Blood Pressure

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Q. Glen, Have you heard What Cocoa Can Do for Your BP?


A. Yes, Study: Dark Chocolate Bar, Cocoa Drinks May Lower Blood Pressure in Overweight Adults

July 28 2008 -- Cocoa, either in a dark chocolate bar or as a hot drink, may reduce blood pressure in overweight adults.

That's what happened in a recent study of 45 healthy adults with BMI (body mass index) near the borderline between overweight and obese.

The researchers -- who included David L. Katz, MD, MPH, of the Yale Prevention Research Center -- gave some of the participants a dark chocolate bar containing 22 grams of cocoa. Other participants got a bar containing no cocoa.

Before-and-after blood pressure and ultrasound tests showed better blood pressure and better blood vessel function after participants ate the dark chocolate bar, compared to the cocoa-free bar.

Likewise, blood pressure and blood vessel function improved after participants drank two cups of cocoa, compared with drinking a beverage containing no cocoa.

How the cocoa drink was sweetened mattered. When it contained sugar, blood pressure and blood vessel function didn't improve as much as when the cocoa was sugar-free.

Katz and colleagues reason that in the sugary cocoa drink -- which contained about 45 grams of sugar per serving -- the sugar may have offset cocoa's effects to some degree.

The study -- published in the July 1 edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- was partly sponsored by the Hershey Company.

Of course, eating too much chocolate or drinking too much cocoa isn't a great idea. Blow your calorie budget and extra pounds will pile up, w

Bottom Line


Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !



My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Lower Blood Pressure

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Q. Glen, Does Walking Help Lower Blood Pressure?


A. Yes Studies Show a Brisk Walk Can Help Improve Heart Health


If you have high blood pressure or are extremely overweight, walking may hold the key to improved heart health.

That's the message from researchers who spoke here this week at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine ( NASM )

A Korean study shows that walking just 40 minutes a day lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension. A U.S. study suggested that taking a stroll offers cardiovascular benefits for people who are morbidly obese.

The Korean researchers studied 23 men with prehypertension or hypertension. "Normal" blood pressure is a measurement of less than 120/80. Hypertension is defined as a reading of 140 over 90 or greater. Those with blood pressure readings between normal blood pressure and high blood pressure are considered to have prehypertension.

The researchers measured the men's blood pressure following a 40-minute brisk walking session and four, 10-minute brisk walking bouts. What's brisk? About 3 to 4 miles per hour, says Saejong Park, PhD, of the Korea Institute of Sport Science in Seoul.

Blood pressure dropped by similar amounts after each type of exercise session. The top number in the blood pressure reading dropped about 5 points after the 40-minute walk and 3 points after the four 10-minute walks, Park tells WebMD. The bottom number of the blood pressure reading dropped about 2 points for both walking sessions.

While longer studies are needed, "we think the benefits will be sustained over time if the men keep exercising," Park says.

The bottom line, she tells WebMD, is that you have a choice when it comes to exercise. "Some people like to work out all at once, but others say they can't comply with an exercise program because they have no time. These findings suggest people with time crunches and busy schedules can fit bits of exercise in throughout the day and reap the same health benefits."

The findings are in line with ACSM / NASM recommendations, which call for healthy adults to engage in at least 30 minutes of mo derate physical activity five days a week. The guidelines state that three 10-minute sessions are as effective as one longer session.

Jeffrey A. Ross, DPM, a clinical professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, recommends alternating walking with other activities.

"Instead of walking seven days a week, take a day off and go swimming or biking. That way you'll work out different muscles and reduce your chance of overuse injuries," Ross says.

Walking Helps Morbidly Obese

The U.S. study involved 14 morbidly obese patients who were scheduled to undergo weight loss surgery. Their average body mass index (BMI) was 46; a person with a BMI of 40 or over is considered to be morbidly obese.

Patients were asked to walk 1 mile at as brisk a pace as possible. They were able to stop and take breaks, but most walked the mile in under 30 minutes, says Thomas Spring, MS, a senior exercise physiologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

Results showed that all 14 "got their heart rate up to an adequate level to have benefits in term of cardiovascular health," Spring tells WebMD. "Walking is a great way for the overweight and obese to begin an exercise program, but always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program."

Reference: ACSM, NASM, WebMD

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

How Hypertension Damages Your Health

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Q. Glen, How Damaging is High Blood Pressure?


A. Hypertension's consequences can be serious if not treated early.

Hypertension operates with great stealth. Although it seldom produces symptoms, the intense pounding of blood gradually damages the artery walls. Small arteries are especially vulnerable. The walls respond by thickening and losing their elasticity and strength. As a result, less blood can pass through them, depriving surrounding tissues of oxygen and nutrients. The vessel walls are also more prone to rupture. Eventually, hypertension damages not just the blood vessels themselves, but also the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. These are the "target organs" of hypertension — those most likely to be affected by the disease.

The longer you have hypertension, the greater your chances of developing target-organ damage and, consequently, major diseases such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and eye damage.

African Americans are particularly at risk: Not only are they more likely to develop hypertension, but they are also more apt to suffer from its complications. African Americans with hypertension have higher rates of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes compared with whites with hypertension. African Americans are also more likely to die as a result of hypertension than whites are.

Reference: Heart Health

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Home Blood-Pressure Monitoring Recommended

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Q. Glen, Should you Monitor your Blood Pressure at home?


A.More than 100 million Americans should be monitoring their blood pressure at home, according to three major health organizations that are issuing recommendations on what to do and how to do it.

"We have an estimated 72 million [people] with hypertension [high blood pressure] and another 25 million with pre-hypertension," said Dr. Suzanne Oparil, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Hypertension is a pressure reading greater than 140 over 90. Pre-hypertension is a reading higher than 120/80, the desired level, but just below 140/90.

Oparil is immediate past president of the American Society of Hypertension, one of the organizations issuing the recommendations. Home monitoring should be done, because "hypertension is the most modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and renal [kidney] disease," she said.

Added Dr. David Goff, chair of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest University, and one of the American Heart Association members who helped write the recommendations: "The evidence is quite strong that home blood pressure monitoring leads to better control of blood pressure, and the evidence is quite strong that blood pressure control lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and sudden death."

Nancy Houston Miller, another guidelines co-author and a past president of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, said in a prepared statement, "Home blood pressure monitoring also gives patients the physiologic feedback they need to see regarding blood pressure."

The guidelines are published online in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, and The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, and printed in the June issue of Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.

"Only about one third of the people with high blood pressure have it under control, so clearly new approaches are needed to get better control," Goff said. Everyday monitoring is not necessary, but blood pressure readings should be taken "several times a week," he said.

Some of the specific recommendations include:

• Patients should purchase a blood pressure monitor (some cost less than $100) with cuffs that fit on the upper arm, with advice from a health-care provider on its use. Wrist monitors are not recommended.
• Two or three readings should be taken at a time, one minute apart, while resting in a seated position. The arm should be supported, with the upper arm at heart level and feet on the floor.
• Readings should be taken at the same time every day, as recommended by a health-care provider.
• The target goal is a reading under 135/85, or less than 130/80 in high-risk individuals.

The home monitoring recommendations open the door to a totally new way of controlling blood pressure, Oparil said.

"The future will be telemedicine," she said. "You would take your own blood pressure at home and transmit it to a computer, and someone, either a physician or another caregiver, will make recommendations for adjustments in your medication."

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!