symptoms are not addressed, they may persist.

Physical stress- much of that time is spent hunched over a computer, with no opportunity to change positions. Too much sitting and hunching can harm your neck, shoulders, and upper back, in addition to developing harmful illnesses including obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Exercises to Relieve the Pain

Shoulder stretches
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Here are a few exercises to assist you to get rid of shoulder blade pain.

Shoulder stretch- Straighten your back and shoulders. Raise one arm to shoulder height in front of you and reach it across your chest, gently dragging it with your other arm. A slight stretch should be felt in your upper back and shoulder. Hold the position for a few seconds before releasing it.

Shoulder roll- to enhance your posture and alignment, stand up straight and envision a thread tugging the top of your head toward the ceiling. Move your shoulders up toward your ears while relaxing your arms. Slowly circle your shoulders in one direction 2 to 4 times, then repeat.

Stretch your lower neck and upper back- Raise your arms above your head and clasp your hands in front of you. Drop your chin forward and reach forward, rounding your upper back and pulling your shoulder blades apart until your upper back and shoulders are stretched.

Food That Helps Relieve Pain

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Certain foods might promote inflammation in your body, which can exacerbate your symptoms. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and avoid processed foods. Choosing omega-3 fatty acid-rich meals, such as salmon, may also help.

The Mediterranean diet, which includes a combination of antioxidant chemicals and flavonoid-rich foods, appears to be efficient in lowering LDL particle oxidizability, which may provide some insight into the Mediterranean diet’s cardiovascular advantages.

Low Laser Treatment That Relieve Pain

Laser treatment for shoulder blade pain
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The idea that light energy from a laser can alleviate pain and inflammation, speed up tissue repair, relax muscles, and encourage nerve regeneration is far-fetched. Science, on the other hand, confirms that these impacts exist.

A laser is a monochromatic electromagnetic high concentrated light beam that is noninvasive, nonionizing, and nonionizing. Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) has recently become popular in the treatment of rheumatology and musculoskeletal problems due to its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and bio-stimulatory properties. Through direct irradiation without heat response, the LLLT causes cell proliferation, collagen formation, protein synthesis, tissue restoration, wound healing, and pain alleviation.

By reducing bradykinin, a pain-inducing neurotransmitter, the laser reduces nerve sensitivity. It produces analgesia effects by normalizing ion channels [cellular gatekeepers] and releasing endorphins [the body’s natural pain reliever] and enkephalins [related to endorphins]. On particular nerve fibers, it also has a pain-blocking effect.

Conclusion

With these suggestions, you may need to take a trial-and-error method. To test what relieves the pain under your shoulder blade, try a mix of these therapy options from us, at Raycome.

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Summer Allergies and How to Defeat Them

Man wiping his nose with a tissue

Summer Allergies and How to Defeat Them

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Allergic rhinitis, sometimes known as hay fever, affects about 10% of adults and causes sneezing, sniffling, and itchy eyes. Allergies often start to flare up in the spring as flowers blossom and pollen fills the air, but the worst might happen when summer arrives and you’re still stuffy, sniffling, sneezing, and generally unhappy.

Summer allergy season lasts after the Spring has passed. There are, however, ways to mitigate the effects, protect yourself, and determine what kind of treatment you may require. When it comes to seasonal allergies, knowing is half the battle, so here are a few things to keep in mind so you can spend less time sneezing and more time enjoying the sun this summer.

What Is Seasonal Allergy

A Lady Sneezing
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Summer allergies are prevalent, and they are caused by the same allergens that cause allergies in other seasons.

Sinus congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and itchy or watery eyes are all common allergy symptoms. Due to post-nasal drip, another common symptom of pollen or mold allergies, allergies can produce a sore throat. Mucus may build up in your sinuses and leak down your throat, producing coughing and a raw, scratchy throat.

Allergy Vs. Covid-19

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A fever, combined with a cough or shortness of breath, is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. Allergies do not create a fever, which is one of the most important distinctions between allergies and COVID-19 patients to understand. A cold may only happen a few times a year, but allergies are seasonal and are triggered by your triggers.

Grass pollen, which reaches moderate to high levels throughout the summer months, is the most common cause of summer allergies. Ragweed is a major allergy trigger in the fall, but it also blooms in late July and August. Other allergy triggers throughout the summer include mold spores and stinging insects. You and your family may encounter more insects and environmental allergies when you spend more time outside, but you may restrict exposure to reduce symptoms.

Common Cause of Summer Allergies

Pollen grains
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Hay fever occurs when your immune system misconstrues a normally harmless airborne chemical as harmful. It reacts by releasing histamines and other chemicals into your bloodstream in response to that substance, or allergen. The symptoms of an allergic reaction are caused by these substances.

Pollen is the most common allergen. By late April, Culprit Trees are usually done with their pollen-fest. Summer allergies are triggered by grasses and weeds.

When stinging insects such as bees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, fire ants, and other insects, allergic reactions can occur. A run-in with one of them if you have a severe allergy could result in a life-threatening situation.

Summer pollution might exacerbate your symptoms. Ozone at ground level is one of the most common. It’s made up of a combination of sunlight and chemicals from car exhaust in the atmosphere. Strong sunlight and calm winds create ozone clouds around some cities during the summer.

Symptoms

Allergic reaction
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Seasonal allergies can cause mild to severe symptoms. Among the most common are:

  • sneezing
  • a stuffy or runny nose
  • itching and watery eyes
  • sinuses, throat, or ear canals that itch
  • congestion in the ears
  • postnasal drainage

Symptoms that are less prevalent include:

  • shortness of breath
  • headache
  • wheezing
  • coughing

Many people who suffer from hay fever also suffer from asthma. Seasonal allergens may induce an asthma attack if you have both hay fever and asthma. Consider seeking certified medical assistance incase symptoms persist.

Treatment

Taking medicine
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Avoiding allergens that cause hay fever and year-round allergic rhinitis is the best treatment for hay fever and year-round allergic rhinitis. Hay fever symptoms can also be treated with medications thanks to technology innovations. Alternative treatments are also used by certain persons.

When you can’t avoid your allergens, there are other options, such as:

  • Cetirizine (Zyrtec) and combo drugs comprising acetaminophen, diphenhydramine, and phenylephrine are examples of over-the-counter decongestants and antihistamines.
  • steroid nasal sprays, for example, are prescription drugs.
  • Your doctor may prescribe allergy injections in severe cases. They're a sort of immunotherapy that can help your immune system become less sensitive to allergens.

Drowsiness, dizziness, and disorientation are all possible adverse effects of some allergy treatments.

How to Avoid Allergies

exercising
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Exercise does not have to be strenuous or difficult. Simple exercises keep your circulation moving and help you get rid of irritating allergies. It’s important not to overwork oneself, especially during allergy season. Overdoing physical activity, may increase rather than alleviate symptoms of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

When pollen counts and pollution levels are high, remain inside.

Close all of your doors and windows. To keep allergies at bay, turn on your air conditioner. Invest in an air purifier.

Clean your air filters in your home regularly. Clean bookshelves, vents, and other pollen-collecting areas as well.

Conclusion

You don’t have to suffer through the spring and summer with a stuffy nose—take control of your allergies and say goodbye to seasonal symptoms. At Raycome we offer expert advice on the use of medical devices , get in touch with us,we will be happy to help.

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Keto Diet and Hypertension: All You Need to Know

Keto Diet

Keto Diet and Hypertension: All You Need to Know

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Obesity and cardiovascular disease treatment are some of today’s most difficult and essential concerns. Weight loss is frequently recommended as a treatment to help with some of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Ketogenic diets, which are low in carbs and high in fats and/or proteins, have gained favor among diverse diets.

When individuals replace heavy carbohydrates and sugars with healthy fats, proteins, and nutrient-dense reduced carb foods, the ketogenic diet can provide a slew of health benefits. There are many misconceptions regarding the ketogenic diet’s effects on heart health, so let’s take a look at what the evidence says about the keto diet and blood pressure. You might be shocked to learn that going keto has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce hypertension thanks to technological innovations and studies.

What Is a Keto Diet

Keto magic cookies
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The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that resembles the Atkins and low-carb diets in many ways. It entails substantially lowering carbohydrate intake and substituting fat. This decrease in carbs causes your body to enter a metabolic state known as ketosis.

Ketosis is a metabolic adaptation that allows the body to survive starvation. Instead of sugar or glucose from carbohydrates, your body will break down ketone bodies, a form of fuel produced by the liver from fat. To get into ketosis, you must consume 75 percent of your calories from fat, versus 20-35 percent usually. It also necessitates 5% of daily calories from carbohydrates (20-50 grams) and 15% of daily calories from protein. Ketosis takes roughly 72 hours, according to Kleinman.

Foods like fatty fish, eggs, dairy, meat, butter, oils, nuts, seeds, and low-carb vegetables constitute a keto diet. Fat bombs, such as unsweetened chocolate or coconut oil, can assist people in meeting their daily fat intake goals. Foods that are keto-compliant, such as red meat and nuts, can be expensive.

What Is Hypertension

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Hypertension is a common disorder in which the blood pressure against the arterial walls is excessively high over time. This can result in issues such as heart disease. Blood pressure can be measured using a home blood pressure monitor when you do not have access to hospitals.

The amount of blood pumped by the heart and the degree of resistance to blood flow in the arteries are used to calculate blood pressure. As the arteries shrink and the heart pumps more blood, blood pressure rises. Some people have hypertension yet don’t show any signs or symptoms.

Exercise, stress, anxiety, fear, agitation, and other powerful emotions can all cause blood pressure to rise. Even holding your breath for a few seconds might cause your blood pressure to rise by a few points. From one reading to the next, your blood pressure will never be precisely the same. The general range of readings and how much they fluctuate are the most critical factors.

A ketogenic diet can lower the risk of hypertension. Promising research continues to show how cutting carbs and increasing healthy fats can help the heart and circulatory system.

Is the Keto Diet Healthy?

Keto diet
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The ketogenic diet is primarily used by my patients to lose weight. Previous research has shown that patients who follow a ketogenic or very low carbohydrate diet lose weight faster than those who follow a more standard low-fat diet or even a Mediterranean diet. However, the weight loss disparity appears to fade over time.

A ketogenic diet has also been proven to enhance blood sugar management in type 2 diabetic patients, at least temporarily. When it comes to the influence on cholesterol levels, there is even more debate. According to a few studies, some individuals’ cholesterol levels rise at first, then reduce a few months later. There are, however, no long-term studies examining its effects on diabetes and high cholesterol over time.

A ketogenic diet may be an appealing treatment option for certain diseases and may help you lose weight faster. But it’s difficult to stick to because it’s high in fatty, processed, and salty foods, all of which are notoriously bad. We also don’t know much about its long-term impacts, because it’s so difficult to maintain that most individuals can’t eat this way for very long.

Low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, dietary shortages, and an increased risk of heart disease have all been linked to the keto diet. Strict diets, such as keto, can lead to social isolation and disordered eating. Keto is not recommended for anyone who has problems with their pancreas, liver, thyroid, or gallbladder.

Before beginning any new diet, speak with your primary care physician.

Aware: High Fat in Keto Diet

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Because the keto diet requires so much fat, followers must consume fat at every meal. That would be 165 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 75 grams of protein in a daily 2,000-calorie diet. The actual ratio, however, is determined by your specific requirements.

The keto diet allows some beneficial unsaturated fats, such as nuts (almonds, walnuts), seeds, avocados, tofu, and olive oil. Saturated fats from oils (palm, coconut), lard, butter, and cocoa butter, on the other hand, are recommended in large quantities.

The keto diet includes protein, but it doesn’t distinguish between lean protein items and saturated fat-rich protein sources like beef, pork, and bacon. 

Although all fruits are high in carbohydrates, certain fruits (typically berries) can be consumed in small amounts. Leafy greens (such as kale, Swiss chard, and spinach), cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, cucumber, celery, and summer squashes are the only vegetables (which are also high in carbs).

The risks of a ketogenic diet are numerous. Top on the list: it contains a lot of saturated fat. Because of the association between saturated fats and heart disease, you should limit them to no more than 7% of your daily calories. The keto diet is connected to an increase in “bad” LDL cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease.

A Better Choice: Dash Diet

Dash Approved Meal
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DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is a nutritious eating plan that can help you manage or avoid high blood pressure.

The Mediterranean and DASH diets are both plant-based diets that are high in fruits and vegetables, nuts, low-fat and non-fat dairy, lean meats, fish, and poultry, whole grains, and heart-healthy fats. Together, they’re ideal. To satisfy your hunger, you eat delectable fruits and vegetables together with protein-rich foods. This results in a plan that is really simple to follow.

