When at rest, the heart beats about sixty to ninety times per minute. And, with each beat blood is pumped into the arteries which are the pipeline that carries blood throughout the body. Arteries have the ability to expand and contract. An increase in the resistance or volume needs a greater effort by the heart to push the blood forward into the arteries. Over time, the heart, because of increased work may become enlarged and less efficient. Moreover, the arteries may also become damaged because of scarring and loss of elasticity.

If one does not get treatment for high blood pressure, there is the probability that heart disease may occur. Or, there is the risk of getting a stroke, congestive heart failure, and possibly kidney disease.

Actually, most people do not understand that there is no one specific normal number to blood pressure, such as the common quoted 120/80. Actually, there is a range of normal blood pressure readings that includes less than 140 for systolic BP (the top number) and less than 90 for diastolic BP ( the bottom number). The systolic reading is the highest pressure in the arteries at the time the heart contracts and pushes blood forward into the arteries. On the other hand, the diastolic reading is the lowest pressure in the arteries, and represents the heart at rest between contractions. During this time the heart fills with blood and prepares for the next contraction

We may have heard that high BP is known as the silent killer. This is so because there are no symptoms of elevated BP. Really, the only way to know if one has high BP is to have it measured. If needed, the treatment of HBP may include, with the advice of one’s doctor, diet changes, starting an exercise program, and prescribed medication.

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It is often only when you get home that it begins to sink in and you begin thinking of all the questions you should have asked at the time. What does this mean? How does that affect me? You know, all those sorts of questions. To help you out here are some of the more common terms used when talking about high blood pressure.

* Hypotension – this means you have low blood pressure.
* Hypertension – this is the same as saying you have high blood pressure and refers to measurements above 140/90.
* Systolic Pressure – systolic pressure is the force, experienced by the walls of your arteries, when the heart beats pushing the blood around your body. This is measured in terms of millimeters of mercury.
* Diastolic Pressure – diastolic pressure is the force, experienced by your artery walls, of the blood moving around your body when your heart is at rest between beats and is measured in millimetres of mercury.
* Artery – the blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart and to the muscles, tissue and organs.
* Veins – the blood vessels that carry de-oxygenated blood back to the heart and lungs for refreshing.
* Blood Pressure – this is the force experienced by the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps the blood around your body. It is measured and expressed in terms of systolic pressure over diastolic pressure. The ranges are described as Optimal 115/75 or less, Normal less than 120/80, Prehypertension 120-139/80-89, Stage 1 140-159/90-99 and Stage 2 more than 160/more than 100. If only one of your measurements, systolic or diastolic, is in one of the categories above normal then you will be considered overall to be in that category.

These are just a few of the basic terms that will help you understand your high blood pressure better. Once you have a better understanding of whats going on you will be in a better position to ask more informed questions the next time you visit your doctor.

I have had high blood pressure for some time and I have found monitoring it on a regular basis with my own blood pressure machine to be very helpful. Wrist blood pressure monitors are one type of monitor clinically proven to be accurate and reliable. Before your blood pressure gets out of control find out which monitor might be suitable for you at http://www.wrist-blood-pressure-monitors.org

Although doctors have known for almost 50 years of practice that trip to physician or the hospital can cause an inflated blood pressure reading often called white coat hypertension, doctors did not know if these people were at high risk for heart disease than people with normal readings.

Higher office readings are labeled white coat hypertension because the pressure sometimes rises when people feel stressed by a visit to the doctor. According to some studies that 10 to 20 percent of all people with mild hypertension may suffer from white coat hypertension.

However, people with white coat hypertension did not have the heart damage associated with high blood pressure, an enlarged heart and reduced heart function.

Sustained and untreated high blood pressure can damage the heart, arteries, kidneys, brain and eyes. People with uncontrolled pressure have seven times more strokes, four times as much congestive heart failure and three times as much coronary heart disease as people with normal pressure.

People with white coat hypertension were found to have normal heart function and no physical signs of true high pressure.

Study suggests that if there is no apparent heart damage, people with white coat hypertension do not have increased pressures.

To avoid unnecessary treatment, people with mild hypertension could be monitored at home before any drug treatment is started. Portable units are available to take and record the pressure of a person at regular intervals.

