High Blood Pressure (hypertension)
How Can You Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?
Everyone loves pills. Doctors love to prescribe medicine. Patients love to swallow drugs. We are a pill-taking society. But all medications come with pros and cons. That is true of anti-hypertensive d…
Is Coffee Really Bad for You?
Health professionals just can’t seem to make up their minds about coffee. Is it good or really bad for you? They have been arguing about the pros and cons of coffee drinking for at least half a cent…
A Dose of Carcinogens with your BP Medicine?
Here we go again! Another recall of blood pressure medicine because of nitrosamine contamination. Have you lost count of these scandals? We certainly have. It started during the summer of 2018. We wer…
Does Chocolate Really Help Your Heart?
Most people think of chocolate as a sinful indulgence. We may be prepared to pay the price of the extra calories, but we don't expect it to have any health benefits. Might we be wrong, though? Could c…
What the Heck Is a Well-Balanced Diet Anyway?
Ask almost any health professional—doctor, nurse, pharmacist, registered dietician—about the elements of good health and you will likely hear this mantra: exercise, do not smoke, get a good night…
CoQ10 Has Heart Benefits
Doctors are frequently skeptical about dietary supplements. After all, who would guess that something with an improbable name like CoQ10 has heart benefits? Yet scientists who have studied this natura…
How to Lower Blood Pressure by Sipping Hibiscus …
Does your doctor frown over your blood pressure? Sometimes blood pressure is higher in the office than at home. (This is called "white-coat hypertension.") But if your pressure is starting to climb ev…
Home Monitoring Helps Control Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is an important risk factor for both stroke and heart disease. But how do you know when your blood pressure is high? Hypertension has no reliable symptoms. It is simply a measureme…
The Salt Wars Rage On | How Do You Cope with the…
Americans have been told for more than 50 years that they should cut back on salt. Doing so was supposed to help lower blood pressure. That in turn would theoretically reduce the risk of heart failure…
Was Your Blood Pressure Measured Incorrectly?
Do you have high blood pressure? There’s a 50% chance that you do. That’s because anything above 120/80 is now considered hypertension. But was your blood pressure measured correctly? It is astoni…
Show 1301: What Are Forever Chemicals Doing in F…
In our nationally syndicated radio show this week, our guests discuss “forever chemicals” (PFAS) used in a wide range of products. How do they affect our health? What Are PFAS, or Forever Chemical…
Does Your Medicine Pose a Cancer Risk?
Most people take prescription medications to relieve symptoms or prevent serious health problems. Some of the best sellers include blood pressure medicines, acid-suppressors, diabetes drugs and medica…
How to Boost Your Cardiovascular Health with Coc…
Thousands of years ago, native people in Mexico, Central America and the Amazon basin treasured cacao. That's the tree whose fruit is the source of cocoa and chocolate. In fact, they domesticated it s…
Will Drinking Dragon Fruit Juice Improve your He…
Have you seen a new product on supermarket shelves lately? Some stores are stocking dragon fruit juice, which might have you wondering what that is. One of our readers is wondering whether it has heal…
Can Beet Juice Really Lower High Blood Pressure?