Foods high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium are included in the DASH diet. These nutrients aid with blood pressure management. The diet restricts sodium-rich, saturated-fat-rich, and sugar-rich foods.

The DASH diet has been demonstrated in studies to decrease blood pressure in as little as two weeks. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol levels in the blood can also be reduced by eating a healthy diet. Two main risk factors for heart disease and stroke are excessive blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol levels.

You may find that your food tastes different as you reduce your intake of processed, high-sodium items. It could take some time for your taste buds to acclimatize. However, once it does, you may find that you prefer the DASH diet.

Conclusion

There is no such thing as a universally beneficial diet. Do your homework, talk to a dietitian, talk to your doctor,talk to our experts at Raycome and make sure you’re staying safe and have access to a blood pressure monitor, to keep your sugar levels in check.

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Tennis Elbow Laser Treatment

Cold Laser Therapy treatment

Tennis Elbow Laser Treatment

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Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, does not only affect tennis players. Tennis elbow is the most common cause of elbow pain, and it’s thought to be caused by small tears in the tendons that connect the forearm muscles to the arm bone at the elbow joint.

Tennis elbow is most common in people between the ages of 30 and 50. Tennis elbow affects both men and women equally, and it affects the dominant arm in roughly 75% of cases. In this article, we take a detailed look at what tennis elbow is, its causes, symptoms, and forms of treatment for Tennis elbow. Read through to get a better understanding of this condition

What Is Tennis Elbow

Tennis player experiencing Tennis elbow
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Tennis elbow is a condition in which the tendons connecting the forearm muscles to the outside of the elbow become inflamed. It is a kind of tendinitis that produces pain in the elbow and arm due to swelling of the tendons. These tendons are tight tissue bands that link your lower arm muscles to the bone. Overuse of the forearm muscles and tendons and those around the elbow joint is a common cause.

Tennis elbow is a condition in which the tendons of your forearm muscles adhere to a bony protrusion on the outside of your elbow, causing pain. The pain may move to your forearm and wrist.

Despite its name, tennis elbow can affect anyone who has never been near a tennis court. Tennis elbow is caused by repetitive gripping movements, particularly those involving the thumb and first two fingers. Tennis elbow is the most prevalent cause of elbow pain that leads to a visit to the doctor. It can strike anyone at any age, although it’s most frequent around the age of 40.

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow
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The tennis elbow is characterized by discomfort in the bony knob on the outside of the elbow. The damaged tendons attach to the bone through this knob. Causing recurrent pain on the outside of the upper forearm, right below the bend of the elbow, is the most prevalent sign of tennis elbow. Pain may be felt in the arm, all the way to the wrist. 

The following are the most prevalent symptoms of tennis elbow:

  • Gripping or lifting aggravates an aching or burning discomfort on the outside of the elbow.
  • The pain usually begins at the elbow and subsequently spreads to the forearm.
  • Weak gripping power

Tennis elbow pain normally develops gradually over time, although it can occasionally strike unexpectedly. Pain can also be extremely variable, ranging from mild to severe and incapacitating.

The Cause of Tennis Elbow

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Tennis elbow is caused by repeatedly performing improper arm movements. Small tears in the tendon attachment at the elbow can result as a result of this. This is the repeating motion and force of hitting a ball with a racquet in tennis. The power of a racquet swing can rotate through and around the wrist if the technique is incorrect. This causes a wrist movement rather than an elbow or shoulder movement. This might put additional strain on the tendon, causing irritation and inflammation.

Tennis elbow isn’t just a problem for athletes. Many patients with tennis elbow engage in professional or recreational activities that demand the forearm muscle to be used repeatedly and vigorously, or the wrist and hand to be extended repeatedly. Tennis elbow is particularly common among painters, plumbers, and carpenters. According to studies, tennis elbow affects auto workers, cooks, and even butchers at a higher rate than the general population. These vocations are regarded to be prone to injury due to the amount of repetition and weight lifting necessary.

Laser Treatment for Tennis Elbow

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Tennis elbow can persist anywhere from six months to two years, with the majority of people (90 percent) recovering completely within a year. The most crucial thing to do is rest your injured arm and cease doing the activity that created the problem in the first place.

Simple remedies for discomfort include holding a cold compress against your elbow for a few minutes many times a day, such as a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel. 

Tennis elbow usually improves on its own. If over-the-counter pain relievers and other self-care techniques don’t work, your doctor might recommend physical therapy. Strains, sprains, and repetitive motion injuries all have an inflammatory component and can be treated effectively with laser therapy.

How Does Laser Treatment Relief Pain

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Employ a 635 nm wavelength of low-level laser light at changing frequencies during the therapy procedure, which your biological tissue absorbs. This red light triggers a healing response in the affected area, with the injured cells triggering a physiological response that promotes cell regeneration.

In most cases, wavelengths of 600 to 700 nanometres are required to treat superficial tissue. The technology innovation is non-invasive and painless even if the laser light-emitting device comes into contact with the skin. This treatment takes only a few minutes.

How Does Laser Treatment Help with Healing

Laser therapy reduces nerve sensitivity by lowering bradykinin, which is a pain-inducing hormone. It produces analgesia effects by normalizing ion channels [cellular gatekeepers] and releasing endorphins [the body’s natural pain reliever] and enkephalins [related to endorphins]. On particular nerve fibers, it also has a pain-blocking action.

Improved Vascular Activity- Laser light promotes the development of new capillaries in damaged tissue, hastening the healing process and allowing wounds to heal faster.

Laser treatment is very efficient in eliminating painful trigger points. It’s also a good approach to stimulate acupuncture sites without the pain that comes with needling.

Tissue Repair and Cell Growth are Accelerated: Laser photons penetrate deeply into tissue and speed up cellular reproduction and growth. The cells of tendons, ligaments, nerves, and muscles are repaired faster as a result of exposure to laser light.

Benefits of Laser Therapy Treatment

  • Because it is non-invasive and non-surgical, you will be able to return to work right away!
  • It has no negative consequences on the portion of the body that is being treated.
  • It helps to limit the use of medications that may have unwanted side effects.
  • It relieves discomfort and encourages the torn tendon to heal naturally.
  • It is less expensive than more invasive treatments like surgery.
  • It is safe for patients of all ages and does not increase the chance of developing other illnesses.

Exercises for Tennis Elbow

Exercises for tennis elbow
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You must move in a smooth and controlled manner. When executing these exercises, don’t jerk your wrist. After you’ve finished exercising, apply ice to your elbow until it’s completely numb:

Wrap a rubber band around your thumb and fingers, then cup your hand gently. Spread your thumb and fingers apart, then gently bring them back together. Repeat for three sets of ten repetitions. This exercise should be done once or twice a day.

Hold a soft object in your hand (for example, putty or a little rubber ball) and squeeze it for 10 to 15 minutes two or three times a day.

Hold the hand with the other hand while extending one arm straight out in front of you. Bend your wrist down (and slightly out) until a stretch is felt. Relax after 15 to 30 seconds of holding. Repeat the process two or three times more. Do this workout at least twice a day.

Conclusion

While lateral epicondylitis is a painful and frustrating condition, rest assured that you are not alone. This is a common issue, and the vast majority of people find tendon healing and relief with the right time and therapy. Contact us,  at Raycome our dedicated team of experts are here to help you through  this healing journey.

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All You Need to Know About Clogged Arteries

Blood Vessel

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It is estimated that if you took all the blood vessels in an adult and laid them out in a single file, they would cover 100,000 miles. That should give you a rough idea of how complicated the circulatory system is in the body. Among the many different types of blood vessels that carry out the very important task of transporting nutrients and wastes through the blood all day and night there are the arteries and veins. Arteries are among the biggest and the most extensive of all blood vessels, and the roles they play are equally important. However, due to the work they do, they are plagued by a lot of complications that may threaten human life.

We are going to look at clogged arteries, the causes behind the condition, the direct dangers it poses to human health, the many ways that one can unclog and improve their artery health, among many other related issues. If you have had a history of clogged arteries, then this could give you some life-saving tips that you can implement in your life.

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Arteries vs. Veins

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There usually is a lot of confusion when it comes to arteries and veins. The two are important cogs in the circulatory system, and it is easy to assume they are the same when they are not. To better understand the complications of the arteries, we have to set veins and arteries apart.

By definition, arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to other parts of the body, while veins, on the other hand, are the vessels responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood from the body towards the heart for cleaning and oxygenation. These two vessels repeat these roles throughout a human’s life without missing a beat unless a health complication comes up.

The Differences

It is hard to tell arteries and veins apart at first glance, but when you explore them on a deeper level, they exhibit a lot of differences. They range from shape, functions, and appearances. The following is a simplified table that illustrates these differences.

ARTERIES VEINS
Functions Carries oxygenated blood except for pulmonary arteries Carries deoxygenated blood except for pulmonary veins
Walls Artery walls have three distinct layers that are muscular, rigid, and thick Veins walls also have three layers that are thin and less muscular
Position They are located deeper in the body Located peripherally on the skin to the point they are even visible
Appearance Red in color Blue in color
Transports Transports the blood away from the heart to other parts of the body Carries blood from other parts of the body to the heart
Rate of Pressure High pressure due to the pumping effect of the heart Lower pressure since the blood mainly moves through capillary action of the veins
Oxygen Level Higher oxygen level Lower oxygen level
Carbon Dioxide Level Low carbon dioxide level Higher levels of carbon dioxide
Direction of Flow Blood moves in the downward direction from the heart to other body tissues Blood moves in the upward direction from the body tissues back to the heart
Lumen Narrow Wide
Valves Absent Present
Disorders Arteries have a higher risk of getting complications Veins are less susceptible to diseases and only suffer from varicose veins at worst

Types of Arteries and Veins

Heart and Veins
Source: Pixabay

There are three types of arteries and all of them exhibit the same characteristics that include thick muscles, rigid frames and extra thickness. Each artery has three layers; an outer, a middle layer, and an inner one; all these give them the strength they need to counter the high pressure they have to deal with in executing their functions. The three artery types include the following.

Elastic Arteries: These are arteries that have a thick middle part that allows them to stretch as they want in response to the pulses emanating from the heart. This expansion and contraction are necessary for regulating the blood pressure in the body, which has to be kept within certain parameters.

Muscular Arteries: These are medium-sized arteries that draw blood from elastic arteries and branch into resistance blood vessels. These vessels usually include smaller arteries and arterioles, which are distributed all over the body.

Arterioles: These are the smallest divisions of arteries whose function is to carry blood away from the heart. They direct the blood into capillary networks, which in turn serve the remotest parts of the body.

When it comes to veins, there are about four main types that exist in the human body. Each of them is specialized for certain functions without which things wouldn’t run as smoothly. The four types include the following.

Deep Veins: These are deeply seated veins usually found in muscle tissue whose work is to grant access to the most closed spaces in the human body. Deep veins usually have a corresponding artery nearby.

Superficial Veins: These are veins that are found near the surface of the skin. They lack corresponding arteries, and in some people, they usually have a deep blue color when exposed to heat for a while.

Pulmonary Veins: These are the only veins that carry oxygenated blood, and they transport the oxygen-filled blood from the lungs to the heart, from where the oxygen is distributed to other body parts. Each lung comes with its own set of pulmonary veins.

Systemic Veins: These are veins that are found all over the body, from the neck all the way down to the legs. They form an extensive network of blood vessels that are tasked with transporting deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart for cleaning.

What is a Clogged Artery?

Clogged Arteries
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Arteries handle some of the most important circulatory roles in the body, and due to this, they tend to develop complications over the years. One of the most common ones is clogged arteries, also called Atherosclerosis. This is a condition that occurs when there’s a serious buildup of cholesterol plaque in the walls of the arteries, which leads to obstruction of the blood flow, which in turn leads to other serious complications of the blood vessels.

Causes of Clogged Arteries

There are many things that contribute to atherosclerosis. The disease begins when an artery sustains some damage or injury at any point in a person’s life. Some of the things that are responsible for causing this condition include the following.

High blood pressure

High cholesterol

Diabetes

Insulin resistance

Sedentary lifestyles

The moment the inner walls of the arteries are damaged, stuff like cholesterol deposits and other wastes from cells begin to accumulate on the site of injury, and this is what is known as atherosclerosis. Once the surface of the plaque is ruptured, blood cells rush to the scene in an attempt to repair the damage. This causes the platelets to clump up, and eventually, they block the artery, which is one of the leading causes of heart attacks.

Risk Factors

There are certain risk factors that increase the chances of a person getting hit with clogged arteries. Some are natural, and some are based on the lifestyle choices that people chose to have. They include the following.

