Soy supplement shows no blood pressure benefit

Soy-rich diets have been linked to lower rates of heart disease, but a small study suggests that soy supplements may not do anything for older women's blood pressure.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to the mixed evidence on the health benefits of soy isoflavones -- compounds that are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects in some body tissue.

Researchers have long known that Asian populations with soy-rich diets have lower rates of heart disease compared with people who eat "Western" diets.
But it has not been clear whether soy isoflavone supplements have cardiovascular benefits, like cutting blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
A number of studies have found that intravenous infusions of soy isoflavones may boost the body's production of nitric oxide and help blood vessels dilate.
"But we don't take soy by infusion," said William Wong, a nutrition researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who led the new study.
On top of that, he told Reuters Health, those studies looked at short-term effects on blood vessel function -- and not whether there are "sustained" benefits for blood pressure.
‘DISAPPOINTING' RESULTS
So for their study, Wong and his colleagues randomly assigned 24 menopausal women to take either soy isoflavones or placebo tablets for six weeks. The supplement gave a daily dose of 80 milligrams of isoflavones.
All of the women started the study with moderately elevated blood pressure.
After six weeks, Wong's team found, women on the soy supplement were faring no better than those on the placebo.
On average, systolic blood pressure was 136 mm/Hg in the placebo group, and 137 mm/Hg in the soy group. Systolic blood pressure is the first number in a blood-pressure reading; levels of 140 mm/Hg or above are considered high.
As for diastolic blood pressure, the average in both groups landed at about 80 mm/Hg -- the upper threshold of "normal."
Wong's team also did special blood tests to see whether the soy supplement affected the women's production of nitric oxide, a chemical that dilates blood vessels. They found no effect.
"It was disappointing," Wong said.
The study only lasted for six weeks. But according to Wong, that should have been long enough to detect blood pressure benefits if there are any.
"If we didn't see anything in six weeks, we doubt there would be effects (longer term)," Wong said.
"I think that if people are looking for a magic bullet against high blood pressure," he added, "this is not it."
That said, getting more soy foods in your diet -- especially starting at a young age -- could be a healthy move, according to Wong.
He speculated that the health benefits linked to soy in Asian populations may be the result of a lifetime of eating those foods. Taking supplements later in life, he said, may simply not cut it.
"Maybe it has to be long-term exposure to soy products," Wong said.
For now, the mainstream treatment for high blood pressure is to start by eating a healthy diet low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables, and get regular exercise. If you're overweight, losing some pounds can lower your blood pressure.
Many people for whom lifestyle approaches aren't enough also take blood pressure medications.

