Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them: Health care screwups are one of the leading causes of death in America, killing as many as 750,000 people annually. That’s more than heart attacks or cancer. And yet most people don’t know this, including most physicians. From diagnostic disasters to deadly drug interactions, the bestselling authors of The People’s Pharmacy expose the alarming epidemic of medical mistakes in America—and offer a lifesaving prescription to make the healthcare system safe again. Only $26.00 +s/h
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Q. A lot of press attention has been given recently to the benefits of dark chocolate for lowering blood pressure. A banner at the bottom of the television screen said that eating chocolate is as good as some blood pressure medicines.
However, in the studies from which this conclusion was drawn, the average systolic pressure was only lowered 5 points and the diastolic pressure by about 3 points.
While this is in the right direction, these numbers are hardly anything to get excited about. Why are people so enthusiastic about such limited results?
A. No one is suggesting that people eat chocolate instead of taking blood pressure medicine. You might be surprised to learn, however, that even standard blood pressure pills don’t lower blood pressure much more. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Nov. 10, 2004) found the popular medications Norvasc (amlopidine) and Vasotec (enalapril) lowered systolic pressure by 5 points and diastolic by about 2.5 points.
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