New Age Stress Buster That Reduces High Blood Pressure

Researchers have observed the new mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) technique of reducing high blood pressure or hypertension has some positive changes on patients.

MBSR technique builds on recent research findings that a positive attitude towards life, keeping the mind free of too much stress, anxiety and following simple tips to de-stress and relax play a crucial role in curbing high blood pressure.

Traditionally hypertension and high blood pressure are treated with medication, lifestyle changes and diet.

According to a study by the Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine, the new MBSR technique was tried on a sample of about 100 patients aged between 30-60 years with pre-hypertension and high blood pressure, who were not under medication.

These patients were required to go through body scan exercises, meditation and yoga for a period of 45 minutes six days a week. The mindfulness-based stress reduction program also included discussions on stress related topics and assignments to track the patient's mood and anxiety levels.

The researchers of the MBSR study noticed a considerable reduction in the primary conditions and resulted in a 4.8-mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 1.9mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

Many more trials must be conducted to further evaluate the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based stress reduction technique, as it could have other applications for multiple maladies. Richard Josephson of Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine said, 'This was one of the first prospective randomized trials of MBSR as a nonpharmocologic treatment option.'

Source: medindia.net 

High Blood Pressure Requires Adequate Diagnosis

High blood pressure —also known as hypertension— is common, but treatment often fails, and one in 5 people with hypertension does not respond to therapy.

This is frequently due to inadequate diagnosis, as Franz Weber and Manfred Anlauf point out in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111: 425-31). If a patient's blood pressure is not controlled by treatment, this can be due to a number of reasons.

Often it is the medication the patient is on. Some patients may be taking other medicines - in addition to their antihypertensive therapy - which increase blood pressure as a side effect. In these cases, the treatment of the high blood pressure appears to be ineffective, but all that would be needed is some adjustment to the medication regimen. Then there is diet.

Licorice, for example, does increase blood pressure; so eating too much of it may reduce the effect of the antihypertensive therapy. Likewise, salt-sensitive patients may increase their blood pressure by eating salt; thus they have to keep this in mind when seasoning their dishes.Besides drugs and food, certain symptoms may interfere with antihypertensive therapy. Once the underlying condition has been successfully treated, blood pressure control does often improve. An example for this is the sleep apnea syndrome: Apart from sleep problems and fatigue, it makes high blood pressure worse.

Here, most patients find their blood pressure improved with targeted treatment of the apnea and quite often the antihypertensive medication can be reduced. Thus rigorous diagnostic evaluation is key to a successful treatment of hypertension. In their current study the authors expect that with this approach almost half of the cases classified as treatment-resistant hypertension could be treated.

Source : medindia.net

Diabetes and High Blood Pressure in Middle Age May Lead to Brain Cell Loss Later in Life

People who develop diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age are more likely to have brain cell loss and other damage to the brain, as well as problems with memory and thinking skills, than people who never have diabetes or high blood pressure or who develop it in old age.

This is according to a new study published in the March 19, 2014, online issue of Neurology. Middle age was defined as age 40 to 64 and old age as age 65 and older.

"Potentially, if we can prevent or control diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age, we can prevent or delay the brain damage that occurs decades later and leads to memory and thinking problems and dementia," says study author and Mayo Clinic epidemiologist Rosebud Roberts M.B., Ch.B.

For the study, the thinking and memory skills of 1,437 people with an average age of 80 were evaluated. The participants had either no thinking or memory problems or mild memory and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. They then had brain scans to look for markers of brain damage that can be a precursor to dementia. Participants' medical records were reviewed to determine whether they had been diagnosed with diabetes or high blood pressure in middle age or later.

For diabetes, 72 people developed it in middle age, 142 in old age and 1,192 did not have diabetes. For high blood pressure, 449 people developed it in middle age, 448 in old age and 369 did not have it.

Compared to people who did not have diabetes, people who developed diabetes in middle age had a total brain volume average of 2.9 percent smaller. In the hippocampus area of the brain, the volume was 4 percent smaller. They also were twice as likely to have thinking and memory problems.

Compared to people who did not have high blood pressure, people who developed high blood pressure in middle age were twice as likely to have areas of brain damage.

 "People who developed diabetes even in old age also were more likely to have areas of brain damage. Conversely, there were not many effects from high blood pressure that developed in old age," Roberts says. "Overall, our findings suggest that the effects of these diseases on the brain take decades to develop and show up as brain damage and lead to symptoms that affect their memory and other thinking skills. In particular, diabetes has adverse effects regardless of the age at which diabetes develops."

The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging, Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Program, Rochester Epidemiology Project, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and European Union Regional Development Fund.

Source : www.medindia.net