Americans Becoming Lax About High Blood Pressure

In a surprising reversal of longtime health gains, fewer adult Americans are aware they have high blood pressure, fewer are getting effective therapy, and more are dying as a result, Federal health officials said here today in issuing new treatment guidelines for the ailment, which affects 50 million Americans.
Over the last 25 years, therapies to fight high blood pressure have led to significant declines in deaths from stroke and coronary heart disease. But the latest health statistics show a rise in severe kidney disease and heart failure, a slight rise in the rate of stroke, and a leveling in the death rate for Americans with coronary heart disease. These conditions often occur as complications of longstanding high blood pressure, which is also called hypertension.
The reason for the abrupt reversal is not known, Federal health officials and experts in high blood pressure said at a news conference. But they said contributing factors could be an increase in obesity, growing complacency among doctors and patients about high blood pressure, a large number of patients who stop drug therapy because of unwanted effects like decreased sexual interest and fatigue, and lack of effective communication to the public.
''We are very concerned to see this decline in awareness and control,'' said Dr. Claude Lenfant, the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a Federal agency in Bethesda, Md. Dr. Lenfant and Dr. Edward J. Roccella, who is in charge of the Government's education program on high blood pressure, said the institute was developing new public announcements and a research program intended to improve compliance with therapy, which generally has to be lifelong.
The institute released data today from a national survey conducted from 1991 through 1994 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that 68.4 percent of Americans with high blood pressure were aware they had the ailment, 53.6 percent were being treated for it, and 27.4 percent had it under adequate control. The target blood pressure level is less than 140/90 mm of mercury. All three figures were down from a similar survey conducted from 1988 to 1991, which showed 73 percent were aware, 55 percent were being treated, and 29 percent had their blood pressure adequately controlled.
Officials had expected the positive trend of the last 20 years to continue, and the reversal, though small, is a challenge to the Government's longstanding goal to control high blood pressure in 50 percent of affected Americans by 2000.
Dr. Roccella said that goal was still realistic, that the Government had met eight of its nine objectives in hypertension control in 1990 and that ''we're optimistic about meeting'' the 50 percent goal in 2000. But Dr. Michael H. Alderman, president of the American Society of Hypertension, said, ''We are failing to achieve our national objective in controlling high blood pressure.''
Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on controlling high blood pressure, Dr. Alderman said, and ''progress has stopped, and the report did not explore why that happened.'' Dr. Alderman heads the department of preventive medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
Dr. Alderman, was one of five experts who resigned for various reasons from the group of more than 100 experts who contributed to the report. Dr. Alderman left because he disagreed with the report's discussion of a class of drugs. This section was unrelated to the main conclusions of the report.
The new guidelines are the sixth in a series dating to 1972 from the heart institute. The latest were developed with the cooperation of 38 national professional, public, and voluntary health organizations and 6 other Federal agencies.
Untreated high blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease, the leading cause of death among Americans, and strokes, the third leading cause of death. Federal officials have credited the earlier reports for helping to reduce the adverse impact of high blood pressure.
Dr. Sheldon G. Sheps, who headed a committee of experts that wrote the report for the institute said that two-thirds of the reduction in deaths from strokes among African American women in recent years and half the reduction in stroke deaths among white women was attributable to improved blood pressure control.
The new guidelines strongly encourage weight loss, exercise and changes in diet to prevent high blood pressure among all people. Such life style changes can work as the only therapy for some people with high blood pressure and an adjunct to other treatments for everyone with high blood pressure.
The guidelines say those with the mildest form of high blood pressure (140 to 149 systolic, or top number, and 90 to 99 diastolic, bottom number) could try changing life style without drug therapy for up to a year under vigilant blood pressure monitoring.
Such changes include weight reduction of at least 10 pounds; 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic activity on most days; intake of no more than a teaspoon of salt a day including that in processed foods; and increased potassium intake. But care must be taken by those with kidney disease because of potential dangers in the potassium intake.
For the first time, the guidelines endorse a specific diet. One rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods, and with reduced saturated and total fats, could significantly lower blood pressure for all Americans, the report said.
For first-line therapy for individuals with uncomplicated high blood pressure, the guidelines recommended drugs from the diuretic and beta-blocker classes. Different types of drugs may be indicated for those with certain conditions like diabetes or heart failure.
A major challenge is to improve adherence to therapy. Without providing specific figures, Dr. Rocella said that ''there are more people who have been in treatment for high blood pressure who have dropped out than who are on therapy.''

How Grapefruit Juice Makes Some Pills More Powerful

FOR four years, the patient was one of Dr. Paul Pizarik's bigger problems: a 63-year-old Arizona man with heart, lung and kidney disease, and blood pressure that stayed dangerously high despite combinations of a half-dozen different advanced medications.