You wear the monitor throughout the day and keep a record of your physical activities. Later, the doctor compares your pressure readings to the corresponding physical activities. Also, many doctors are now encouraging their patients with high blood pressure to monitor their own levels manually. You use your own stethoscopes and cuffs and record your readings at home.

You bring your records of the readings to each check up by the doctor. This way, the doctor can evaluate you based on your normal daily pressure, rather than on an inflated pressure reading taken during an occasional, but stressful, visit to the doctor’s office. Keep in mind that this kind of health problem is reversible with exercise and drug maintenance. You just have to follow your doctor’s advice to achieve a lower pressure.

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Additionally, African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to experience high blood pressure than their Anglo- American counterparts. For African-Americans, elevations in blood pressure happen at an earlier age, is often more severe and more than any other race, are at a higher risk for this life threatening disease.

Race Based Science and Medicine

With the advent of the science of genetics, epidemiology, and other modern biology, perspectives, opinions and research has appeared in respected journals discrediting the notion of race being a risk factor for disease. Despite present-day research, social perceptions and concepts originating from the 18th century – which had no scientific foundation – are readily available on the internet, in the public, in research, in medical school and in practice.

Expanded Perspectives For Risk Factors and Race

Variables beyond genetics are psychosocial, economic, cultural, environmental, and other determinants that affects human physiology – these are not well delineated to date, though research documenting a correlation between high blood pressure and socioeconomic status does exist. The “New” scientific standard grounds itself in looking at differences in races being based on genetics due to the reality that racial grouping is ill-defined – with most “races” being comprised of multiple ethnic backgrounds from differing continents.

To follow this subject more, check out research and commentary by Richard S. Cooper M.D. – according to Investigators Awards In Health Policy Research his background: “Richard S. Cooper is a cardiovascular epidemiologist with a long-term interest in hypertension and related conditions in populations of African origin.”

It serves humanity, that we in the public and in medicine, when talking about risk factors for high blood pressure and race that we think and speak in terms of specific genes that may be found in differing ethnic mixtures of people.

Due to the first “ethnic” drug targeted for African Americans, the controversy of race stirred up quite a commotion. It opened the door more completely to look at genetic traits versus race for medical clues for disease. Regardless, it is still common in the public and medicine to hear and read, race is a risk factor for high blood pressure. Hearing your opinion about this subject is valued. Please click over to HighBPcontrol blog and leave your opinion. Yours in health! ~ Mona Oyos

C 2010 Mona Oyos

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He does it because he’s afraid that if his pressure is high his doctor will increase the dosage of his medication! Who is he trying to fool? Only himself. If he were to adopt a sensible approach and eat a healthy diet and get some regular exercise he would probably be able to cut down, or even eliminate, the medication that he’s already taking… and still be able to enjoy a few pints of beer.

The moral of this true story is quite simply that if you have high blood pressure you owe it to yourself (and nobody else) to lower it. After all, it really is your life in your hands, because if the condition is left untreated it can have dire consequences.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor or nurse and express your concerns. Explain that you’d like to control your blood pressure using natural means if possible. Usually he or she will be only too pleased to help by suggesting what sort of exercise would be safe for you, and what diet would be of most benefit.

Do not put it off. Take charge of your blood pressure and start lowering it today.

Robert has compiled a complimentary 20-page report on How To Reduce High Blood Pressure. To download your copy please visit: http://www.howtoreducehighbloodpressure.com

Aging is one of the reasons for high blood pressure as arteries loose elasticity. Blood pressure is also controlled by a number of metabolic systems including the major pathway called the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). In the kidneys, this sytem secretes an enzyme called angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE). This results in blood vessel constriction and elevated blood pressure. Inhibitors of the ACE enzyme in blood vessels are a major class of antihypertensive medications that are prescribed to control high blood pressure. Individuals with high blood pressure are often prescribed drugs such as Zestril, Capoten and Vasotec, which block the effects of ACE and thus bring in control the high blood pressure.