Age

Old Age
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The older someone grows, the more worn out their body organs get. The same is true for arteries in the body. After years of serving the body without fail, it is only natural for some to reach their limit, and the risk of injury increases exponentially. This is because the rate of healing is slowed, and at the same time, the body is forced to deal with a lot of other issues popping up in all parts of the body. Old age has also been known to narrow the arteries with time, and this increases blood pressure to dangerous levels.

Gender

Source: Pixabay

Men have been found to be at a higher risk of contracting artery-related diseases than women. At the same time, however, the risk for women increases after they hit menopause. This has been attributed to the inability of men to cope with stressful situations and events, which increases their risk factors for getting coronary diseases which in most cases are related to the state of mind.

Family History

Family
Source: Pixabay

Coming from a family with a long history of heart-related diseases increases your risk of getting the same once you hit a certain age in the future. You are at a very high risk of getting a coronary artery disease if your brother or father is diagnosed with heart disease before they hit 55 years. The same applies if your mother or sister is diagnosed with the same before they reach 65 years. There’s very little that can be done to stop this other than mitigate the effects by taking precautions early on in life.

Smoking and Drinking

Cigarettes
Source: Pixabay

It has already been established that lifestyle habits like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes have no value to the body, In fact, they only bring nothing but trouble. People who constantly smoke, for instance, have an increased risk of developing heart disease. Breathing in second-hand smoke also has the same devastating effects. Alcohol, on the other hand, has been known to interfere with blood pressure, and this only makes conditions ideal for a number of coronary diseases to set in.

High Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure Monitor
Source: Pixabay

Hypertension is an incurable disease that affects a huge number of people around the world. One devastating side effect of hypertension is the fact that it hardens and thickens the walls of your arteries, and as they narrow down, blood flow becomes a problem, and; eventually, clogging occurs, leading to heart attacks, among other heart-related issues. People with severe hypertension are usually advised to keep themselves under constant surveillance to keep their blood pressure in check.

High Cholesterol Levels

Source: Pixabay

Cholesterol is mostly derived from animal-based fats, and once the levels become too high in the body, deposits start forming on the walls through the formation of cholesterol plaques. These plaques end up narrowing arteries, and eventually, they block them completely. This increases the chances of a heart attack tenfold, and if nothing is done, you could collapse at any time without warning.

Diabetes and Obesity

Diabetes Kit
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Where there’s hypertension, diabetes and obesity are never far off and these three can combine to bring untold misery to the body. Diabetes has been linked to a number of coronary diseases, and this is why people who suffer from the diseases have to be constantly monitored for heart-related complications. Obesity also continues to increase the pressure on arteries to function properly. Being overweight will only serve to make an already dangerous situation even worse.

Unhealthy Diet

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You are what you eat and the more junk you stuff your body with, the higher the chances that you could develop severe heart disease in the future. Having food that has a high amount of saturated fats, salts, and sugars will make your body weak, and this exposes you to coronary diseases. Saturated fats from animal-based diets are the leading causes of cholesterol buildup in the body.

Sedentary Lifestyle

Exercise
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Being inactive is bad for the body, and eventually, everything that could go wrong will go wrong. The body requires to burn through all the food you eat, and without proper body exercises and workouts, this cannot be possible. Once the body is unable to process what you eat, it starts depositing the excess in the wrong places, like fats in arteries. These then block the proper flow of blood, and this marks the beginning of all kinds of arterial diseases.

Warning Signs of Clogged Arteries

Heart Model
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How do you know you are dealing with coronary disease? There are many tell-tale signs that you can rely on to know for sure if you have to be worried. You can go for a confirmatory diagnosis at any hospital but there are some easy signs that usually manifest themselves. They include the following.

Chest pains, also called angina which manifest themselves in waves, coming and going in intervals at random times throughout your day and night.

Pain in the legs and arms, especially in areas where the artery has been blocked, which in most cases occurs in limbs and joints.

Shortness of breath even when you do minimal work.

Constant feelings of fatigue even without handling anything significant.

Confusion in cases where the artery has blocked circulation of the blood to the brain.

Muscle weakness and atrophy due to reduced blood circulation, which starves the muscles of the all-important oxygen that they need for energy.

The Dangers of Atherosclerosis

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Clogged arteries can quickly escalate to life-threatening conditions if nothing is on time. This is why people are encouraged to always go for random hospital check ups even when they are healthy, as you never know what could be developing in the background. The following are some of the high-risk conditions that can be triggered by atherosclerosis.

Angina: Angina refers to sharp chest pains that one experiences when their coronary arteries are narrowed down by plaque buildup, which makes the passage of blood difficult. The heart is forced to make do with limited blood supply at a time when the demand is highest, especially when one is engaged in intense physical activity. The combination of all these factors can result in a series of chest pains and shortness of breath.

Heart Attack: Heart attacks have become some of the leading causes of death in older people around the globe, and they are primarily caused when important arteries are clogged or ruptured. The lack of blood flow to the heart will damage the heart muscles, and if treatment is not sought quickly, you could end up dead without any warning one day.

Arrhythmia: Arrhythmia is a condition where the insufficient blood supply to the heart causes interferences with the electrical impulses responsible for electrical impulses. This can lead to irregular heart rhythms, which is dangerous.

Stroke: A stroke is another complication that’s closely linked to coronary diseases. It is caused in particular by the narrowing down of the carotid artery due to atherosclerosis that feeds the brain with blood. Their blockage leads to carotid artery disease, which leads to a transient ischemic attack, better known as a stroke.

Aneurysms: Aneurysms are another deadly killer that occurs anywhere in the body. It is defined as a bulge on the walls of the arteries that blocks the passage of blood completely. What makes this condition dangerous is the fact that it doesn’t show any symptoms; all you feel is unexplainable pain which has to be attended to immediately. If an aneurysm bursts, it may lead to internal bleeding leading to death.

Chronic Kidney Disease: The arteries that supply kidneys with blood can lead to kidney diseases if they are affected by clogged arteries. If nothing is done, the condition will deteriorate to the point your kidneys collapse.

How to Unclog a Blocked Artery

A clogged artery is not the end of life. If it is detected early enough, it can be treated or rectified in a number of ways. There are instances where they simply unclog themselves without any prompting. However, for those that must take matters into their own hands, the following are some of the things you can try to unclog a blocked artery.

Surgery

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Surgery is usually the last resort but one of the most effective ways of unclogging an artery and ensuring you have a healthy heart. There are several types of surgery one can do to rectify arteries that may be suffering from atherosclerosis, and they include the following.

Bypass Surgery: This involves the use of another blood vessel from another part of your body to divert the blood around the blocked or narrowed-down artery. The same can also be achieved through the use of synthetic tubes, which can now be made to exact specifications through 3D printing.

Thrombolytic Therapy: This is the dissolving of the blood clot through the injection of a drug directly into the affected area of your circulatory system. It is very effective as it zeroes down and deals only with the affected area.

Angioplasty: This is the use of a catheter and a balloon to increase the size of the artery to make the passage of blood possible. There are times when a stent is inserted to keep the artery open at all times.

Endarterectomy: This is the surgical removal of fatty deposits and cholesterol plaques from the arteries. This is the most intense and riskiest of all the procedures since arteries are not that big, and splicing them open takes a lot of skill.

Atherectomy: This is the removal of plaque from the arteries through the use of a catheter that has a sharp blade attached to one end. The process is also risky and requires skilled hands for it to be successful.

Medication

Medication
Source: Pixabay

If surgery is not your bread and butter, then there are less invasive methods of dealing with clogged arteries and they involve the use of coronary artery disease drugs. One common drug that is widely used to treat angina, for example, is called Nitroglycerin which dilates the blood vessels, allowing blood to pass through without exerting too much pressure.

You can also use Beta-blockers which usually work alongside medication to slow the heart rate a little to allow for the blood pressure to go down a little. Drugs like Aspirin, Clopidogrel, and Ticlopidine are known to deal with blood clots in the arteries by suppressing the ability of the platelets to clot around internal injury sites.

Healthy Diet

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You can also counter the effects of coronary complications by switching your diet to a healthy one. Most of the leading causes of arterial diseases are linked to what we consume, especially foods that are rich in cholesterol. The following are some foods you should add to your diet.

Berries: The berry family includes strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries. They all contain healthy elements that help with inflation on top of being rich in vitamins, fiber, plant compounds, and antioxidants. They cut down cholesterol in the body.

Beans: Beans are rich in fiber and are known for being very good for the heart. They are able to keep cholesterol buildup in check if you consume 130 grams daily. They are also known to reduce blood pressure, improve artery health and reduce diabetes.

Fish: Fish is rich in omega-3 fats that are known to counter clogged arteries. They do this by reducing the expression of cellular adhesion molecules. This prevents the accumulation of fats and other deposits within the arteries from happening. Having a serving of fish once a week is all you need to keep your arteries in tiptop conditions.

Spices: On top of turning up the taste of your food, spices actually have a lot of healthy benefits to the body, and if you are suffering from coronary artery diseases, then it is time you increase your spice intake. They have anti-inflammatory properties that improve blood lipid levels and reduce the clamping of platelets.

Nuts & Seeds: Nuts and seeds are rich sources of protein, healthy fats, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. All these are nutrients that combine to unclog arteries. They also reduce blood sugar levels which is another plus since diabetes only makes dealing with atherosclerosis much harder.

Conclusion

The human body is delicate and prone to all kinds of health issues. The circulatory system is vital for life, and once it becomes compromised, you will be in trouble. There are many other diseases that affect the arteries out there; it is up to you to always do regular checkups to ensure you are in your best shape at all times. For more information on vein and artery health, visit our website and have all your concerns and questions addressed by our team of qualified experts.

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What You Need to Know About Strokes and Heart Attacks

Heart Attack

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In America alone, someone is hit by a heart attack every 40 seconds. This translates to about 805,000 Americans who have to deal with heart attacks each year, with over 600,000 being first-time victims. The situation is grimmer when it comes to stroke. One in every six cardiovascular deaths is due to stroke. Every 4 minutes, there’s someone in America who succumbs to a stroke. All these stats paint a bleak picture for these two conditions, and judging by how people live and eat; the situation is about to get worse as the years go by.

To shed some light on heart attacks and strokes, we are going to explore each of them, look at their causes, their risk factors, their symptoms, treatment, and the preventive measures one can take in advance to reduce the chances of the diseases striking them. If you have been curious about strokes and heart attacks or have someone in your family who has suffered from these conditions, then this is for you.

Table of Contents

What is a Stroke?

Stroke
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A stroke is a condition that occurs when there’s a low supply of blood to the brain. This reduces oxygen and nutrients from reaching important brain tissues, which leads to brain cells dying within minutes. This can happen when blood vessels responsible for transporting the oxygen and nutrients burst or are blocked by a blood clot. This makes strokes very dangerous as they are usually missed in diagnosis, with most of them being caught after someone has suffered a stroke for the first time.

Types of Stroke

There are three main types of stroke, each manifesting itself in different ways and each carrying varying levels of severity. The three types of stroke include the following.

Transient Ischemic Attack: This is also called a warning stroke or a mini-stroke. It is the least severe and usually involves small clots that block some arteries and veins. However, being hit by this stroke is usually a red flag and an indication of something worse to come if nothing is done to rectify it immediately. The symptoms and the clot responsible for TIA usually last for a short period of time.

Ischemic Attack: This happens when a blood clot caused by atherosclerosis stops the blood from reaching the brain completely. It is much more severe compared to TIA, and it accounts for over 80% of all stroke attacks in the world. An Ischemic stroke can be embolic, which means that the blood clot moves from another part of the body to your brain because of a condition called atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeat rhythm. Another type is thrombotic stroke which is a stroke caused by a clot forming in the brain in a location that didn’t exist previously. Clots that cause Ischemic stroke don’t disappear without treatment.

Hemorrhagic Stroke:  This is a stroke that takes place when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures, spilling all the blood into the surrounding tissues. There are three types of hemorrhagic stroke, and they include an aneurysm that leads to blood vessels ballooning and rupturing. There’s an arteriovenous malformation that is caused by abnormally formed blood vessels, and then there’s hypertension which does lead to internal bleeding if left unchecked.

Risk Factors

Brain
Source: Pixabay

There are several factors that make you vulnerable to suffering from a stroke. Some are natural, and some are caused by lifestyle habits, among other controllable factors. The direct cause of stroke is not very clear, but the following risk factors create the perfect conditions for stroke to set in.

High Blood Pressure: A high blood pressure is the leading cause of so many complications, with stroke being prominent among them. Having a blood pressure of over 140/90 then you should consider getting on medication that will control your blood pressure to reduce the risk of suffering from a stroke.