And then suddenly, to Dr. Pizarik's great surprise, the man's pressure dropped into perfect control. It had been magically reduced by nothing more complicated than a six-ounce glass of grapefruit juice that the patient had decided to add to his morning pills.
A few weeks later, his pressure plunged so low that his medication had to be changed all over again.
Researchers have known since 1989 that when some of the common blood-pressure pills called calcium-channel blockers were washed down with grapefruit juice, far more of the drugs reached the blood than when they were taken with a swallow of water instead. But it is a piece of information that has passed many doctors and patients by, even though the interaction has now been reproduced for other drugs. The effect may be so striking that some scientists are now calling for warning labels about the effects of grapefruit juice on pill bottles to prevent accidental drug overdoses. Others have hastened to patent the chemicals involved and are planning to incorporate them into new combination pills.
''We are harnessing the power of the grapefruit,'' said Dr. Paul B. Watkins, a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, whose research recently clarified why grapefruit alone among citrus fruits appears to make some pills more powerful.
The handful of drugs now known to be involved include some common and potent ones, among them Plendil (felodipine) for high blood pressure and heart disease, Seldane (terfenadine) for allergies, Sandimmune (cyclosporine) to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, and Invirase (saquinavir) for treating AIDS.
What these diverse substances have in common is their fate after they pass through the stomach. Unlike other drugs that are absorbed directly from the intestine into the bloodstream, these are first extensively broken down by an enzyme in the wall of the small intestine.
In research published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation in May, Dr. Watkins and his colleagues showed that grapefruit juice appeared to remove large amounts of that enzyme from the intestinal wall. The result is that less of the drug is broken down, more remains in the intestine and more is then absorbed into the bloodstream over a longer period, just as if the patient had actually swallowed a higher drug dose. The specific causes appear to be chemicals in the juice called furanocoumarins or psoralens that function like ''little suicide bombers,'' attaching to the enzyme and damaging it so badly that the entire complex disappears from the cell.
But the amount of the enzyme in the intestinal wall varies greatly among people, Dr. Watkins said, which explains why the grapefruit juice effect may be serious for some people and unimportant for others. It probably makes very little difference if people with relatively low levels of the intestinal enzyme take their medicine with grapefruit juice or with water. But for others with a great deal of the enzyme, an unaccustomed glass of juice in the morning may send enzyme levels plummeting and drug levels soaring as much as ninefold.
Dr. J. David Spence at the Roberts Research Institute in London, Ontario, thinks this is what may have happened to a Michigan man who died in 1993 with toxic blood levels of Seldane after drinking two glasses of grapefruit juice. ''The problem is that juice is taken intermittently,'' he said. ''And grocers don't take a drug history when they sell it.''
Seldane blood levels are increased not only by grapefruit juice but also by many common prescription drugs, and serious heart problems may result. Although the drug is under new scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration for its toxicity, it remains available by prescription in this country and is sold over the counter in Canada. In new prescribing information supplied to doctors only last month, Seldane's manufacturer, Hoechst-Marion-Roussel, added grapefruit juice to the list of substances that should not be taken with it.
Although information about grapefruit juice accompanies other affected drugs, it is printed in the tiny type reserved for doctors and pharmacists and seldom makes it out onto the patient's pill bottle. Many other drugs have never been specifically tested for grapefruit juice interactions.
The effect of a glass of grapefruit juice on drug levels lasts a day or more, and it increases over time, Dr. Spence cautioned. He favors a practice now routine in parts of Australia of affixing specific grapefruit juice warnings to pill bottles if an interaction is known or might be expected.
Other experts feel that chances of drug overdoses from a breakfast containing grapefruit are too small to warrant major public concern. ''These are generally safe drugs,'' Dr. Watkins said. ''I just tell patients, if you're used to taking your medicines with juice, keep doing it. If you're not, don't start.''
In fact, the danger of grapefruit juice impresses many scientists less than does its ability to augment drug effects cheaply and palatably without the need for larger doses.
Dr. Leslie Benet, chairman of the department of biopharmaceuticals at the University of California at San Francisco, has founded a corporation called Avmax to evaluate and market substances like those in grapefruit juice that inhibit intestinal enzymes, making drugs more available to the body with less person-to-person variability. His company has licensed one of the patented chemicals responsible for the effect in grapefruit, and is beginning studies combining it with several prescription drugs.
Other doctors just direct patients to the supermarket. Like many doctors who treat AIDS, Dr. Nereida Ferran, an internist at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, routinely advises her patients taking Invirase for H.I.V. infection to take it with grapefruit juice. ''The blood levels of the drug increase at least twofold,'' she said. ''Many of my patients are doing very, very well on what is supposed to be one of the weaker H.I.V. drugs.''
And Dr. Pizarik remains aware of grapefruit's double-edged potential. Over time, his patient's initially elevated blood pressure dropped so low with grapefruit juice that the man almost went into shock.
''He became pretty pale and pasty-looking,'' said Dr. Pizarik, who has not given grapefruit juice to any other patients. ''I don't know that I'd recommend it again until more studies are done.''

