Did you know?

High blood pressure causes heart disease and stroke

February is American Heart Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) together with the Millions Hearts® initiative is making a national effort to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the United States by the year 2017. The focus of this effort is to teach people to know their blood pressure and to learn how to control it. Uncontrolled blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

People with high blood pressure are four times more likely to die from a stroke and three times more likely to die from heart disease than those with normal blood pressure. Because high blood pressure often does not present with symptoms, it is imperative to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Screening is simple—physicians do it at virtually every visit and you can have it done at drugstores. You can even check it at home, as long as you have a blood pressure monitor.

Nearly half of all Americans have at least one major risk factor for heart disease, but many do not know it. Therefore, it’s important to understand what the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are. They include obesity, inactivity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Warning signs
Warning signs for stroke include drooping of the face on one side or numbness, arm weakness or numbness, slurred speech or inability to speak.

Warning signs of heart attack include discomfort of the chest or in other areas of the upper body, shortness of breath, and breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Warning signs of cardiac arrest include sudden loss of responsiveness and lack of normal breathing. That is, the victim does not take a normal breath when the head is tilted up for at least five seconds.

There is a difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart stops and thus causes a section of the heart muscle to begin to die; whereas a cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating as a whole.

Healthy lifestyle cuts risk
Living a healthy lifestyle can help prevent high blood pressure.

  • Many people have too much sodium in their diets and that can raise blood pressure. Improve your diet by reducing sodium intake and increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables and limiting fats, sugars and cured meats.
  • If you don’t smoke, never start. If you do smoke, quit as soon as you can.
  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Manage stress. One way is to participate in regular exercise or meditate.
  • Limit alcohol intake.
  • Incorporate OMEGA+++ into your daily regimen. The formulation is heart-healthy with omega-3s, omega-6s and omega-9s.