Hypertension

Balance Training Exercises and Healthy Heart

Posted on by Healthy Life

American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity for at least five days per week. Their target is 150 minutes of physical aerobic exercise.

Or, if you are up to it with your doctor’s blessings, 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, three time per week for a total of 75 minutes.

There are eleven components in physical fitness. Only one is related to cardiopulmonary (cardiovascular) endurance that is in a traditional sense improve by aerobic exercise.

As we age, and our concern with heart health increases, a misunderstanding about health may lead us to go for a half an hour leisurely walk and consider it a moderate activity and make it a brisk walk as our intense aerobic activity.

As we age we also lose muscle mass, have difficulty with balance and our body become stiff. Walking and similar activities do not address any of the other ten components of physical fitness.

To develop muscle mass, you would need resistance training, to improve balance you need balance training exercises and to improve yours flexibility you need flexibility exercises.

Does this mean you should spend your entire day working out?

As much as I enjoy workouts, I have other things in life I like to do.

Well designed custom workout plans use all eleven components of fitness in a synergistic and progressive way that affect your total wellness and not just your heart health.

Deep Breathing and Hypertension Treatment

Posted on by Healthy Life

There is a clear connection between stress and hypertension. Learning to manage stress is part of a comprehensive treatment of hypertension. One of the four suggestions American Heart Association makes to manage stress is a daily program that involves ten minutes deep breathing. The terms deep breathing without a basic understanding of anatomy could be confusing and counter productive.

The primary confusion in deep breathing is in the role the diaphragm muscle plays in deep breathing vs the role your chest plays. Your diaphragm is responsible for about half of your breathing volume. Imagine that a single dome shape muscle responsible for half of your breathing capacity.

The rest of your breath comes from external intercostal muscles,internal intercostal muscles, scalene muscles, sternomastoids, alae nasi, rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, transversus abdominus and other small muscles in the neck and head.

When the illusion of deep breathing focuses your attention to upper chest movement you begin to use all the muscles that move the chest. That takes a lot of energy and the return does not even come close to learning true deep breathing that happens by focusing on belly breathing which engages your diaphragm.

Breathing patterns that help you use and strengthen your diaphragm are among the most effective patterns for relaxation.

 

Top Blood Pressure Monitor

Posted on by Healthy Life

You are the best monitoring device for your blood pressure. Blood pressure challenges is a continuous process with those who have either genetic tendencies or behavioral patterns that contribute to hypertension.

Blood pressure monitors are effective in letting you know what aspects of your life increases and decreases your blood pressure. But they cannot replace your abilities to monitor and change your actions especially during physical activities such as cardiovascular endurance exercises.

Since blood pressure is an aspect of daily life, you need to find ways to monitor it continuously in addition to your regular physical exams.

Changing lifestyles could be difficult especially when the changes are based on guesswork. Monitoring your blood pressure takes the guesswork out of the process and help you focus on the changes that help.

Remember that remedies for blood pressure, improved blood flow and vasodilation, especially those that are considered natural, may take several weeks to show the effect, and many of them could have adverse side effects. Always discuss what you do or plan to do with your physician.

If you lean toward natural remedies, remember that sometimes you might need to add medication. Either way, monitoring blood pressure includes a written record that in part is the numbers and in part is the activities prior to the monitoring.

Writing down that your blood pressure is let say 138 over 90 means little without also recording that any time you have pizza your blood pressure rises. One significant aspect of recording is
to help you connect the dot between actions and their consequences.

It is very rewarding to find out how many steps you can take to lower your blood pressure without medication.

As far as equipment, you have many choices. I like the technology that allows me to record my data on my iPad or iPhone. Withings Wireless blood pressure monitor is what I use at home.

I also have a simple blood pressure monitor I purchased from CVS pharmacy in my office that I used for a quick check to see how my work and tension contributes to hypertension.

One feature of blood pressure monitors many do not think about is the cuff size. Make sure it fits you. A wrong cuff size may interfere with accurate reading.

And of course you need to make sure you place the cuff correctly on your arm. It is not rocket science but you may want to ask your doctor o your nurse show you where to position your cuff as well as your body arm position that should be at the same level as your heart.

Some postures crossing your knee or ankle may interfere with accurate reading as does clothing that restrict blood flow. Check your clothing for restrictions that you may be so used to that you no longer notice.