High Blood Pressure, Just Dash

DASH, stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. And the conclusion of the study is that "food has a more important role in diease prevention than we thought". Those are the words of Nieca Goldgerg, medical director of the New York University Women's Heart Program, who was not involved in the study.

This study was thorough! It included some 88,500 healthy women ages 34-59, followed for 24 years!

What is the DASH diet? High in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and moderate in low dairy, nuts and legumes, and easy on read meat, sweets, and sodium. Women who followed this diet were 24% less likely to have a stroke.

I read the article on page 68 of U.S.NEWS AND WORLD REPORT. You can also access it at www.usnews.com. The issue is April 28/May 5, 2008.

If you have a relative who has high blood pressure, and won't even think about anything "natural", print out this study. Perhaps it will persuade them to eat better and thereby naturally lower their blood pressure.

High Blood Pressure, Low Brain Function

I love Daniel Amen, M.D. Get on his mailing list and you will always have the most up to date information about the brain, avaiable with every email you open from him. This was in todays' email. Since high blood pressure is the silent killer, (showing no symptoms), it makes sense to always get your blood pressure checked to also make sure you have great brain function. This is a study from Russia. Here is Dr. Amen's blog:

High Blood Pressure, Low Brain Function — Treat Hypertension to Have a Great Brain
Here is a fascinating research study from Russia on the importance of taking care of your blood pressure. High blood pressure decreases blood flow to your brain and impairs concentration and other cognitive processes. Lose weight, exercise and get hypertension treated!!“The aim of our study was to estimate brain perfusion and cognitive function (CF) in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) before and after hypotensive therapy. The study included 15 patients (mean age, 53.0+/-5.7 years) with previously untreated or ineffectively treated essential hypertension of the second degree.

All patients underwent brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanning with 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) and comprehensive neuropsychological testing before and after 24 weeks of hypotensive therapy (angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor or diuretics). The brain perfusion was significantly lower (15-22%) in all regions of AH patients. These patients showed a 25% decrease in attention and psychomotor speed as well as a 14% decrease in mentation. Six months of hypotensive therapy led to an increase in brain perfusion by an average of 7-11% in all brain regions. After treatment these patients demonstrated an average 11-18% improvements in attention and psychomotor speed, as well as an average 10% improvement in abstract mentation.

Marked signs of brain hypoperfusion and impaired CF: decrease in attention, slowing psychomotor speed and mentation was found in hypertensive patients even without focal neurological symptomatology. Twenty-four weeks of hypotensive treatment with ACE inhibitors or diuretics had a positive effect on cerebral perfusion and led to CF improvement.

Reference: Efimova IY, Efimova NY, Triss SV, Lishmanov YB. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Cardiology, Tomsk Research Center, Tomsk, Russia. nuclear@cardio.tsu.ru. Brain perfusion and cognitive function changes in hypertensive patients. Hypertens Res. 2008 Apr;31(4):673-8.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Brain Discussion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “High Blood Pressure, Low Brain Function — Treat Hypertension to Have a Great Brain”
David Cox, DC Says:

July 25th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
How about this title: Low Brain Function Causes Hypertension - Treat Low Brain Function to Have A Great Brain!

Low brain function has multifactorial causes: poor sensory integration; diminished sensory stimulation from lack of movement; dysafferentation from dysuse of the brain itself; dysfunctional motor unit integrity; some drugs, to name a few.

Decreased cortical stimulation allows disinhibition of the pontomedullary reticular formation’s inhibitory affect on the intermedial lateral cell column which results in escape of the sympathetic system, producing hypertension among other concomitants.

Increased stimulation from peripheral receptors increases cortical frequency of firing which in turn increases pontomedullary reticular inhibition to the IML, thereby reducing all sympathetic concomitants.

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More Truth about Drugs

From Dr. Marcia Angell's book, THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUG COMPANIES,what have we learned so far? We have learned that medical doctors, the very ones we entrust our lives and the lives of our children to, are taught about pharmaceuticals in school and out of school, by drug companies. We have learned that what is being taught is often not based on science but on flimsy studies. We have learned that what is being marketed as education, to our beloved, respected, medical doctors, is only what the pharmaceutical company needs them to know in order to turn a greater profit.

We have found, to keep turning a profit, as older (and effective) drugs are coming closer to expiration of their patent (to go to generic), drug companies have to create new ones to warrant a new patent. Then these are marketed as the newest and greatest to your medical doctors.

And we are being told this by one of the most reputable sources we could ever have--a woman who, as editor in chief for the New England Journal of Medicine--saw it all become worse and worse before her eyes.

According to Dr. Angell, the newest, is often not the greatest at all.

For me, the point is less that it is costing you more money (direct and through raised insurance premiums), the point is that these newest and best, often aren't that at all.

Chapter Six, p. 96

In an independent study done on a variety of hypertensive drugs (high blood pressure) with 42,000 people at more than six hundred clinics, this is what was found:

"To nearly everyones' surprise, the old-time diuretic turned out to be just as good for lowering blood pressure, and actually better for preventing some of the devastating complications of high blood pressure--mainly heart disease and strokes." ".....less likely to develop heart failure than those treated with Norvasc. ......less likely to develop heart failure, strokes and a number of other complications than those treated with the ACE inhibitor. As for Cardura, that part of the trial had to be stopped early, because so many people who received that drug developed heart failure. The director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute was unequivocal in his conclusion: "ALLHAT (the study) shows that diuretics are the best choice to treat hypertension, both medically and economically."