Smoking: There’s nothing good that ever comes out of smoking. On top of increasing your chances of getting lung cancer, it also raises your odds of suffering from a stroke even when you are still young. The nicotine present in cigarettes tends to make the blood pressure skyrocket, and at the same time, it leads to an unhealthy buildup of fatty layers in the neck area, and this makes the chances of clots forming much higher.

Heart Diseases: Heart conditions like defective valves or irregular heartbeats have been linked to stroke. Irregular heartbeats, for instance, have been found to be responsible for over a quarter of all strokes in old people. A healthy heart reduces the chances of stroke developing significantly.

Diabetes: Type 2 Diabetes is never far off from heart-related complications and strokes as it is also a leading cause of high blood pressure. People who are overweight and diabetic are at the highest risk of getting a stroke due to the strain that the blood vessels have to deal with in transporting blood around the body in that condition.

Medication: There are certain types of medications that can increase your chances of getting a stroke early in life. Blood-thinning drugs, for instance that are used to deal with clots can lead to internal bleeding leading to stroke. Hormone therapy drugs have also been linked to strokes, as well as some estrogen and birth control pills.

Age: Stroke is not limited to grownups and old people. Even babies can suffer from it in some rare cases. However, the chances increase exponentially the older you grow. This then starts doubling every decade once you hit 55, getting worse the older you grow. This is why the highest number of people who suffer strokes are senior citizens who are beyond 60 years.

Family History: Having a history of stroke in the family will increase your chances of getting one in the future. Running away from this is usually hard as it is wired in the genes since some are caused by genetic disorders that cannot be done away with. The best you can do is find ways to reduce the effects once it sets in.

Gender: Men are more likely to suffer from stroke compared to women in the same age group. However, the risk for women increases once they hit menopause, and this makes it harder for them to recover when the stroke sets in later on.

Race: Incidences of stroke have been found to be higher in people of African and Hispanic origins than any other group. This is attributed to sickle cell anemia, another disease unique to these races that narrow arteries and interferes with blood flow. All these can combine to create clots in the brain leading to severe stroke.

Signs and Symptoms

Brain Scan
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People who suffer from strokes exhibit certain characteristics that can save their lives if observed by someone who knows what they are looking at. These signs and symptoms manifest themselves randomly, and they include the following.

Slurred speech and having trouble understanding what people are saying around them. This is exhibited by a look of confusion where the victim appears to be in a daze.

Paralysis of the face, arms, or legs. Sudden numbness may set in without any warning, with weaknesses of the muscles affecting one side of the body. The victim loses control of that half completely. A side of the mouth drooping when you try to smile or your arm falling when raised are clear signs of stroke.

Headaches and migraines are accompanied by dizziness, vomiting, and confused consciousness.

Having difficulty walking where you stumble even on flat surfaces due to the inability to raise the legs properly. There’s also a loss of coordination between the arm and legs, with the victim appearing to walk like a glitching robot.

Prevention and Treatment

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Stroke, like other serious conditions of the brain and heart, are better dealt with before they set in. But once they have roosted, the best you can do is try things that will reduce their risks on your well-ben. Some of these include the following.

Regular exercising to cut down cholesterol in the body, which leads to clots

Cutting down on smoking and drinking

Regular checkups

Eating healthy food

Managing diabetes and hypertension

Using prescribed medication in severe cases.

What is a Heart Attack?

Heart Model
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A heart attack happens when there’s a problem somewhere along the circulatory system that blocks the flow of blood to a coronary artery. Stopping the blood from reaching the heart is dangerous as that can lead to death within minutes, and this is why heart attacks are among the leading causes of death across the globe.

Types of Heart Attacks

There are three types of heart attacks, each caused by a different agent with different outcomes. To help you understand it better, the following are the three types that exist in the medical world.

STEMI: This is the most major of all heart attacks, and it occurs when a coronary artery is completely blocked, leading to a huge part of the heart muscles being cut off from vital blood supply. This usually leads to death or some very significant and lasting damage. STEMI is usually characterized by pain at the center of the chest that can be described as a feeling of tightness and pressure. The pain also extends to the arm, neck, or jawline.

NSTEMI: This is when a coronary artery is blocked partially. It is hard to detect this type of heart attack since, most of the time, the heart continues to perform like nothing has happened. The only way to catch an NSTEMI is through a coronary angiography that will now expose the section of the blocked artery.

CAS: This is also called the silent heart attack as it is not triggered by a blockage of any kind. It occurs when an artery tightens up so much that blood flow is stopped or gets reduced drastically. Sometimes it is mistaken for muscle spasms or indigestion, and this makes detecting it even harder than NSTEMI. Silent heart attacks are not as serious as the other two, but they do make the conditions right for a serious STEMI to take place.

Risk Factors

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Just like stroke, there are several factors that increase the chances of an individual suffering from a heart attack at any stage of their lives. Some are natural risk factors that one can’t do anything about, while others are linked to lifestyle habits. They include the following.

Age: The older you grow the higher the risk of getting a heart attack. This doesn’t exempt young people from suffering from the condition, but the chances are usually very slim. Fr men, the risk increases once they pass 45 years, while for women, things get a little hairy once they have hit 55 years.

Smoking: Smoking for a long part of your young life only serves to set you up for a heart attack in the near future. Smoke makes arteries too turgid by increasing blood pressure. This will also affect people who inhale second-hand smoke.

High Blood Pressure: Hypertension tends to damage arteries over time, making them weak, and this will eventually start to interfere with the efficient transportation of blood to the heart. Hypertension is also linked to obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol, and when all these factors are present in the same body, the chances of a heart attack increases tenfold.

Metabolic Syndrome: This is a condition that occurs in people dealing with diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. These conditions increase the strain on the heart, which leads to double the chances of a heart attack setting in.

Family History: If you come from a family with a long history of heart attacks, then you are most likely to suffer one at some point later on in life. For males, the risk increases once they reach 55 years, while for women, the risk starts rising up after 65 years. There’s very little you can do here to counter this, but you can have the insight of knowing what to do to delay that eventuality.

Stress: People respond in different ways to stress, and this may trigger a heart attack in the most extreme cases. Using illicit drugs to counter the effects of stress can make things worse as they may trigger spasms in the coronary arteries leading to heart attacks that may lead to death if nothing is done quickly enough.

Sedentary Lifestyle: People downplay the benefits of being fit greatly. It doesn’t have to be something too intense, but keeping the body active makes it resistant to conditions like heart attacks and strokes. By exercising, you are ensuring that there is no buildup of cholesterol or fat deposits. This not only lowers your blood pressure but boosts the health of your arteries, and this reduces the chances of clots and blockages forming.

Arrhythmia: Irregular heartbeats have been known to trigger heart attacks randomly due to electrical short circuits developing. These irregular heartbeats can interfere with the normal movement of blood into and out of the heart, creating spasms that can lead to sudden death even when the victim appears to be healthy and well.

Autoimmune Conditions: There are some autoimmune complications like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis that increase the chances of the victim getting a heart attack. If you happen to suffer from any of these conditions, then you have to take extra care in monitoring your heart.

Prevention and Treatment

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Eliminating heart attacks completely once they have started manifesting themselves is not easy. However, there are certain things one can do to ensure the damage is reduced to a minimum. These activities include a change of lifestyle habits as well as medication. They include the following.

Taking medication can reduce the risk of getting hit by a heart attack and can even help mend the damage caused by it, making the heart function even better. Once you have been prescribed drugs by your personal doctor, continue taking them faithfully and keeping in touch with the doctor to ensure that actual progress is being made.

Eating a healthy diet full of foods that are good for the heart is another great way to keep yourself safe from heart attacks. Get the help of a dietician to create the best meal plans that will ensure your heart is protected from unnecessary complications that may trigger heart attacks.

Changing your bad lifestyle habits like smoking and drinking is another step in the right direction. There’s very little that either brings to the body and when you are a high-risk person with a number of other complications like hypertension and diabetes, then dropping these lifestyle habits is necessary for your survival.

Exercising regularly will help dilate your arteries a little more, and this can get rid of any blockage without having to go under the blade or use expensive medication. Exercising is also good for your heart as it makes it work better in a healthy way since the muscles are kept in tiptop condition.

Conducting regular checkups will help keep you abreast of anything that may develop without your knowledge when it comes to heart attacks and strokes. Being a step ahead is what keeps you alive. Therefore, make those visits to the hospitals as regularly as possible.

Consider getting a home-use blood pressure monitor with an app that will help you keep track of your blood pressure from the comfort of your home. When your blood pressure is controlled, the chances of getting a heart attack are greatly reduced.

Foods that Help with Heart Attacks and Stroke

Eating the right foods is the difference between a healthy heart and brain and one that is forever dealing with all kinds of complications. It has been found that dieting is the most effective preemptive method of stopping some complications from ever existing. The following are some of the foods you should partake in to keep strokes and heart attacks at bay.

Dried Apricots

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Apricots are a very good source of potassium which is a vital element used in reducing the chances of getting a stroke. On average, an adult needs 4,700 mg of potassium in a single day. Having a single cup of apricots yields about 1500 mg of potassium which is way higher than bananas and other types of foods. Therefore, if you are looking for that potassium boost, consider going for apricots.

Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy Greens
Source: Pixabay

Spinach, collard greens, and kale are rich in minerals, essential vitamins, and antioxidants that are necessary for keeping arteries healthy and strong enough to deal with the demands of the body. They are a rich source of Vitamin K which is essential in keeping the blood from clotting up unnecessarily, and this reduces heart attacks. Leafy greens are also rich in dietary nitrates that help in reducing hypertension and stiffness of the arterial walls.

Cashews

Source: Pixabay

Cashews are a rich source of magnesium, another vital element that helps keep stroke at bay. Studies have been conducted by various researchers who arrived at the conclusion that a higher intake of magnesium was directly attributed to reduced cases of stroke. Cashew nuts contain about 74 mg of magnesium which is all the amount you need in a single day to keep things in the body stabilized. The good thing with cashew nuts is that they can be combined with other foods as accompaniments.

Whole Grains

Whole Grain Wheat
Source: Pixabay

Whole grains are a wide variety of foods that range from rice, barley, quinoa, oats, and rye, among another’s. Each of these brings a unique twist to the food pool that helps the heart fortify itself against heart attacks. They are rich in natural fiber that play a huge role in reducing LDL cholesterol in the body. It has been found that eating three servings of whole grains in a day reduces the risk of getting hit by a heart attack by 22%. Increase your whole grain intake by sampling all the varieties that exist and watch the health of your heart improve drastically.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Source: Pixabay

Tomatoes are effective anti-oxidants that will help clear clogged arteries that may lead to stroke. They contain about 45mg of antioxidants called lycopene that play a huge role in reducing chances of getting stroke and prostate cancer if you consume about 20mg per day. Sun-dried tomatoes are proffered because they have all the nutrients concentrated in one place after the moisture has been taken out through drying.

Berries

Assorted Berries
Source: Pixabay

There are so many varieties of berries that pack a lot of beneficial nutrients that will help boost your chances of beating heart attacks. Be it strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries, you are assured of getting a lot of varied nutrients that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. Berries are well known for their high fiber content as well as their anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risk of heart diseases by huge margins. The best part of eating berries is that they taste so good and can be consumed in a number of ways.

Conclusion

Heart attacks and strokes continue to be a menace to people as days go by. There are no conclusive treatment options available, and the search for that continues. However, it is not all gloom and doom. There are several proven methods that one can use to keep the effects to a bare minimum. If you are interested to know more about dealing with heart attacks and strokes, then feel free to check out our website when you get the chance and have all your questions and concerns answered by our team of health experts.

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How to Stay Healthy and Safe after Reopen

COVID-19

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It has been a long two years for many people around the world since the Covid-19 pandemic reared its head in late 2019. What started as an isolated incident in China quickly spread to other parts of the world, leading to lockdowns and massive changes in how people conducted their business. These lockdowns saw many people either lose their jobs or switch to working from home until a vaccine rollout began late last year. Although gradual, things are slowly getting back to normal in many parts of the world despite the pandemic still spreading all around.

We are going to look at how people can still stay healthy and safe as the world slowly gets back to normal, the countries that may be reopening soon, and the things people have to pay attention to as they navigate through these trying times.

Table of Contents

Countries and Regions That Might Reopen Very Soon

It is now an accepted fact that the virus will not go away anytime soon, and this is what is making some countries and regions start rolling out reopening plans to get back the time lost in the last 12 months. Some of the countries and regions at the forefront of the move include the following.

United States

USA
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Leading the pack with the most COVID-9 deaths and infections, the United States is the most hit nation in the world, but with the new administration, things are quickly getting back in control. At one point, daily deaths were above 4,000, and that has come down to 47, thanks to mask mandates and a very aggressive vaccine rollout. Some states already began opening last year but had to lock things down again when the virus started surging again. However, with the highest vaccine rollout in the world, more states are joining the fray to reopen and get back to normal. You can find a detailed list of all the opening dates for each of the 50 states in America and plan accordingly.