Choosing blood pressure medications

Choosing the right high blood pressure medication can be tricky. Find out which of the various drug options is appropriate for you.

Dozens of high blood pressure medications (antihypertensives) are available, each with pros and cons. Depending on how high your blood pressure is, your doctor may prescribe one or more high blood pressure medications to treat your condition. For everyone who has high blood pressure or is at risk of developing high blood pressure, lifestyle changes can help keep your numbers under control. Before beginning blood pressure treatment, it's a good idea to understand the options available to you.

Lifestyle changes

Whether you're on the road to developing high blood pressure (prehypertension) or you already have high blood pressure (hypertension), you can benefit from lifestyle changes that can lower your blood pressure. People who have prehypertension have a systolic pressure (top number) ranging from 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic pressure (bottom number) ranging from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
Even if your doctor prescribes medications to control your blood pressure, he or she will likely recommend you make lifestyle changes as well. Lifestyle changes can reduce or eliminate your need for medications to control your blood pressure. To make these changes:

• Don't smoke
• Eat a healthy diet, focusing on fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and especially, control the salt in your diet
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise by getting 30 minutes of moderate activity — even if you need to break up your activity into three 10-minute sessions — on most days of the week
• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink — one drink a day for women and two a day for men

You probably won't need to take high blood pressure medications if you have prehypertension and are otherwise healthy. However, if you have prehypertension and diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease, your doctor might prescribe medications to lower your blood pressure to a more desirable level.

Medication options for stage 1 high blood pressure (140/90 to 159/99)

If you have stage 1 high blood pressure, you have a systolic pressure ranging from 140 to 159 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure ranging from 90 to 99 mm Hg. If both numbers are in this range, you also have stage 1 high blood pressure. The first change you can make is to adopt healthy lifestyle changes to help decrease your numbers. Your doctor will likely prescribe medications, as well.
Diuretics (water pills)Your doctor may first suggest diuretics — also called water pills. Diuretics work by flushing excess water and sodium from the body, thus lowering blood pressure, which may be enough along with lifestyle changes to control your blood pressure.
Although three types of diuretics are available, the first choice is usually a thiazide diuretic. Thiazide diuretics typically have fewer side effects than do other types of diuretics. They also offer strong protection against conditions that high blood pressure can cause, such as stroke and heart failure.
Other medicationsA diuretic may be the only high blood pressure medication you need. But under some circumstances, your doctor may also recommend another medication or may add another medication. Those choices include:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These allow blood vessels to widen by preventing a hormone called angiotensin from affecting blood vessels. Frequently prescribed ACE inhibitors include captopril (Capoten), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) and ramipril (Altace).
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers. These help blood vessels relax by blocking the action of angiotensin. Frequently prescribed angiotensin II receptor blockers include losartan (Cozaar), olmesartan (Benicar) and valsartan (Diovan).
• Beta blockers. These work by blocking certain nerve and hormonal signals to the heart and blood vessels, thus lowering blood pressure. Frequently prescribed beta blockers include metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard) and penbutolol (Levatol).
• Calcium channel blockers. These prevent calcium from going into heart and blood vessel muscle cells, thus causing the cells to relax, which lowers blood pressure. Frequently prescribed calcium channel blockers include amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor XR) and nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia).
• Renin inhibitors.  Renin is an enzyme produced by your kidneys that starts a chain of chemical steps that increases blood pressure. Aliskiren (Tekturna) slows down the production of renin, reducing its ability to begin this process. Due to a risk of serious complications, including stroke, you shouldn't take aliskiren with ACE inhibitors or ARBs.

