High Blood Pressure Education

By Nurse Diane

This is National High Blood Pressure Education month.  According to the CDC, who's theme this year is Make Control Your Goal, states that you may not have any symptoms of high blood pressure, but it can damage your health in many ways. For instance, it can harden the arteries, decreasing the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart and brain.

This reduced flow can cause:

• A heart attack, which occurs when the blood supply to your heart is blocked and heart muscle cells die from a lack of oxygen.
• A stroke, which can occur when arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain become blocked or burst.
• Chest pain, also called angina.
• Heart failure, which occurs when the heart can't pump enough blood and oxygen to other organs

Ways to keep your pressure under control include:

• Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
• Participate in 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week.
• Eat a healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and low in sodium, saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol.
• Manage stress.
• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink (no more than one drink each day for women and two for men).

If you have a family member who has high blood pressure, you can help by taking many of the steps listed above with them. Go for walks together or cook meals with lower sodium. Make it a family affair, and keep your blood pressure under control.

(All images from Google) 

Sea Salt: Age Old Flavor with an Oceanic Twist

By Sunny Hon

Whatever happened to the salt your grandmother used back in the day?  You know… the stuff that came cheaply out of the cylindrical cardboard container, laced with just enough iodine to keep your thyroids happy…?  The recent rise of the gourmet and health food culture, undoubtedly spurred on by the implosion of celebrity chefs and cooking shows on network and cable television, has put forth an aggressive competitor to your grandmother’s salt.  Did we have an issue with the stuff that was in the old shakers?  Were we complaining about it not being salty enough?  Did it not provide our food with enough gastronomical “umph?”  Nevertheless, every trend-conscientious restaurant did away with the old and in its place, replaced it with sea salt.

What is sea salt?  What’s so special about it?  For one, sea salt is more natural than your run-of-mill table salt.  Sea salt is obtained by evaporating seawater with minimal processing.  The result is mostly sodium chloride with 2-10% of other minerals (i.e. iron, sulfur, magnesium, and other trace elements).  Depending on the source of the seawater, the percentage of each mineral varies, as does its taste, color and even texture.  Table salt, on the hand, comes from terrestrial salt deposits.  This salt is heavily processed and treated to remove all the other minerals resulting in a product that is 99.9% sodium chloride.  Anti-caking agents, like silicon dioxide, are added to the terrestrial salt to prevent clumping.  Iodine is also added in the production process to provide consumers with a good source of this important mineral.  Because of the high sodium chloride content, table salt is saltier than sea salt.  The better flavoring and texture lies on the side of sea salt due to its mineral content.  It is also considered healthier as the minerals work to balance electrolytes in your body.

Regardless of where your salt comes from, salt intake should be held in check in a healthy diet.  While it provides for great flavoring to food and helps your body function, too much of it can be detrimental to your health.  Daily intake of sodium should be no more than 2,300 milligrams.  Adults over the age of 51 or those have high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney problems should limit sodium to less than 1,500 milligrams per day.  Processed foods usually contain high amounts of sodium (used as a preservative) and thus should be avoided.  At the end of the day, salt is salt.  Like all things, use it, don’t abuse it!

(All Images from Google) 

World Health Day - High Blood Pressure

By Nurse Diane

World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.  The theme for 2013 is High Blood Pressure.

High blood pressure – also known as raised blood pressure or hypertension – increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can also cause blindness, irregularities of the heartbeat and heart failure. The risk of developing these complications is higher in the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes. One in three adults worldwide have high blood pressure. The proportion increases with age, from 1 in 10 people in their 20s and 30s to 5 in 10 people in their 50s. Prevalence of high blood pressure is highest in some low-income countries in Africa, and with over 40% of adults in many African countries.

The risk of developing high blood pressure can be reduced by:

• Reducing salt intake;
• Eating a balanced diet;
• Avoiding harmful use of alcohol;
• Taking regular physical activity;
• Maintaining a healthy body weight; and
• Avoiding tobacco use.

The ultimate goal of World Health Day 2013 is to reduce heart attacks and strokes. Specific objectives of the campaign are:

• To raise awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure;
• To provide information on how to prevent high blood pressure and related complications;
• To encourage adults to check their blood pressure and to follow the advice of health-care professionals;
• To encourage self-care to prevent high blood pressure;
• To make blood pressure measurement affordable to all; and
• To incite national and local authorities to create enabling environments for healthy behaviors.

Source: http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/

 (All images from Google) 

Heat Safety Awareness Day

(Google Image) 

By Akindman

Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. In fact, on average, excessive heat claims more lives each year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. In the disastrous heat wave of 1980, more than 1,250 people died. In the heat wave of 1995 more than 700 deaths in the Chicago area were attributed to heat. In August 2003, a record heat wave in Europe claimed an estimated 50,000 lives.

(Google Image) 

North American summers are hot; most summers see heat waves in one or more parts of the United States. East of the Rockies, they tend to combine both high temperature and high humidity; although some of the worst heat waves have been catastrophically dry.

How does heat affect the workplace? When exposed to extreme heat or when working in hot environments, workers can be at risk of heat stress. Heat stress occurs when the body is unable to cool itself by sweating. Heat rashes, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke can occur as a result. Heat also increases the risk of workplace injuries. Sweaty palms, fogged safety glasses and dizziness can all contribute to injury.

(Google Image) 

Who's at risk? Workers with heart disease, high blood pressure, overweight or over 65 years are at greatest risk. Those who work outdoors, including farmers, utility and construction workers, firefighters, miners, factory works, and bakery workers are a few examples.

Here are a few tips and reminders for keeping yourself, loved ones, and pets safe when temperatures rise:

• Those whose work, or whose activity schedule requires that they be, outdoors for prolonged periods should take frequent breaks to get out of the sun.
• Remain well hydrated (drink plenty of water).  Water is the best fluid to drink to re-hydrate and/or to stay hydrated.  Beverages high in sugar or caffeine are not recommended.
• Prolonged exposure to heat and humidity may increase the chances for a variety of ailments such as sunburn, heat exhaustion, heat stroke (hypothermia), and heat cramps.
• Pets and small children should never be left in automobiles, even for short periods of time.  Seeing as though most episodes of extreme heat occur in the spring and summer months, when the sun angle is highest, the interior of an automobile can undergo rapid rises in temperature very quickly.  Did you know that recent studies suggest that on a day when the temperature is 80 degrees, the interior of an automobile with closed windows is capable of reaching 120 degrees after an hour of being left unattended?  Imagine how high those temperatures could get if the air temperature were 85 or even 90 degrees!  Furthermore, closed windows do not allow for the heat to escape as easily (open windows will not provide much heat reduction either, especially if the vehicle is stationary).  Dangerous, or even life threatening, conditions may materialize for pets, children, and even adults in these situations.
• Check on the elderly to ensure that they are remaining safe and healthy.
• Make sure pets have adequate fresh, cold water and food.  Pets should not be left outdoors in the heat for prolonged periods of time.
• Get out of the heat, and into an air conditioned environment, for at least a few hours each day during periods of excessive heat.  If your home is not air conditioned, go to a shopping mall or other air conditioned place.

Links:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lbf/?n=heatawarenessday