United Kingdom

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At some point last year, the United Kingdom was among the worst-hit nations in Europe, with daily deaths peaking at four figures at some point. The news two days ago that the UK had recorded zero deaths for the first time since everything went downhill was a relief to many. Reopening plans began on March 8, when restrictions started being uplifted in a four-step process. The second phase kicked in on April 12 with restaurants and other outdoor attraction sites. With vaccine rollouts also in high gear, the next phases of reopening will be taking place soon enough, with flights from certain regions already coming in without any restrictions.

France

France
Source: Pixabay

France has had three lockdowns since the pandemic began sweeping the vast European nation in early 2020. They, too, peaked with mad numbers at some point before nationwide lockdowns brought everything to a semblance of normalcy. President Macron made headlines a few weeks ago by announcing that the country will be open to visitors who have been vaccinated by June 9th. 

The country has already been open in most parts since May 19th, with museums, cinemas, and other outdoor establishments operating within less stringent curfew limits. The current curfew was pushed from 7 pm to 9 pm, and it is expected to be completely done away with on June 30th. Visitors to France have to vaccinate first and quarantine themselves for seven days before they are allowed to mingle with other people.

Italy

Italy
Source: Pixabay

Italy was the first European nation to be hit with COVID-19 in early March last year, and a lot of people died in the process as the world was still trying to grapple with the disease. The nationwide lockdowns did help to ease the spread of the pandemic a little, but the journey back to normalcy has been long and continues to face all kinds of challenges. 

Failure to follow protocols by some people opened the country to another wave that took everything back to square one. However, Italy has now been able to bring things back to normal a little and plans to repone the country have already begun in some parts. The country has been categorized into three zones; yellow, orange, and red. Yellow zones have the least restrictions, while red zones are being heavily monitored.

Spain

Spain
Source: Pixabay

After Italy, Spain also had its fair share of struggles with the pandemic. The government resorted to lockdowns to reign in on the uncontrolled spread of the pandemic as it threatened to bring the economy of the European nation to its knees. The country has been under a six-month state of emergency that elapsed on May 9, which had instituted mandatory nationwide 11 pm curfews. 

As much as the country is looking forward to reopening the country, much of the decision is not down to the central government, but the final say lies with the local regional governments. The Catalan region, for instance, is set to continue instituting curfews until they are sure that the disease is firmly under control.

New Zealand

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New Zealand was among the very first countries that was able to reign in on the pandemic, thanks to quick thinking and a proactive government. It was the first nation to report the first infection-free day and has continued to build on that by rolling out nationwide vaccination plans with the aim of vaccinating at least a million people by the middle of June. 

The chances of New Zealand being the first country to permanently stop the pandemic within their borders is very high as it is home to about 5 million people only. The phased reopening has been ongoing, with visitors subjected to strict quarantine measures before being allowed into the country. Once the vaccine rollout is done, there’s a possibility the entire country will be open to business even before the end of the year.

Germany

Germany
Source: Pixabay

Germany was not as hard hit compared to most of its neighbours because it was quick to take action by studying what other nations were going through. There was a nationwide lockdown that covered the airspace in the early months of 2020. Currently, the nation still has lockdowns in many parts, with phased reopening plans underway since May 10. Nightly curfews are still ongoing as the government looks to reopen schools and eateries slowly over the course of the year. For fans of the famous Oktoberfest, more bad news as the vent will again not take place this year.

India

India
Source: Pixabay

There was very little data coming out of India when the pandemic was peaking in other parts of the world. Things changed this year when the COVID-19 infection cases suddenly skyrocketed through the roof, largely due to a lack of lockdowns. At the moment, it’s hard to tell when the vastly populated nation will be reopening since it is still dealing with the worst infection rates. Nationwide lockdowns will be needed, although it is hard to see how that will be enforced in a country with over a billion people.

Ways to Protect Ourselves and Stay Safe

It is hard to imagine a future without COVID-9 at the moment owing to how infectious it is. Therefore, as many countries are starting to re-open, it is up to the people to continue observing safety protocols to keep themselves safe from getting the diseases and spreading them further. The following are some of the things you can do to keep yourself safe throughout the reopening phases.

Wear a Mask

Mask
Source: Pixabay

Despite the politics around it, masks have been proved over and over again to be effective against COVID-19 viruses. When venturing outside, make sure you wear a mask at all times. There are many types of masks that you can choose from; the ordinary surgical one is more than enough to get the job done. CDC has advised people from the age of 2 to wear masks when outdoors. Many establishments and businesses have already instituted rules for wearing masks by turning away anyone that comes not wearing one.

Social Distancing

Social Distancing
Source: Pixabay

Another great measure that has been in use from the day the pandemic started taking root all over the world. It was noted much earlier that the virus was airborne but had difficulty moving for more than 6 feet. This information is what led to the 6 feet social distancing rules to be enacted to stop the spread of the virus from one person to another. Maintain the 6 feet distance even when you are in a house with a sick person and always combine that with wearing masks to limit the risk further.

Get Vaccinated

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This has been another highly politicised issue that has led to a rift between people who believe that vaccines carry some nefarious things inside. However, vaccination has always been the last stand against viruses of this nature. There are a number of vaccine types being rolled out around the world, and everyone should make it a personal endeavor to get vaccinated as fast as possible. It has already been established that people who are vaccinated have a lower risk of ending up in the hospital.

Avoid Crowds

Crowds
Source: Pixabay

Avoid crowds at all costs because that’s where the virus spreads the fastest, even when you adhere to all the protocols. Concerts, crowded restaurants, supermarkets, and malls should be avoided at this time until everything is under control in the near future. Indoor spaces without any form of proper ventilation are another big no. If you happen to be relaxing at home with a group of people, censor everyone’s social distances, wear a mask, and all the windows are kept open to let in the fresh air.

Sanitize Hands

Hand Sanitizers
Source: Pixabay

Keeping your hands clean at all times is another effective and the simple act of washing them with soap and water is all it takes to lower the risk of being infected. The recommended duration is about 20 seconds of aggressive washing with soap and enough water every chance you get. For those that may not have access to water all the time, then getting a hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol would get the job done. Limit the number of times you touch your eyes, nose, and mouth as they are the most common entry points for most viruses.

Monitor your Health

HBP Monitor
Source: Pixabay

The human body will always tell you when something is wrong and you will save yourself a lot of pain and money if you pay attention. The moment you start seeing the common symptoms, then get medical aid immediately, even if it ends up being a false alarm, especially if you have underlying conditions. It is better to be safe than sorry. Monitor your body temperature, your oxygen levels and any other vital signs that may give you some information in regards to the overall health of your body.

Rethink Work and School Settings

Online Learning
Source: Pixabay

One thing that pandemic has brought to the attention of the people is that it has always been possible to work from home and still get the work done. It is about time people started rethinking where they can work from, as this is important in minimizing contact with the outside world. Employers should allow people to work from the comfort of their homes,and schools should continue conducting online classes until the pandemic is brought under control. It will take time for adjustments to be made, but all these measures are necessary to ensure that things return to normalcy as soon as possible.

Switch to Online Shopping

Source: Pixabay

The visits to the grocery store or your favourite eatery will have to be cut down significantly if you want to stay safe. Fortunately for many people, online shopping was already established long before the pandemic began, so using the same infrastructure is not hard. If you can order everything online and have them delivered to your house you would be keeping yourself and your family safe since you will be limiting contact to only the delivery rider. If you have to go shopping, then make sure you are masked up properly, are alone, and observe the social distancing protocols.

What to Pay Attention to in Hot Weather

Masking Up
Source: Pixabay

When the pandemic was beginning to spread like wildfire in early 2020, there was a wrong assumption that was made in regards to the virus that it would disappear once the summer heat came. The opposite actually happened. The rates of infection tripled up in places like America and worsened in other parts. To ensure that you minimize the risks of getting infected with COVID-9, there are some tips that you have to pay attention to, and they include the following.

Humidity: A number of scientific journals have been penned in the last 12 months or so that have drawn a link between the ease of COVID-19 spread and high humidity. A warm and wet climate makes it easy for the virus to stay airborne longer as it can cling onto the moisture in the air. This means that countries in the tropical regions where humidity is high in the summer months have to observe stricter regulations as far as getting the virus under control is concerned.

Temperature: It had been wrongly assumed that extreme cold and hot summers would naturally deal with the virus within no time. That didn’t happen, which proves how resilient and hardy the coronavirus is. What was found, however, is that the rise and fall of temperatures had very little impact on the speed of transmission. Angina, the laid down protocols in hot and dry places should be adhered to with extra caution to ensure the virus is eliminated in the near future.

Blood Pressure Level: Hypertension is a dangerous condition that seems to make everything worse and turning even the most harmless of diseases into a dangerous killer one. The same has been observed with COVID-19. People who suffer from hypertension have had a hard time dealing with the pandemic as it is an underlying condition that has already compromised the body’s immunity making it hard for the body to fight COVID-19. Anyone with high blood pressure is advised to take extra precautions and monitor their condition through the use of a home-based blood pressure monitor to be on the safe side.

Heat-Related Complications: Being exposed to extreme heat can lead to a heat stroke, among many other complications. Suffering this in a pandemic only serves to expose your body for more attacks as your body’s immunity will take a significant hit leaving it powerless when COVID-19 finally kicks in. If you know you are vulnerable to heat make sure you avoid it and stay indoors as much as you can.

What to Avoid

A Pair of Masks
Source: Pixabay

There’s still more about the coronavirus that people don’t know, and as scientists study it, more is being unearthed. However, much of what we know so far has proved effective against the disease. There are things you should not do when dealing with COVID-19, and they include the following.

Do not stay too long in the sun if you are affected by extreme heat. Getting a heat stroke at a moment like that would only make matters worse for you, and with hospitals full already, getting help would be hard.

Forgetting to apply sunscreen if you have sensitive skin will only end in disaster for you. If you have to go outside, make sure you apply enough sunscreen on your skin just to be on the safe side.

Not hydrating is another thing you should never do. Water boosts the body’s immunity against many things, and although it may not be able to stop COVID-19, being dehydrated will lead to other unnecessary complications that may be too much to deal with in a pandemic.

Do not neglect your medical checkups with your doctor if you have serious underlying issues like heart diseases. If a physical visit is impossible, then make a teleconferencing appointment just to update them on your health so they can give you the right advice to keep you safe from having to get the virus.

How to Improve your Immune System

It takes more than observing the laid-out protocols to keep the pandemic at bay; there are certain things that every individual must actively take upon themselves to boost their immunity. They include the following.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Exercising
Source: Pixabay

If you have been putting off starting exercising and eating a healthy diet, then this is the time to revive those plans. Keeping the body fit at all times makes the immunity system to be active throughout, and when you combine that with the right food, then you will be giving yourself the best chance at fighting the disease. Cut smoking, alcohol, and junk food from your life to allow your immunity to fortify itself the natural way.

Eat Immune-Building Foods

Healthy Eating
Source: Pixabay

A balanced diet is not enough, you have to go for the foods that directly impact the body’s immune system. These are foods that are rich in vitamins and antioxidants which not only get rid of toxic substances in the body but provide the right nutrients for the cells involved in fighting diseases to get stronger and more active. Increase your intake of foods rich in fiber and prebiotics like bananas, asparagus, leafy greens, berries, and all forms of fruits.

Use Essential Oils

Essential Oils
Source: Pixabay

Essential oils were already famous for their many good attributes, but their stock has gone through the roof in this pandemic, all thanks to how good they are at boosting the body’s immunity. Eucalyptus and tea tree oils have been singled out by professionals to have the right combination of elements to ward off infections. Simply add them to a diffuser and inhale the fumes or add them to the bathing water. You can also add them to a hand sanitizer so that they can be absorbed through the skin.

Fresh Air

A Walk in the Woods
Source: Pixabay

As much as going outdoors unnecessarily is discouraged, it is a good idea to get some fresh air and plenty of warm sunshine during the day. If you live in an isolated area that allows you to take walks without coming into contact with other people, then you should take advantage of that and take walks in the woods. The sunshine will boost vitamin D, and the fresh air will make your body get rid of all the toxic substances, making it strong enough to fight off anything that comes knocking.

Maintain Hygiene

The simple act of washing the hands may seem mundane and repetitive, but it is the first line of defense against the virus. Wash your hands as regularly as you can using the normal hand wash or soap. Wipe all the commonly used places with disinfectant, and always try to avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.