Adding one of these medications can lower your blood pressure more quickly than can taking only a diuretic. This may reduce the risk of developing complications from high blood pressure. Combining two medications of different classes may allow you to take a smaller dose of each, which can reduce side effects and perhaps be less expensive. The choice of medications in combination depends on your individual circumstances.

Medication options for stage 2 high blood pressure (higher than 160/100)

If you have stage 2 high blood pressure, you have a systolic pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic pressure of 100 mm Hg or higher or both. In this case, you'll likely need to take at least two high blood pressure medications when you start treatment.
As with stage 1 hypertension, your doctor will likely prescribe a thiazide diuretic. Diuretics work by flushing excess water and sodium from the body, thus lowering your blood pressure. Along with a diuretic, your doctor may recommend that you also take:

• ACE inhibitors. This medication helps blood vessels relax by blocking the production of a hormone that causes blood vessels to narrow. Frequently prescribed ACE inhibitors include captopril (Capoten), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) and ramipril (Altace).
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers. This medication allows blood vessels to widen by preventing a hormone called angiotensin from affecting vessels. Frequently prescribed angiotensin II receptor blockers include losartan (Cozaar), olmesartan (Benicar) and valsartan (Diovan).
• Beta blockers. This class of drugs works by blocking certain nerve and hormonal signals to the heart and blood vessels, thus lowering blood pressure. Frequently prescribed beta blockers include metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard) and penbutolol (Levatol).
• Calcium channel blockers. This medication prevents calcium from going into heart and blood vessel muscle cells, thus causing the cells to relax, which lowers blood pressure. Frequently prescribed calcium channel blockers include amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor XR) and nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia).
• Renin inhibitors.  Renin is an enzyme produced by your kidneys that starts a chain of chemical steps that increases blood pressure. Aliskiren (Tekturna) slows down the production of renin, reducing its ability to begin this process. Due to a risk of serious complications, including stroke, you shouldn't take aliskiren with ACE inhibitors or ARBs.

If none of these medications is effective in lowering your blood pressure, your doctor may recommend another medication, such as an alpha blocker, central-acting agent or vasodilator. These medications are strong and may cause more side effects than may other blood pressure medications.
When your blood pressure is very high, it's important to reduce it quickly to prevent or delay complications, such as damage to your arteries, heart failure or kidney damage. A two-drug combination generally works faster than does a single drug to get your blood pressure under control. Sometimes a third medication, or more, may be needed to achieve your blood pressure goal.

High blood pressure and other health problems

High blood pressure often goes hand in hand with other health problems. If you have a serious health condition in addition to high blood pressure, it's likely you'll need aggressive treatment. Those conditions include:

• Heart failure
• Previous heart attack
• High risk of coronary artery disease
• Enlarged or thickened left chamber of the heart (left ventricular hypertrophy)
• Diabetes
• Chronic kidney disease
• Previous stroke

High blood pressure itself puts you at higher risk of having one of these conditions. If you already have one or more of these conditions plus high blood pressure, your chance of developing a life-threatening complication increases. A more aggressive treatment approach may reduce your risk of these complications.
Your doctor may recommend specific high blood pressure medications to treat these conditions, as well as additional medications for your high blood pressure. For example, if you have chest pain (angina), your doctor may recommend a beta blocker, which can lower your blood pressure and also prevent your chest pain, reduce your heart rate and decrease your risk of death. If you have diabetes and high blood pressure, taking a diuretic plus an ACE inhibitor can decrease your risk of heart attack and stroke. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, you may need to add additional medications to the mix, such as an angiotensin II receptor blocker.

