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It's Medical Monday


It's Medical Monday at Aortic Hope.


Did you know that watching your favorite team lose can spike your blood pressure? Or that a messy desk could raise your stress levels and your systolic? Yep, life's full of hypertension hijinks! Even a hearty laugh can momentarily boost those numbers, though it's all in good fun. And let's not forget the sneaky salt hiding in that 'healthy' smoothie. Surprise, surprise, blood pressure's on the rise!


Here are a few other culprits that can increase your blood pressure according to an article in AARP:


~Sleep apnea - a sleep disorder in which a person stops and restarts breathing several times throughout the night, can cause a bump in blood pressure. And it’s becoming increasingly common in the U.S. as more Americans struggle with being overweight, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and former president of the American Heart Association.


~An unpredictable sleep schedule - it’s not just apnea during your sleep cycle that can cause your blood pressure to go through the roof. “People who don’t get six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep can have elevated blood pressure,” says Luke Laffin, M.D., codirector of the Center for Blood Pressure Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic.


~Holding it when you have to go - When you have a full bladder but wait to urinate until the next rest stop or commercial break, your body increases your blood pressure. “A full bladder raises blood pressure about 10 to 15 points,” Laffin explains. That’s why he and his colleagues encourage people to urinate before they measure their blood pressure, particularly if they’re doing so to monitor the medications they’re taking at home.


~Air pollution - Research reveals that exposure to both “fine particulate matter” air pollution (what you’d find from car exhaust and fuel burning, for example) and coarse particulate matter air pollution (like dust from roads and construction sites) can boost blood pressure in adults. The link has also been established in children.


~Black Licorice - No trick on this treat: Black licorice — we’re talking the real deal, not just licorice-flavored candy — can be a health hazard, and not just because of its sugar content. The candy contains the compound glycyrrhizin, derived from the licorice root, which can cause the body to hold on to lots of salt and water, thereby driving blood pressure up.


~Alcohol - Although it’s often repeated that wine is good for the heart, alcohol can send blood pressure soaring, both in the short and long term. Lloyd-Jones explains that while alcohol initially relaxes the blood vessels, those vessels start to constrict once the liver metabolizes it. Blood pressure can remain at higher-than-normal levels the day after imbibing. And if drinking too much becomes a pattern, so will higher blood pressure numbers.


~Lack of fruits and veggies - Too much sodium is a long-established catalyst for hypertension. But a diet rich in produce can help counter these effects, thanks to the potassium found in many fruits and vegetables. Salt increases blood pressure; potassium decreases blood pressure by causing our bodies to release sodium, says Seamus Whelton, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Medicine Division of Cardiology. Men should aim for 3,400 milligrams of potassium per day, and women need about 2,600.


~Your social life or lack thereof - “As a species, we’re not meant to be without other people,” says Annalijn Conklin, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. “If you are socially isolated, it raises your cortisol levels to put you in a fight-or-flight response.” A study Conklin conducted of 28,238 adults ages 45 to 85 found that for women, being single, having limited social activity or being part of a smaller social network was linked to higher average blood pressure.


~Common medications -Headache? Joint pain? Be mindful what you reach for when you head to the medicine cabinet. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) can raise blood pressure. And so can regular use of acetaminophen (Tylenol), according to a new study published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.


~Added sugar - When we eat sugar, our bodies release insulin to help clear the sugar from the blood and get it into the cells where it can be used for energy. “But insulin, itself, tends to drive up blood pressure in many people,” Lloyd-Jones says. “So if you’re eating a lot of added sugar or simple starches, you’re having these more intense and longer bursts of insulin, which will raise blood pressure.” Added sugar is common in soft drinks, cakes and cookies. Some yogurts and breakfast cereals can also be high in added sugar.


~Smoking - Yet another reason to kick the habit: Smoking, a proven risk factor for heart attack and stroke, can also mess with your blood pressure. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, nicotine is to blame. It causes the blood vessels to narrow and the heart to beat faster, which makes your blood pressure get higher. “If you look at the monitoring, it’s clear that the blood pressure [of smokers] over a 24-hour period is higher than [of] nonsmokers,” Byrd says.


~Another condition - The overproduction of a hormone called aldosterone can cause high blood pressure and even make it difficult to control with medication. Byrd says people who haven’t had any luck lowering their high blood pressure with multiple medications should talk to their doctor because “there’s a reasonably good chance that they have a condition called primary aldosteronism.” The condition often is missed, Byrd says, but medications can treat it.


~White coat syndrome - Have you ever had your blood pressure read higher at the doctor’s office than it typically does at home? A 2017 study in the Journal of Hypertension found that up to 30 percent of people with increased blood pressure have discordant in-office and out-of-office blood pressure. This condition, known as “white coat hypertension,” could be due to many factors, including feeling stressed in the presence of health care providers. It’s not a trivial thing: White coat hypertension is linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease.



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