Conclusion

It is still unclear on the timeline of this pandemic. While some countries are registering success in fighting it off, some are still struggling with rising infection rates. Unless the virus is wiped off completely, all it would take is one reckless individual to restart the wave again. It is up to the collective collaboration between the people and the government to ensure that everything is brought under control as soon as possible. For those battling with underlying conditions like hypertension, visit our website and get all the tips that will help you keep yourself safe.

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All You Need to Know about Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure Monitoring

Source : Unsplash

It is not a coincidence that people who suffer from type 2 diabetes also tend to have high blood pressure; scientists have been able to find a solid correlation between blood sugar and blood pressure. There are three main ways through which high sugar levels in the body lead to an increase in hypertension. 

First, the blood vessels lose their ability to stretch, and this increases the tension within them, leading to high blood pressure. Secondly, the fluids in the body increase, and this tasks the kidneys with more work which again leads to hypertension. Thirdly, the insulin resistance in the body directly increases the risk of hypertension.

We are going to look in detail into blood sugar and blood pressure, what each is all about, the link between them, their common causes, risk factors, home blood pressure kits one can use to keep tabs on the condition, the treatments, and the measures one needs to take to avoid either.

Table of Contents

What Is High Blood Sugar?

Diabetes Testing Kit
Source: Unsplash

Sugar is important in the body; it serves very many vital functions that are responsible for the normal day-to-day operation of the body. However, when it becomes excess to the point where the body organs tasked with the job of regulating them fail to do so, then the body develops one of the most dangerous health complications known to man, diabetes.

A high blood sugar content damages the body organs and opens the body up to other opportunistic conditions like hypertension. When these two combine, then what you have in your hands is a cocktail of a time bomb, just ticking away slowly towards your eventual demise if nothing is done about the situation.

There are three types of diabetes as described below.

Type 1 Diabetes: This is the type that develops at any stage in life and is very common among children and adolescents. This is the condition where your body produces very little insulin, and that means you have to get insulin injections daily to keep the blood sugar levels within controllable limits.

Type 2 Diabetes: This is the most common type of diabetes and is very prevalent among adults, accounting for over 90% of all the cases worldwide. This occurs when the body is unable to make use of the insulin it produces, leading to sugar levels spiking in the body. Insulin and drugs are two of the common ways of keeping things under control.

Gestational Diabetes: Better known as GDM, it is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women and can have adverse effects on both the mother and the unborn child. Fortunately, it is a temporary condition that disappears after the pregnancy, and it can be managed with drugs and healthy eating.

The symptoms of this disease manifest in many ways. They never come out immediately; it takes time for the condition to progress before you start noticing some things are amiss. The following are the most common symptoms for all the types.

  • Frequent urination, especially at night
  • Frequent thirst
  • Weight loss
  • Constant hunger
  • Blurry vision
  • Numb feet and tingling hands
  • Fatigue
  • Dry skin
  • Worlds taking too long to heal
  • Frequent infections

What Is High Blood Pressure?

BPM
Source: Pixabay

Hypertension is a condition where blood pressure keeps going up to unhealthy levels that start interfering with the normal functioning of the body. With blood being very important in the body, it has to move around efficiently through the blood vessels using the right amount of pressure. Due to some external and internal factors, the pressure in these blood vessels may start spiking, and over a period of time, the condition may reach dangerous levels that may cause serious health issues and even death.

There are two types of hypertension, as described below.

Primary Hypertension: This is also called essential hypertension and is the type that takes time to develop in the body without any solid identifiable cause behind it. It is a very common type of hypertension, and there are several factors that are believed to be the reason behind it. They include genes,  Physical changes, and the environment.

Secondary Hypertension: This is the type that develops quickly in the body and can become very dangerous within a short period of time. The causes of this type of blood pressure are known, and they range from other complications like kidney diseases, sleep apnea, heart problems, alcohol abuse, among many other external and lifestyle-based factors.

Symptoms of hypertension vary from one person to another depending on the type of diabetes involved and their lifestyle habits. But on a general scale, the following are the common tell-tale signs that you may be suffering from hypertension.

  • Headaches
  • Shortness of breath
  • Flushing
  • Dizziness
  • Chest pains
  • Blurry vision
  • Frequent nosebleeds
  • Blood in the urine

The Link Between Hypertension and Diabetes

Diabetes Drugs
Source: Unsplash

Hypertension and diabetes are linked to each other more than people may wish to admit. Both deal with human blood and how it operates in the body and this is the reason why having one will always increase the chances of getting the other. But how linked are they?

As mentioned in the beginning, there are about three things that have so far been identified as a link between the two. When you look at some of the lifestyle habits that contribute to diabetes, you will notice that most of them also feature highly in the causes of hypertension.  

People who suffer from type 2 diabetes always end up being diagnosed with hypertension as a resulting complication, and all these are furniture proof that the two are never far off from each other when one is present. There are some conditions that contributed to the appearance of these two diseases at the same time, and they include the following.

Obesity: Obesity is the underlying factor that’s present in people having diabetes and hypertension. The obesity limits the body’s ability to be immune to some conditions, and this lays the foundation for opportunistic complications to set in, and among the many that do so, diabetes and hypertension are never far off.

High Sodium Diet: High sodium in your diet affects the ability of your blood vessels to transport blood efficiently. It increases the pressure in the blood, adding stress on other vital organs, which in turn are unable to deal with blood sugar efficiently.

Chronic Inflammation: Pre-existing conditions like chronic inflammation leave the body exposed, unable to deal with opportunistic infections and complications. People who have been known to have these kinds of inventions are also likely to develop a combination of diabetes and hypertension, among other issues.

Inactivity: Health is tied to physical activity, and people who tend to be sedentary will always develop all kinds of health issues, diabetes and hypertension being among them. There is a reason why physical exercise is prescribed as part of the management regimen of most of these complications.

The bottom line is that where there’s diabetes, hypertension is never far away. Diabetes is actually considered a high-risk factor for hypertension since an increase in blood sugar affects the chemical composition of the blood and this, in turn, affects how the vessels and other organs are able to handle their functions as needed.

Diabetes is known to damage arteries and veins, and this makes them likely targets for hardening through a condition called atherosclerosis. This, in turn, increases blood pressure that will continue to escalate if nothing is done on time. As far as things are right now, there is no confirmation as to whether hypertension can, in turn, cause diabetes the same way diabetes can contribute towards hypertension, but the two tend to co-exist at the same time. 

Therefore, if you happen to be diagnosed with diabetes, be aware that you are at a high risk of developing high blood pressure, and you should invest in the right best blood pressure machine for home use to help you manage it better.

The Common Causes of Hypertension

Hypertension continues to become more prevalent among the population, and there are many hypotheticals that have been advanced to try to explain this phenomenon. There is no known cure for hypertension; all that people have are management measures that allow patients to lead normal lives without making things worse. But to better be able to deal with the diseases and even avoid them altogether, it is important that people understand the causes. They include the following.

Genetics

Source: Pixabay

The power that genetics plays in diseases cannot be ignored, and scientists have confirmed that certain genes in our DNA make up some of us to be more vulnerable to developing high blood pressure at one point in our lives. As much as there’s very little that one can do to alter their genetic code, it does help one prepare for the future if they know they are from a long line of people who are likely to get the disease. This way, the doctor can start you on a health plan that will keep you safe rather than going in blind.

Obesity

Obesity
Source: Unsplash

Being obese puts a lot of pressure on the body organs to function as they are supposed to. The heart, for instance, has to pump the blood at higher pressures just to keep up with the demands of the body. This creates a strain on the heart and the vessels, leading to high blood pressure. Excess weight has been the underlying factor in over 40% of all hypertension diagnosis, and this is a number that cannot be brushed away. Exercising and eating healthy is the best way of reducing the chances of getting hypertension.

High Sodium Diet

Source: Unsplash

Salt is the biggest culprit when it comes to causes of high blood pressure. It may be one of the most important compounds needed by the body, but too much of it can lead to a lot of issues that may affect the pH balance in the blood, leading to high blood pressure. The recommended amount of the daily intake of salt is less than 1500mg, but many people are consuming up to 3400mg. Maintaining this high intake for long will eventually manifest itself in the form of hypertension.

Low Potassium Diet

Potassium Rich Bananas
Source: Unsplash

While sodium intake should be brought down, the intake of potassium must be increased to the required levels. Potassium is the compound that helps the body regulate the amount of sodium in the body; lack of it will increase the chances of hypertension setting in. At the same time, caution should be exercised to not overdo it as that will create heart problems.

Inactive Lifestyle

Source: Unsplash

A sedentary lifestyle is dangerous, and it usually leads to all sorts of problems that are not just limited to hypertension. Exercising regularly helps your body use up any excess compounds in the body while burning off any excess fat in the process. It is the fastest way of killing two birds with one stone, with the benefit of looking fit and amazing at the end of it all.

Excessive Alcohol Consumption

Wine
Source: Unsplash

It has been known for a while now of how damaging alcohol can be on the body, with hypertension being one of the many issues that may pop up. Alcohol not only interferes with the pH levels in the body but it also increases cholesterol levels which affect the heart in a negative way. Alcohol also damages arteries, making them harden up, and this increases blood pressure. It is recommended that you cut alcohol entirely from your life to boost your chances of avoiding high blood pressure.

Kidney Problems

Source: Unsplash

Kidneys play a huge role in cleaning the blood off impurities and maintain the right pH levels for the rest of the body organs to function well. Once the kidneys are compromised, the blood becomes saturated with sodium leading to an elevated blood pressure. Once you start developing kidney problems, get medical help as soon as you can to ensure that the hypertension is monitored closely at all times.

The Common Causes of Diabetes

The causes of diabetes are not as clear-cut as those for hypertension. High intake of sugar is usually cited, but the root cause is much deeper than that since diabetes is more about the inability of the body to deal with the accumulation of sugars in the body. What is known, however, are the risk factors. These are conditions that increase the chances of diabetes setting in the body, and they include the following.

Low Insulin

Insulin Injections
Source: Unsplash

What causes the body to stop producing enough insulin is still a mystery to many scientists, but one of the speculations point to the immune system. Sometimes the body, in its attempt to fight infections and other foreign bodies, ends up attacking and destroying insulin synthesizing cells, and this leads to a reduced insulin production which in turn leads to diabetes.

Weight

Weight
Source: Unsplash

Weight is related to an uncontrolled intake of certain unhealthy foods, which in turn contribute to the accumulation of sugars in the body, leading to diabetes. High sugar drinks like caffeinated sodas are known to inject artificial sugars in the body that make an indica balloon, and at the same time, they compromise the body’s ability to regulate the new sugars. You should always watch what you eat to avoid ending up diabetic.

Genetics

Source: Pixabay

Just like hypertension, there’s a genetic link that increases the chances of an individual developing diabetes if they have successive members of the family developing the disease over the years. Knowing your family history could help you take precautions early on in life to increase your chances of going through life in a healthy way without being encumbered with the complications related to diabetes.

Diet

Healthy Meal
Source: Unsplash

An unhealthy diet will always result in a myriad of complications, with diabetes being among them. High sugar foods will only serve to increase the sugar content in the body, adding more pressure on the body to regulate them. If this is sustained over time, it will reach a point where the body becomes incapacitated and unable to deal with the sugar accumulation, and eventually, you will end up being a diabetic person.

Common Hypertension Treatment

Source: Pixabay

There is no known cure that completely eliminates high blood pressure from the body; the best that most medication can do is to manage the condition to protect the other organs from being affected too much to the point where they stop functioning. The following are some of the common treatment regimens for hypertension.

Medication: There are a number of effective medications that keep the condition in check for as long as the dosage is adhered to. Some of these drugs include Angiotensin, Diuretics, Renin inhibitors, Alpha-blockers, Calcium channel blockers, among many other drugs.

Lifestyle Changes: The food we eat and the things we do to our bodies determine the level of health that we enjoy. Hypertension may be an internal condition, but it is influenced heavily by the things we do outside. This ranges from eating the right foods, avoiding alcohol and smoking, limiting the amount of sodium intake, and maintaining a stress-free life.

Constant Monitoring: Keeping track of the high blood pressure as much as you can is the best way of keeping the condition in check, and thanks to technological advancement, you can get your own home blood pressure kit that you can use without any assistance from the doctor.

Common Diabetes Treatment

Insulin Kit
Source: Unsplash

Diabetes is also a tricky condition to deal with once it has set in. Just like hypertension, getting rid of the condition completely is impossible, and the best you can do is manage it. Fortunately, there are many effective methods that one can use to get around this, and they include the following.

Insulin Injections: Insulin injections make up the bulk of diabetes management. This can be done daily through injections or, in some cases, tablets, which are more manageable and less invasive than daily injections.