Keep trying to reach your blood pressure goal

Sometimes high blood pressure can be difficult to treat. If your high blood pressure doesn't decrease despite taking at least three different types of high blood pressure drugs, one of which should be a diuretic, you may have resistant hypertension. Resistant hypertension is blood pressure that's resistant to treatment. People who have controlled high blood pressure and are taking four different types of medications at the same time to achieve that control also are considered to have resistant hypertension.
It's not unusual to try several different medications or doses before finding what works best for you. In fact, if you and your doctor can identify what's behind your persistently high blood pressure, there's a good chance you can meet your goal with the help of treatment that's more effective. Home monitoring of your blood pressure can help your doctor decide if your blood pressure treatment is working, or if a different dose or medication is necessary.
In most cases, a combination of lifestyle changes and medication can help you successfully control your blood pressure. Once that's done, your doctor may recommend a gradual decrease in medications while monitoring the effect on your blood pressure; however, don't attempt to do this on your own.
Keeping your blood pressure under control may take some time, but in the long run it may mean a longer life, with fewer health problems

Add chlorella to your diet - 4 reasons why

Chlorella is a green algae that is considered to be one of the most powerful superfoods known to man. Chlorella contains vasts amount of chlorophyll within its cell walls. The cell walls of chlorella are tough and indigestible, so many chlorella producers break the cell walls before selling the product. Broken cell chlorella releases the nutrients inside the cell walls so the human body can use them. Besides being possibly the richest source of chlorophyll on Earth, chlorella is also very high in plant protein. Chlorella contains fifty-eight grams of protein per one hundred grams of weight. By comparison, beef and chicken have twenty-four to twenty-eight grams of protein per one hundred grams of weight. Chlorella is a pain reliever, reduces hypertension, enhances the immune system in some cases, and chelates heavy metals.

Chlorella has been found to reduce pain

In 2000, a pilot study was conducted in which fibromyalgia patients consumed 10g of a commercially available chlorella tablet and 100mL of chlorella in liquid form. Symptoms were measured at the beginning of the trial, and again after one and two months of treatment with chlorella. After two months on chlorella, the fibromyalgia patients reported a significant 22% reduction in pain and tenderness. One-third of the patients believed their health was better after taking chlorella. Scientists involved with this study stated that a full double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was warranted.

Chlorella reduces or stabilizes blood pressure, even when medication is stopped

In another clinical study, patients with hypertension were given 10g chlorella tablets and 100 mL chlorella extract for two months. Patients were taken off all blood pressure medications, then treated with chlorella. One-fourth of the patients saw a decrease in blood pressure after taking chlorella for two months. The other three-fourths did not see a rise in blood pressure, despite being taken off their blood pressure medication.

Chlorella enhances the immune system after flu shots in some adults

In a clinical trial performed in 2003, patients who had received flu shots were given chlorella to see if the algae improved immune system function. The subjects, all over the age of fifty, took either a placebo or chlorella for three weeks before being injected with a flu vaccine. At one week and three weeks after receiving the flu shots, patients between the ages of fifty and fifty-five who had been taking chlorella had two to four times more antibodies than the placebo group. Results were insignificant for older adults in the study.

Chlorella has potential as a heavy metal chelator

A study involving rats showed the potential chlorella has for counteracting heavy metal poisoning in humans. Male rats were given cadmium chloride, a toxic metal compound used in yellow dye and photocopying. Some rats were also fed chlorella powder, while other rats were used as the control group. Cadmium was found in the bloodstream, liver, kidneys, and small intestines of the rats. However, there was a remarkable increase in cadmium in the urine and feces of the chlorella-fed rats. In addition, tissue damage was less in the chlorella group. The research group concluded that chlorella can be considered an appropriate counteragent for heavy metal poisoning.

chiropractic treatment prevents heart attacks and lowers blood pressure

The popularity of chiropractic care has grown dramatically since the middle of the 20th century. Although most people seek chiropractic treatment to relieve musculoskeletal pain, certain types of pain may be indicative of the patient experiencing a heart attack just before or during treatment.