However, several adverse side effects such as hypotension, reduced kidney function, coughing and skin rashes have been associated with synthetic ACE inhibitors. Natural inhibitors of ACE have been identified in a variety of food proteins. In particular, milk proteins contain ACE inhibitory peptides (ACE-IP) that can be released by enzymatic hydrolysis either during gastrointestinal digestion or during food processing. It is well established that in vitro incubation of milk proteins with the gastrointestinal proteases pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin results in the release of ACE-IP. Hence, it is likely that ACE-IP is generated during normal gastrointestinal digestion. Bacterial and plant proteins can also be used to release ACE-IP. Therefore, hydrolysates of milk protein, caseinates, whey proteins and fractions enriched in individual milk proteins are potentially good sources of ACE-IP.

Diet:
A diet known as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is now recommended as an important step in managing blood pressure. This diet is not only rich in important nutrients and fiber but also includes foods that contain far more electrolytes, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It makes the following recommendations:

- Avoid saturated fat (although include calcium-rich dairy products that are non- or low-fat).

- When choosing fats, select monounsaturated oils, such as olive or canola oils. (One study reported a reduced need for anti-hypertension medication in people with a high intake of virgin olive oil, but not sunflower oil, a polyunsaturated fat.)

- Whole grains are better option over white flour or pasta products.

- Fresh fruits and vegetables should be consumed every day. Many of these foods are rich in fiber, which may help lower blood pressure. Important foods include most fruits (especially potassium-rich fruits including bananas, oranges, prunes, and cantaloupes) and vegetables (especially carrots, spinach, celery, alfalfa, mushrooms, lima beans, potatoes, avocados, and broccoli). Include nuts, seeds, or legumes (dried beans or peas) daily.

- Choose modest amounts of protein.

Thus proteins that are important for bodybuilding and synthesizing enzymes are also important requirement for individuals with high BP. Proteins, especially milk proteins like whey and casein, can help in lowering high blood pressure.

Whey protein:
Whey is a milk protein containing peptides called lactokinins. Whey contains approximately 20% of original milk proteins. Whey protein (also known as “lactalbumin”) constitutes 18% of cow milk and 67% of human milk protein (which are 82% & 33% casein, respectively). These have recently been shown to be mild ACE inhibitors in vitro. Although they do not have the capacity comparable to drugs used for treatment of high blood pressure, they are naturally occurring proteins that help in lowering blood pressure. Latest data also suggests that whey protein hydrolysates result in reductions of systolic BP (a transient pressure peak when the heart is contracting and forcing blood through the arterial system) and diastolic blood pressure (the sustaining pressure in the arterial system when the heart is filling with blood). Also, no side effects have been reported about these proteins. Whey protein is a soluble, easy to digest protein and is efficiently absorbed into the body.

Casein protein:
Caseins are a family of phosphoproteins synthesized in the mammary gland. Its ingestion has an important effect to preserve activity and aid in absorption of other biologically active peptides. Numerous rat studies demonstrate the hypotensive effects of milk-derived ACE-IP. However, only a limited number of human studies have been conducted to date. Initially it was demonstrated that 20g/day of a tryptic hydrolysate of casein resulted in significant reductions in both systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) in hypertensive subjects. More recently, a tryptic hydrolysate of casein containing specific residues of as1-casein peptide could also reduce blood pressure in hypertensive subjects.

These studies provide impressive optimism about the beneficial role of dairy protein peptides in the management of high blood pressure. Thus, individuals with high blood pressure can not only meet their protein requirements with help of whey and casein, but they may also reduce their blood pressure. Individuals with high blood pressure should consult their physician about these milk protein supplements to be included in their diets.

References

1. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Jun; 71(6): 1536-1544.

2. Lactokinins: whey protein-derived ACE inhibitory peptides. Nahrung 1999 Jun; 43(3): 165-7.

3. V. Vermeirssen, J. Van Camp, K. Decroos, L. Van Wijmelbeke & W. Verstraete (2003). The impact of fermentation and in vitro digestion on the formation of ACE inhibitory activity from pea and whey protein. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(2), 429-438.

4. V. Vermeirssen, B. Deplancke, K.A. Tappenden, J. Van Camp, H.R. Gaskins & W. Verstraete (2002). Intestinal transport of the lactokinin Ala-Leu-Pro-Met-His-Ile-Arg through a Caco-2 Bbe monolayer. Journal of Peptide Science, 8(3), 95-100.

About Protica Research

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