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“It was so sudden…just a split second,
and she was gone.”
July 6, 2007, 1 PM. The phone rang without let up for about 2
minutes. Mark was about to stand up to get it when Faye dashed
outside of the room and eagerly put the phone’s receiver
against her ear. It was their 18 -yr. old daughter, Sally.
Sally just topped the board exam for chemical engineers and
automatically, as if on cue, corporate giants sent her fillers
for lucrative job offers. After days of weighing her options,
which one to choose, Sally bagged the best offer, and she lost
no time to call home the good news.
Faye was “jumping with joy” literally and figuratively, when
she told Mark about it. Mark was excited as well, but for a
split second, his attention was drawn to Faye, who was slumped
on the floor.
July 6, 2007, 1:45 PM. Faye was declared dead on arrival for
apparent stroke.
High Blood Pressure, interchangeably referred to as
hypertension is one of the leading causes of deaths in the US
and most parts of the world. It is the precursor of stroke,
heart attack, heart failure, kidney infection and other health
conditions with nearly fatal results. Often referred to as the
“hushed killer”, high blood pressure delivers its fatal blow,
almost without warning. When it does give a warning, often
times, it is too late - Irreversible damage such as paralysis
of the limbs or to be in total “vegetable” state is as worse
as death.
Your likelihood of acquiring high blood pressure develops as
you age, but it may affect young people, too such as those
with diabetes and those who are overweight. The only lighted
torch, which signifies danger are two sets of numbers referred
to as the systolic and the diastolic pressures.
Systolic refers to a reading of the blood pressure when the
heart beats and pumps blood through the blood vessels while
diastolic refers to blood pressure, which registers between
heartbeats or when the body has rested.
Normal blood pressure registers less than 120/80 mmHg. A
person on the brink of high-blood pressure has systolic
pressure between 120 and 139 and diastolic pressure between 80
and 89. At its worse scenario, people with 140/90 mmHg or up
are suffering from high blood pressure.
Is the rise in blood pressure preventable? Can it be managed?
“Actually, what intimidates efforts to effectively ward off
high blood pressure is nothing else but your decision. Yes,
you are your own worse enemy.” says Anne Johnson, a registered
nurse in Dallas, Texas. She was an eye witness to hospital
dramas involving patients who, at the peak of their careers or
not even at their prime years, succumbed to stroke.
High blood pressure can be controlled. Here are seven (7) ways
how:
1.) Lose weight.
2.) Quit smoking.
3.) Exercise.
4.) Lessen intake of alcoholic beverages.
5.) Cut down on sodium and salt.
6.) Watch out for excess calories.
7.) Commit to observe the first six ways regularly.
Alternative medicine. Have you heard of
this? In recent years, alternative medicine has become a
byword for non-conventional treatment of high blood pressure.
While prescriptive drugs treat the symptoms,
natural herbal remedy
attempts to address the underlying factors that trigger the
ailment. Scientific studies revealed that specific herbal
remedies as well as food supplements manufactured with natural
ingredients can actually lower the incidence of stroke as they
improve the cardio vascular system. Combined with the seven
ways to control and effectively manage lifestyle factors,
herbal home remedy may
just be able to thwart tragedy before it hits another
unsuspecting victim. |