Exercises: Keeping that extra weight at bay will increase your chances of dealing with diabetes. The last thing you would want is having to deal with weight complications on top of high blood sugar levels.

Dietary Changes: Keeping away from high cholesterol foods and sugar-rich diets is the cheapest way of keeping the blood sugar levels in the body in check. This includes cutting down alcohol and smoking entirely from your life as they only make matters worse.

Monitoring Hypertension

Mini BPM Kit
Source: Unsplash

When dealing with incurable diseases like hypertension and diabetes, the best you can do is to keep track of what you are taking and, at the same time, keeping tabs on the progress of the condition. Monitoring both conditions used to be a complicated affair that was reserved for physicians, but thanks to technological advancements, people can now handle that end of the business on their own through portable monitoring machines.

For hypertension, there are a number of high blood pressure monitors that one could use from the comfort of their homes to keep tabs on their blood pressure levels at all times. Some of the notable ones include the following.

RBP 9805

Home Use RBP 9805

This is a state-of-the-art and portable blood pressure monitor that makes use of the revolutionary PulseWave Technology to take accurate measurements of the blood pressure from the arm. The home-use monitor has the following features.

  • It is clinically tested and certified by professionals
  • Large-capacity lithium battery
  • Accommodates more than 300 readings
  • Supports USB charging and connectivity
  • Large, user-friendly screen
  • Backlight for easy readings
  • Wireless transmission

BP 88A

Wearable-Series-BP-88A

This is another Raycome wearable homedics blood pressure monitor that is designed for optimum functioning. It makes use of the PulseWave Technology to record the most accurate blood pressure readings with very minimal margins of errors. The device has the following stand-outThe stylish features.

RBP 1200

Kids-Use-RBP-1200

This is a specialized and automatic arm blood pressure monitor for kids. It is highly intuitive and non-invasive and can be used on kids of any age without any complications arising. This handy device has the following features.

  • Stylish and playful design meant to make children relax when it is being fitted on their hands.
  • PulseWave Technology
  • Portable
  • Large capacity battery

Conclusion

It is evident that hypertension and diabetes are closely linked, and the chances of both affecting an individual at the same time are very high. They are both incurable but can be managed using similar methods. All you have to do is follow the simple recommendations that have been outlined in the article. If you would be interested in knowing more about the best BPM kits and how they operate, visit our website at any time and have all your questions and concerns addressed by our team of experts.

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Importance of Healthy Blood Circulation and How-to Guides

Healthy Blood Circulation

Source : www.belmarrahealth.com

When it comes to having a healthy body that will support you throughout your day’s activities, paying attention to your blood circulation is essential. Blood circulation should be at its best given that it is a vital function in the body.

It helps transport blood from one organ to another facilitating their optimal performance and also affects your blood pressure levels. Keeping tabs on your blood pressure gives you a clearer understanding of your circulation. Get in touch with a reputable bp monitor manufacturer to get yourself a bp monitor you can always rely on. 

With this in mind, finding out more about blood circulation will come in handy. You’ll be in a position to identify symptoms of poor blood circulation and seek medical attention on time. Additionally, you’ll also get to see the best ways to promote blood circulation naturally. Take your time to go through this article and pay keen attention to the details.

Table of Contents

What is blood circulation?

What is blood circulation
Source: www.webmd.com

Blood circulation refers to the flow of blood from one organ to another throughout your body. Blood circulation is essential given that it carries oxygen and nutrients that are important for your body organs to function at their best. It involves the use of the heart, arteries, and veins. This combination is referred to as the circulatory system. The circulatory system should work at its best to ensure that the blood flow is adequate. With blood circulation, there are two types involved. They include:

PulmonaryCirculation

In pulmonary circulation, deoxygenated blood is taken from the heart and flows to the lungs. This is where the oxygen is introduced and the carbon dioxide removed. Once that is done, the oxygenated blood then flows back to the heart. 

SystemicCirculation

In systemic circulation, blood is moved between the heart and the rest of the body. It distributes the oxygenated blood to the different cells and brings back deoxygenated blood to the heart to undergo pulmonary circulation.

How does blood circulation work?

How does blood circulation work
Source: www.assignmentclub.co.uk

As said earlier blood circulation involves the use of the heart, arteries, and veins to facilitate adequate blood flow through the body. This combination makes up the cardiovascular system tasked with transporting oxygen and other important nutrients throughout the body. When it comes to how it works, the arteries found in the heart are tasked with carrying blood away from the heart while the veins carry it back to the heart.

Blood circulation begins when the heart relaxes between two heartbeats. Once this happens, the blood flows from the atria which consist of the upper 2 chambers, and into the ventricles which are the lower 2 chambers. Once this is done the two chambers then expand and pup blood into large arteries. 

 

This is referred to as the ejection period. Keeping in mind the two different types of blood circulation, you should keep in mind that the processes will differ. When it comes to the systemic circulation, the left ventricle will pump blood that is rich in oxygen into the aorta.

Once this is done, the blood then flows to larger and smaller arteries entering into the capillary network. Here the blood then deposits the oxygen and important nutrients while picking up carbon dioxide and other waste products. Now, this blood gets into the veins and is directed back to the heart into the right atrium and deposited into the right ventricle. 

This is now where the pulmonary circulation discussed earlier begins. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood through the pulmonary artery and into the lungs. This is where the carbon dioxide is removed and oxygen reintroduced back to the blood. The blood is then taken by the veins back to the heart and the next cycle in the circulation begins.

The cause of poor blood circulation

Source: https://peripheralarteryanswers.com

If you are suffering from poor blood circulation, there are a few things that could be triggering this. Some of the most common causes include:

Blood Clots

Blood Clots
Source: www.vascularhealthclinics.org

Blood clots can occur anywhere in the body making them a hindrance to the adequate blood circulation required. Blood clots will hinder the flow of blood either partially or completely depending on their size. The most detrimental blood clot that would cause significant damage to your blood flow is that found in the legs or arms.

Blood clots are a serious problem that needs to be addressed before they cause any more issues. This is mainly because, when a blood clot breaks away, it could tear through different organs in your body. If it finds its way to your heart, you are at a high risk of suffering from a stroke. This is why it is important to address blood clots earlier on to avoid such risks.

Peripheral Artery Disease

Source: www.vascularhealthclinics.org

The narrowing of blood vessels and arteries is caused by Peripheral artery disease and may hinder the circulation of blood. It mostly affects the legs resulting in poor blood circulation around that area. With this condition, you may also suffer from atherosclerosis which is the build-up of plaque in the arteries. 

 

When this happens, the arteries tend to stiffen which results in decreased blood flow. If this is left unattended, you may suffer from a stroke. However, if the build-up is formed in your heart’s blood vessels and arteries the most extreme if left untreated would be a heart attack.

Varicose Veins

Varicose Veins
Source: www.dnaindia.com

This is something that will mostly affect the veins found on the back of the legs. It involves the enlargement and engorgement of veins mainly as a result of valve failure. With this, you find that the veins are not able to work at their best and move blood like the healthier veins. 

This results in poor circulation in the long run. Additionally, this condition may also result in blood clots which also hinder the circulation of blood. With this condition, those who are at greater risk are women, overweight or obese people, and those with a genetic link. If a member of the family has it then you are likely to suffer from it too.

Obesity

Source: www.medlife.com

When it comes to obesity, you find that excess weight predisposes people to more health problems. For instance, with obesity, you are more at risk of suffering from varicose veins and other blood vessel problems. Additionally, with the excess weight, being seated in one position for a long time with no movement results in poor blood circulation. It becomes difficult for blood to flow accurately given your current condition.

Diabetes

Source: www.diabetes.co.uk

With diabetes, we mostly associate it with affecting the sugar levels in our blood. However, this condition can also result in poor blood circulation in some parts of the body. Poor blood circulation in a diabetic patient will result in cramping legs, painful calves, thighs, or buttocks. 

This appears to be more painful to people who are physically active compared to those with advanced diabetes. This is because they have reduced sensitivity in their pain sensitivity and may not feel it as much. 

Raynaud’s Disease

Raynaud’s Disease
Source: www.netmeds.com

Raynaud’s disease involves the narrowing of arteries found in the hands and feet. This disease usually results in severe and chronic cold hands and feet. With narrow arteries, you find that blood flow is hindered which results in poor blood circulation. This disease plays a huge role in poor blood circulation which is something you need to keep an eye on if you suffer from it.

Impact of poor circulation

Source: www.avogel.co.uk

Now that you know more about the causes of poor blood circulation, you may be wondering how this impacts you and your health. Well, there are a few things you need to consider here. Some of the impacts you’ll experience include:

Severe Numbness and Tingling Sensation

Source: www.prevention.com

When blood flow is restricted for some reason and there is poor blood circulation, you find that the organs furthest from the heart tend to suffer the most. This is where you start feeling numb in certain areas of the body most especially the arms and the legs. 

Additionally, it may also result in a tingling and needle piercing sensation. This can be quite uncomfortable and painful which is why you need to ensure that the blood circulation problem is addressed.

Extreme Swelling

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

One of the major downsides of poor blood circulation is that you can easily build up a lot of fluids in your system. These fluids are then deposited in certain parts of your body resulting in swelling. If not addressed, the swelling goes to the extreme and may even hinder the movement of the affected parts. 

This swelling is referred to as Edema and is also associated with heart failure. It is mainly caused when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to the body resulting in poor blood circulation.

Digestive Problems

Digestive Problems
Source: www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org

For adequate and accurate digestion, the body highly depends on blood circulation to make it possible. However, with poor circulation, you find that it facilitates the accumulation of fatty matter across the abdomen. 

This makes it a bit harder for the body to accurately digest the food you take in. This in turn results in digestive problems. The results of these digestive problems could be in the form of diarrhea, constipation, or cramping.

Cognitive Dysfunction

Cognitive Dysfunction
Source: www.dietdoctor.com

With poor blood circulation, you find that the brain may be severely affected in the process. This could be as a result of low blood flow getting to the brain or the different changes in blood pressure levels. The brain is severely affected and may lead to cognitive issues like memory loss and other associated conditions.

Joint Pain

Joint Pain
Source: www.medanta.org

When it comes to the effects of poor circulation, you find that the joints tend to be more painful seeing as the flow of blood is limited. The pain in the joints is mostly experienced in the feet and joints. It becomes severe for those suffering from severe cold hands and feet. As the blood flow starts to easily flow it becomes more painful and less relatable. Additionally, the joint pain becomes worse when you are engaged in long seated or standing sessions. The best is to alternate to avoid exacerbating the situation.

Fatigue

Fatigue
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

With poor blood circulation, you find that the heart starts to pump harder trying to compensate for the lack of adequate blood in the body. However, this, in turn, results in fatigue and leaves you feeling worn out and unable to work on anything. Poor blood flow will significantly affect your energy levels and additionally leave you fatigued.

Skin Discoloration

Skin Discoloration
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

The most apparent physical sign and symptom of poor blood circulation is the discoloration of your skin. You find that the skin turns blue when the blood is not sufficient to cater to the whole body. On the other hand, if the blood is leaking through the capillaries your skin will tend to turn purple. This clearly shows the impacts of poor blood circulation on your body which goes to show that you should address it.

Blood circulation related diseases

Blood circulation related diseases
Source: www.stringyball.com

When it comes to blood circulation, you find that there are a few diseases related to it. These are diseases that either stem from or lead to poor blood circulation. Some of the related diseases include:

Atherosclerosis

The hardening of the arteries is known as atherosclerosis. It’s usually caused by a high-fat diet, which leaves fatty deposits on the blood vessel lining. These fatty deposits adhere to each other, making the arteries stiff and inflexible. Once the arteries have been damaged, it results in poor blood circulation around the body. High blood pressure is caused by atherosclerosis, which can damage the heart and kidneys and even cause strokes.

Heart attack

A heart attack occurs when the heart’s blood supply is cut off and is also caused by a blood clot. The hindrance of blood flow results in poor blood circulation in the body and could easily cause a heart attack. Although some heart attacks are mild, others can be fatal.

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Mitral valve prolapse occurs when the mitral valve does not close uniformly and bulges out or prolapses. This is a valve in the heart that pumps oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

Angina Pectoris

Angina pectoris happens when the heart does not receive enough oxygen. It’s sometimes described as a crushing sensation. Angina pectoris patients may also experience shortness of breath, fatigue, and nausea.

Arrhythmia and dysrhythmia

Both arrhythmia and dysrhythmia refer to irregular heart rates and rhythms, and they are often used interchangeably. Arrhythmia refers to a lack of rhythm, while dysrhythmia refers to an irregular rhythm.