Considering I was on an ace inhibitor and had heart failure, well.... you can tell this matters to me.

Of course, I find myself thinking, well, heck why doesn't someone try doing what I did: drink at least half your body eight in water EVERY day, increase magnesium (to counter high calcium in your cells) and see how your blood pressure changes, increase potassium (to counter high salt in your cells) and see how your blood pressure changes, try some biofeedback and some acupuncture.

Why not? Well, number one, it doesn't make money for the pharmaceutical companies so your medical doctor isn't going to find out about it, is he (or she)?

Number two, the majority of the world with high blood pressure doesn't have Dr. Witter, a holistic chiropractor, http://www.thewittercenter.com/, or Dr. Manso, a holistic medical doctor, http://www.drmanso.com/ telling them these things work. This is why I keep telling you to get holistic every bodies: chiropractic, medical, pharmacy, acupuncture. They have access to information and tools that your traditional medical doctor simply does not.

I am not a doctor, so find doctors who have the information you need and who can diagnose and recommend to you what to do. Even a pharmacist can't tell you to go off your pharmaceutical or to prescribe on for you. Only a medical doctor can do that.

If you are thinking of going off your heart, blood pressure, pharmaceuticals without telling your medical doctor--I had this quite a lot working at the health food store--why not call the pharmacists at Peoples pharmacy in Austin FIRST--ask them your options and ask them to consult with your current medical doctor NOW, while you look for someone holistic. http://www.peoplesrx.com/

I know what it is like to have horrible side effects from an ace inhibitor that my cardiologist told me weren't side effects at all, yet totally went away when I went off the medications! I know where you are at. Luckily I had Dr. Witter and Dr. Manso.

Don't play Russian Roulette with your heart and your body! That is what pharmacists are for! Consulting with you, consulting with medical doctors. This is what they do!

I have worked for medical doctors. Doctors call pharmacists routinely to find out more about a certain pharmaceutical they know little about. Today there are so many pharmaceuticals (new patents, more money), doctors have to call pharmacists, when the pharmaceutical is not in their regular field (according to THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUG COMPANIES, no one has marketed to them about it).

Just remember, Peoples Pharmacy just also happens to have a vast amount of knowledge about natural ways to heal as well, including supplements and herbals. In other words, I am trying to tell you to call Peoples ASAP before going off your pharmaceutical without telling your current medical doctor and before finding a holistic medical doctor.

Recipe of the Day

Jicima (Mexican Potato, you can find in season at most food markets)

Peel and Slice. Place in a bowl. Sprinkle lime juice, salt, and good, fresh chili powder (all to taste) over it. Toss. Serve. Great snack food for anyone, kids included ;-)

Magnesium and Heart Disease

I totally stole this from Linus Pauling Institute website: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/magnesium

Ion transport across cell membranes
Magnesium is required for the active transport of ions like potassium and calcium across cell membranes. Through its role in ion transport systems, magnesium affects the conduction of nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm (3).

Dr. Manso told me, as a patient, to build up the amount I was taking until I got a little bit of loose bowels, then cut back to the previous dose. That would be the amount of magnesium my body needs. Simple, isn't it? The right combination of magnesium, potassium, and water consumed in a day (at least half my body weight...I weigh a lot, LOL, so it's about a gallon) totally control my high blood pressure that I once had. Duh. I didn't have high blood pressure as much as I had a magnesium, potassium and water deficiency.

Are you eating and drinking a lot of calcium? You may, or may not, have a magnesium deficiency. The person to ask would be your holistic health care practitioner. Those general lab tests run every year on your body to check for minerals, will show you the MINIMUM average...that what is best for your own particular body. Just try introducing a good brand of magnesium from the health food store or your health care provider, just until you get loose stools. Cut back. Stay there a bit, say a few weeks, and see what changes there are to your life.

I, surprisingly, found that I could cut back and then cut out my anti-convulsant medication! Don't you dare do anything like this without your doctors' consultation, silly! I certainly didn't! But the effect was and still is the same... on the right amount of magnesium, the tingling in my extremities disappears, period. Isn't that amazing?

Guess what doctors put in those IV bags for bedridden pregnant women to prevent high blood pressure and potential seizures? You guessed it! magnesium! So, yes, it is very safe! In fact, this is exactly how I figured out that magnesium might work for me. I was visiting a friend in a hospital when in came a nurse with an IV bag with magnesium in it. Well, shoot, I thought, if it is good enough for a pregnant woman, it should be good enough for me. Called my neurologist..did it...it was. And yes, I had to play around with it a little from the dose to control my blood pressure, but not much. If I don't take it for about 32-48 hours, I start to feel the tingling. (all cause I forgot, like on a trip or something)

What are the negative side effects to too much magnesium? Diarrhea. Lower blood pressure. If you want to know more, one of the best sources I have found for any mineral, supplement, herb, pharmaceutical side effect is http://www.peoplesrx.com/ Click on the wellness link, and keep clicking!