If you have hypertension, your doctor has probably prescribed medicine to lower high blood pressure. You may have gone through quite an extensive period of trial and error to find a drug that works wi…
Will Low Blood Pressure Increase the Danger of D…
Many physicians believe that a good blood pressure (BP) is right around 120/80, regardless of age. Some aggressively prescribe several blood pressure medicines to achieve that goal. There is, however,…
What Cold Medicine Is Safe for People With High …
If your blood pressure is elevated, there are all sorts of things you are supposed to avoid. Pretzels and potato chips, for example, along with other foods that contain a lot of salt. You may have hea…
Power of Pomegranate to Promote Health
The clock is counting down! That’s because pomegranate season is almost over. In the US, this ancient fruit is available roughly between October and December. That means we may have another week or …
Meloxicam Raised Blood Pressure Through the Roof…
Tens of millions of people take oral NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) every day. We are talking about celecoxib, diclofenac, ibuprofen, meloxicam and naproxen. Most people realize that su…
How Has Pandemic Stress Affected Your Blood Pres…
Pandemic stress has had a significant impact on blood pressure (Circulation, Dec. 6, 2021). A new study utilized data from hundreds of thousands of people in a large employee wellness program. Quest D…
Common Medications That Raise Blood Pressure
Have you ever felt as if you were driving with your foot on the brake and the gas at the same time? If you are caught in stop and go traffic, you know how frustrating it can be. It’s hard to get ver…
Glaucoma Patients Should Not Take Blood Pressure…
We sometimes get questions about when to take medicines. Does it matter whether you take them all at once, or do they need to be separated? (The correct answer to this question, unfortunately, depends…
BP Drug Irbesartan Recall Reveals Contaminant Ca…
Not again! The FDA recently announced the recall of the blood pressure medication irbesartan. All batches of this BP medicine made by the Indian drug company Lupin are being pulled off pharmacy shelve…
When Should You Take Your BP Pills? Morning or B…
When do you swallow your pills? If you are like most people, you get into the habit of taking all your medications and supplements at breakfast time. It's a routine that is hard to break. One study su…
Sauna Bathing and Its Health Benefits
Finnish researchers have been studying the health benefits of sauna bathing for years. Now, a study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings reviews the evidence for cardiovascular and other health be…
Do You Really Have High Blood Pressure?
Have you been told you have high blood pressure? Doctors recognize that untreated hypertension can increase your chance of developing heart disease, kidney damage or stroke. Consequently, you should t…
Can You Really Control Blood Pressure With Dande…
High blood pressure is a very common condition that is usually treated with one or more medications. For the most part, people don't have a lot of trouble with diuretics like hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ…
Do ACE Inhibitors or ARBs Work Better for Blood …
One out of two adults in the US has hypertension. That means their systolic blood pressure reads 130 or above and their diastolic blood pressure is at least 80. Most of these people need medication to…
Can People Overdose on Potassium-Rich Foods?
Potassium is an essential mineral. When potassium levels fall too low doctors call it HYPOkalemia. This condition can become life threatening. Symptoms include weakness, confusion, muscle cramps, musc…
Think Zinc for Hypertension
Hpertension is a leading contributor to heart attacks and strokes. But controlling high blood pressure is not always easy. That’s in part because it varies so much over the course of the day. Get st…
Tai Chi Can Help Control Waist Size
Expanding waistlines are not attractive, but they're not just a cosmetic problem. Big bellies, also known as “central obesity” or "abdominal adiposity," are often linked with high blood pressure, …
Hydrochlorothiazide Side Effects: Skin Cancer an…
You have been advised by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology that if you have systolic blood pressure of 130 or higher and/or diastolic blood pressure of 80 or higher…
People with Cardiovascular Disease Do Better Eat…
Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer throughout the world. People at high risk are often prescribed a number of medications to control cholesterol, lower blood pressure and prevent blo…
Will Mouthwash Nix the Benefits of Beets?
Is your blood pressure a bit high? You might want to consider adding a little beet juice to your morning smoothie. Although it seems improbable, a review of 11 randomized controlled trials shows that …
What Are the Best BP Drugs for Hypertension?
The American Heart Association states that over 100 million Americans have high blood pressure (BP). It is defined as at or above 130/80. That means roughly 1 out of every 2 adults in the United State…
How Your Home Address Affects Your Health
Where people live can have a profound impact on their risk of developing certain chronic health conditions. Scientists have been able to map the differences in health conditions across the United Stat…
More Americans Now Have Uncontrolled Hypertensio…
High blood pressure may be one of the pre-existing conditions that make people more vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. Unfortunately, an analysis published in JAMA reveals that an increasing p…
How Does Baking Soda in Water Fight Swelling?
A half teaspoon of baking soda in water is a time-honored simple home remedy for indigestion. Many people with occasional heartburn find that this inexpensive approach works well. We have also heard f…
Atenolol Side Effects vs. Losartan Side Effects
For decades beta blocker heart medicines like atenolol and metoprolol have been very popular blood pressure medicines. According to a recent analysis, metoprolol is # 8 on the doctors’ hit parade of…
ACE Inhibitors Like Lisinopril and Hand Tremors
The most prescribed blood pressure medicine in the U.S. is the ACE inhibitor lisinopril. At last count, more than 20 million Americans swallow this BP pill daily. We always thought we knew about lisin…