Beans, Beans They’re Good for Your Heart….

Beans, beans they’re good for your heart the more you eat the more you….. , well you know how the rest of it goes.  Turns out this little rhyme has some truth to it.  The rotten egg odor in really smelly, uh, breaking wind, um, passing gas, flatulence, ok…farts, comes from hydrogen sulfide.  According to new research, cells that line the blood vessels of mice produce hydrogen sulfide and it helps to prevent high blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels of the mice.  And the hydrogen sulfide may have the same benefits for humans.

“Now that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension,” said Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., a co-author of the study detailed in the Oct. 24th issue of the journal Science.

I’m not so sure I like where this is going.  Do you get a free can of air freshener with each prescription?

However, you can reap the benefits by including sulfur rich foods, such as garlic and onions in your diet.

P.S. By the way, beans are good for your heart.  They’re loaded with soluble fiber and flavanoids, helping to reduce cholesterol and inhibiting adhesion in blood platelets which lowers the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Source: MSNBC Health

Chiropractic Treatment for Hypertension

A special chiropractic adjustment, known as the Atlas Adjustment, is showing promise as a therapy for lowering high blood pressure.  An initial  placebo-controlled study of fifty patients with early stage high blood pressure was begun by George Bakris, MD after a colleague told him that he had been sending  patients (some of whom had hypertension)  to a chiropractor for un-related treatments, and after seeing the chiropractor, their blood pressure had normalized.

The adjustment is applied to the Atlas vertebra (the C-1 vertebra) located at the very top of the spinal column.  It is thought that injury or mis-alignment of the Atlas vertebra may affect blood flow through the arteries that pass through the vertebra at the base of the skull.

25 patients in the study received the proper treatment while the other half received a placebo adjustment (that did not affect the C-1 vertebra).  Those who received the proper treatment averaged a 14 point drop in their systolic and 8 point drop in their diastolic blood pressure.  None of the participants received medication during the eight week study.  

Because of the encouraging results of this initial study, Dr. Bakris, director of the University of Chicago Hypertension Center is conducting a much bigger clinical trial.

A Good Reason to Know Your Blood Pressure Readings

A new study indicates that many doctors don’t know the national guidelines for hypertension.  And they aren’t beginning  treatment for middle aged men when they should.

Americans are becoming more aware of the dangers and risk factors of high blood pressure.  Know your blood pressure numbers.  If they indicate that you should be on treatment for hypertension and you aren’t, you need to speak up.  

Source:  Medicine Net.com

Guided Relaxation Helps Reduce Hypertension

 A small study of elderly people with high blood pressure compared the use of guided relaxation methods against listening to classical music.  Both methods lowered blood pressure.  However, the guided relaxation methods with it’s deep breathing instructions lowered systolic pressure more.  Diastolic pressure, the second number in blood pressure readings, improved comparably.
 Source:   Medicine Net.com

Should You Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home

Blood pressure should be monitored at home as well as by your health care provider.  According to Dr. William White at the UConn Health Center, blood pressure can vary greatly throughout the day and night, so just having your blood pressure checked just one or two times during an office visit may not reveal your true blood pressure behavior. 

Dr. Williams along with Dr.Thomas Pickering of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center of New York are co-authors of an American Society of Hypertension position paper on home and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.  They state that there is increasing evidence that these two methods of monitoring will better predict your cardiovascular risk than office monitoring of your blood pressure alone.

Source: University of Connecticut