High Blood Pressure

The intensity or pressure of blood flowing through the veins is regularly too high in people with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. High blood pressure may result in a stroke, vision loss, heart failure, heart attack, kidney disease, and sexual dysfunction. Ensure that you keep an eye on your blood pressure with a home-use bp monitor to ensure you keep your levels normal. 

Stroke

A stroke occurs when one of the blood vessels leading to the brain is blocked by a blood clot or bursts. This reduces blood supply to the brain and prevents oxygen from reaching it.

Aortic Aneurysm

Aortic aneurysms are a form of aneurysm that affects the body’s main artery. It indicates that the artery wall has weakened, allowing the artery to expand or “balloon out.” A swollen artery has the potential to burst, causing a medical emergency.

Commonly used medication for blood circulation

Commonly used medication for blood circulation
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

If you are suffering from poor blood circulation, the first thing to consider is the treatment options available to you. For this, you’ll need to invest in some medication and vitamins as guided by your primary health care provider. Some of the most common drugs associated with blood circulation include:

Pentoxifylline

This medicine is used to reduce aching and cramping in the hands and feet. This is done by helping to improve the blood flow in the affected areas. It is efficient given that it works by decreasing the thickness and viscosity of the blood. This allows the blood to flow with ease even when it gets to the narrow capillaries and arteries. This is a prescription drug that should only be taken with clear directions from your doctor.

They are tablets that are usually taken 3 times a day and should be swallowed whole. In most cases, the effects of this medication will be felt about 2 to 4 weeks after you begin your dosage. However, for maximum benefits, it is advised to use it for at least 8 weeks. Ensure that you get the directions from your doctor with regards to your condition and how this medication should be administered.

Vitamin E

Find ways to get plenty of vitamin E into your body to help improve your blood flow. You could do this through supplementation or rely solely on vitamin E-rich foods. Prepare foods with oils like wheat germ oil, hazelnut oil, sunflower oil, and other nut oils to quickly add this vitamin into your diet.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B supplements can be found in the vitamin aisles of most supermarkets and drugstores. They are quite accessible and go a long way to improving your blood circulation to ensure that you avoid additional health problems. These vitamins are also abundant in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale.

Iron

Iron is also easily accessible as a supplement where you can take the pills as needed to get the best effects. You can also get enough iron from your diet if you consume a lot of red meat and leafy green vegetables. Because of the cardiovascular risks associated with red meat, your doctor may recommend that you take a supplement and eat more leafy greens instead.

Natural ways to improve your blood circulation

Natural ways to improve your blood circulation
Source: www.healthline.com

When it comes to your blood circulation health, you have a few natural options that will help you maintain and keep it at its best. Some of the natural solutions to consider include:

Exercise

Exercise is one of the most beneficial tools we have to boost our health and blood flow. Exercising goes a long way to ensuring that your blood is pumping and increases and boosts blood circulation. Additionally, exercise also has an amazingly positive effect on your mood and helps you control your weight. The best thing about exercising is that you don’t have to go hard and dread the process. You can make it a short and enjoyable session that you can keep up with and progressively work on more time spent on it. Additionally, you have a lot of free resources that will give you the best workout you prefer and help you follow along.

Food

The food you eat is essential especially because it fuels your body and ensures that you are in your best health. With this, you need to try your best to avoid junk and fatty foods that may deposit fat into your blood vessels and worsen the flow of blood. You also need to ensure that your food choices are not too heavy on your digestion. Remember, poor blood circulation also affects your digestive system. Focused on light foods that are natural and packed with amazing vitamins and minerals that will help improve your blood flow.

Drink lots of water

It is advised that people take a lot of water throughout the day to keep their bodies running at their best. This is something that escapes a lot of people seeing as they don’t pay attention to the amount of water they drink. You need to aim for at least 8 glasses of water or more a day. Water is essential given that it keeps things flowing and ensures that toxins are removed. With this, you’ll contribute to improving the flow of blood significantly.

Take green tea

Green tea is a drink that is neglected by many but should be a staple for improved health. It features amazing antioxidants that are so beneficial for our bodies that we cannot afford to miss out on them. Additionally, green tea also comes in handy when improving the blood flow and circulation in your body. It does this by widening your body’s blood vessels which makes it easier for blood to flow.

Dry brush your skin

Dry brushing your skin comes in handy for removing dead skin and also improving blood circulation. This is a practice that you can easily work into your routine and start reaping its benefits. With this, the best way to work with it is to do it before you shower and brush from your feet in circular motions heading towards the heart. You will notice an improvement in blood flow immediately. Be sure to use a soft brush and apply little to no pressure to avoid injuring the skin in the process.

Reduce Stress

Stress is one of the many reasons that may worsen your blood circulation issues if not accurately addressed. Take up a practice like meditation that requires you to be mindful and in the present. This will help you reduce your stress and refocus your mental energy. you can follow along with a guided meditation until you get to a point where you can engage by yourself.

Stretch more often

You must move your body if you want to improve your blood circulation. The easiest way to do this is by stretching out your body. Most people tend to spend so many hours on their desks working that they end up with a host of health problems. This is something you want to avoid and work towards having a more active day. Stretching may take a minute or two or may involve a yoga session. Just make time for it to help you improve your blood circulation.

Conclusion

Healthy blood circulation is an important aspect of everyone’s lives. It keeps you in great health and ensures that you don’t suffer from any unnecessary ailments. Take your time to get checked by your doctor and get a treatment course for your condition. Poor blood circulation can be treated and reverted depending on your efforts. Consider the natural ways in combination with your prescription drugs for maximum benefits.

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Vitamins and Blood Pressure

A Blood Pressure Monitor

Source : Pixabay

High Blood Pressure has been a global scourge for a very long time, and all indications point to an increase in the number of cases among people as lifestyle habits change with time. The worst part of this condition is that it doesn’t have any known cure; the best one can do is manage it once they are diagnosed, and this is where the challenge begins. You have to watch what you eat, and you have to constantly monitor yourself using a blood pressure monitor.

Fortunately for those battling with hypertension, there are certain vitamins and supplements that can be used to better manage the condition safely without having to rely too much on medication. We will be looking at some of the vitamins recommended for people suffering from hypertension, explore their core benefits and how often they should be taken to stabilize things.

Table of Contents

Vitamin D

Red Meat
Source: Pixabay

It has been found across the board that people who suffer from high blood pressure lack sufficient Vitamin D in their bodies, and this undermines their ability to fight the condition on top of other related diseases that usually follow high blood pressure. Vitamin regulates the amount of calcium, phosphates, and salts in the body, the latter being the biggest culprit behind heightened blood pressure. The best sources of Vitamin D include oily fish, liver, egg yolks, fortified foods, and red meat. Increase the consumption of these foods and more to increase your Vitamin D levels in the body.

B Vitamins

Oysters
Source: Pixabay

The class of B vitamins is broad and diverse, with several elements sourced from different foods, each with its own unique way of dealing with HBP. Vitamin B2, for instance, also known as riboflavin, has been found to be effective in adults who have the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene mutations that increase the likelihood of someone getting hypertension as they advance into adulthood.

Vitamin B9, also called folic acid, is another vital vitamin that helps people who are also struggling with heart-related diseases. It is recommended that people take a lot of the vitamins when they are young adults to reduce the chances of them developing high blood pressure once they grow up. Vitamin B6 has also been found to contain supplements that reduce hypertension, even in animals. Human experiments are yet to be conducted to determine the efficacy, but all indications point to the high possibility of it being as effective as the other Vitamin B forms.

Common sources of Vitamin B include cheese, milk, eggs, kidney, liver, oysters, dark green vegetables, among many others.

Vitamin C

Source: Pixabay

Vitamin C is probably the most widely known and the most common of all vitamins that are effective against many human body complications, hypertension included. The body can’t function without Vitamin C, and among its many vital functions, it has been found that having sufficient amounts of Vitamin C in the body significantly reduces the chances of getting hypertension, and if you already have it, it makes managing it much easier and bearable.

Some good sources of Vitamin C include strawberries, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, black currants, and all types of citrus fruits. You can choose to eat them directly for the best results, or you can choose to blend them as juices and a host of other forms.

Melatonin

Melatonin Supplements
Source: Pinterest

Melatonin is a special hormone that is synthesized in the body with the help of certain vitamins. The hormone serves many functions in the body, with the primary one being promoting sleep, which in turn pacifies the blood pressure in the body. It has been found to bring relief to people who have acute hypertension when they take the hormone in the form of supplements.

Another study conducted by experts also found a possible link between low melatonin levels in women with an increased risk factor for developing high blood pressure. More research is being conducted in that area to find more answers and ways of making the melatonin hormone a potent weapon against high blood pressure.

Potassium

Cantaloupes
Source: Pixabay

Potassium is another vital supplement that works hand in hand with vitamins and other elements to control the amount of sodium in the body. One of the many reasons why hypertension is a food-based issue is due to the continued high intake of salt, which destabilizes the blood pressure. Sometimes the kidneys are unable to properly get rid of the sodium, and once this accumulates in the body, trouble starts.

Potassium stimulates the body to increase the pace of expunging sodium from the body through urine to help blood vessels to relax. It can be taken in as supplement pills or directly by consuming food that is rich in potassium. Some of these foods include bananas, oranges, cantaloupes, spinach, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, peas, cucumbers, among many others.

Magnesium

Salmon
Source: Pixabay

It is hard to properly describe how important magnesium is in the body; it is a cofactor in more than 300 body enzymes that control the many body functions. Basically, in a layman’s language, the body would collapse without this life-giving mineral. Hypertension is one of the many diseases that magnesium helps get under control. So how exactly does magnesium help regulate hypertension?

Magnesium works by stimulating the production of nitric oxide, which in turn leads to the blood vessels relaxing. It has been found that taking about 450mg of magnesium per day over four months by people suffering from acute high blood pressure reduces the effects of the condition by huge leaps. A further study also indicated that taking diets rich in magnesium every day for healthy people keeps them from developing high blood pressure in their later stages of life.

The best sources of magnesium include fish dishes like salmon, mackerel, pollock, and halibut. You can also increase your intake of vegetables like spinach, edamame, okra, and tamarind.

Probiotics

Source: Pixabay

Probiotics are essential bacteria that are found inside the stomach lining, and they play a wide range of vital roles in the body, dealing with hypertension being among them. People with low numbers of probiotics in their body, which can go down due to many reasons, drinking alcohol heavily being one of them, were found to be susceptible to developing high blood pressure compared to those that had enough of them.

The best external sources of probiotics are milk-based products like yogurt and other fermented products. You could also go with taking probiotic supplements to further boost your immunity and give your body the chance to properly manage high blood pressure.

Dealing with Hypertension

Hypertension Drugs
Source: Pixabay

High blood pressure has been linked to lifestyle habits, which means that it is a condition that can be avoided in the first palace for most people. And as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Before you end up relying on medication and supplements, you should first make the following changes in your habits

Eat healthy foods with limited salt. Increase your intake of vitamin-rich foods that are also high in potassium and magnesium. HBP patients are usually put on a special eating program called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and low-fat foods. Watch what you eat at all times.

You need to lay off alcohol completely. Healthy people are advised to limit their intake of alcohol, and for those that are already dealing with hypertension, touching alcohol is suicide. Alcohol gets absorbed into the blood directly, and this can alter the blood pressure within minutes, worsening an already bad situation.

Monitor yourself constantly. There’s handy enough technologically advanced blood pressure monitors that you can use as a BP check machine at home to keep track of your blood pressure as many times as you can to ensure you are on the safe side. Some even come with mobile apps like the BP Secretary App that lets you monitor yourself in real-time through the seamless interconnection between the smartphone and the BPM.

Keep your stress levels down as much as you can. Your mental state is like a time bomb when you are dealing with hypertension. If you are the type to lose their cool all the time, then you’ll have a hard time navigating through this condition. You have to lead a peaceful life away from the chaos and troublesome people. Any little stress will lead to your hypertension skyrocketing, and it could kill you.

Increase physical activity. High blood pressure goes hand in hand with obesity, and if you find yourself dealing with both, then your chances of survival drastically go down. You have to exercise as much as you can to cut down your body weight, and that will make it easier to deal with high blood pressure. Your blood vessels will become healthier and stronger enough to pump blood, countering the adverse effects of hypertension. If there’s a time in your life where you have to get that gym membership, that time would be now.

Conclusion

High blood pressure is a huge problem around the world, but it is not a death sentence. It may not have a direct cure, but there are many proven ways that you can implement in your life to make sure you manage it. As the leading BP machine company, we specialize in the creation of reliable high blood pressure monitors that give accurate results within seconds. We also have qualified experts who can answer all your questions and concerns to your satisfaction. Therefore, do not hesitate to visit our website or get in touch with us at your convenience.

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