Chiropractors should expect to have at least one presentation of a myocardial infarction, or heart attack, during their careers, according to chiropractor Dr. Dwain M. Daniel. Research indicates that regular chiropractic adjustments may prevent heart attacks, lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, relieve chest pain and support the cardiovascular system, according to the Palmer Chiropractic College.

Studies at the College investigated the effects of chiropractic treatment on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in reference to an analysis of heart rate variability. Findings indicated that chiropractic adjustments do reduce pain and lower participant's mean heart rate.

Additionally, anecdotal evidence indicates that adjustments of the atlas, or first cervical vertebra, may stop some heart attacks while they are occurring, according to chiropractor, Dr. Christopher Clarke of the Vibrance Family Chiropractic Center in Nashville. If a patient experiences a heart attack during an adjustment, gentle manipulation of the atlas may be appropriate and may alter the outcome; however, other emergency measures must be performed in an attempt to save a patient's life, including transport to the nearest medical facility. There are few studies on this fascinating aspect of chiropractic and additional research is necessary.

Reducing blood pressure

Chiropractic treatment also has a significant effect on blood pressure and anxiety levels, according to a study reported in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. The study examined systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and patients' anxiety levels before and after an adjustment. In all cases, those subjects who received active treatment experienced a distinct drop in blood pressure and a decrease of their anxiety levels. Results of this study provide evidence that chiropractic treatment offers support to the cardiovascular system.

Recognizing signs and symptoms

Women are just as likely to have heart attacks as are men; however, women are less likely to seek medical treatment or attend rehabilitation during or after a heart attack, according to the Journal of Canadian Chiropractic Association. Because women are more than twice as likely to seek chiropractic care, according to Clarke, it's important to recognize the specific symptoms they may exhibit. Men tend to experience extreme pain and heaviness in the chest and left arm during a heart attack. Although women may also experience these effects, they may exhibit very different symptoms, making a heart attack more difficult to diagnose. Women often complain of neck and upper back pain, which is mild and annoying and often mistaken as a structural problem. They are more likely to be misdiagnosed because of the vagaries of their symptoms.

Other symptoms reported by women during a heart attack can range from chest pain brought on during exercise or other strenuous activity that then feels better during rest. There may be crushing chest pain accompanied by other wandering pains to the rest of the body, vague wandering pains extending down one or both arms, and difficulty breathing with shortness of breath, fatigue or weakness. They may also be fearful, anxious and in denial.

Chiropractic treatment can increase vitality, boost immunity, relieve a variety of musculoskeletal ailments and strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system for both men and women. Patients should always check credentials for any chiropractic doctor before undergoing treatment, especially if they have a history of heart disease or other related disorders. Look for an experienced doctor who performs a thorough exam before attempting any adjustments.

Fight high blood pressure with Yoga

When you think of yoga flexibility, relaxation and maybe meditation come to mind. The application of yoga as a system of healing rarely enters the Western mind. Despite today's widespread reliance on Western medicine (drugs), yoga has been used for thousands of years for concerns like high blood pressure (HBP), a condition the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) calls "The Silent Killer".

One in three Americans have high blood pressure, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. High blood pressure (hypertension) is frequently a precursor to heart disease, the number one killer of Americans. Specific yoga poses are known to be beneficial exercises for high blood pressure.

Lower the numbers

Someone in the United States dies approximately every 33 seconds from heart disease, according to UMMC. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends exercise, stress management and weight management to prevent high blood pressure, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease. Yoga can help with all three recommendations.

Yoga is known to lower blood pressure, especially the diastolic score, according to the American Yoga Association (AYA). Blood pressure is measured as two numbers, a systolic score written above a diastolic score. The systolic number is a measurement of blood pressure while the heart pumps blood. Diastolic refers to blood pressure between beats. The AYA states that the diastolic number is the most important. Additionally, people with high diastolic blood pressure frequently develop a high systolic blood pressure too, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Yoga benefits high blood pressure through promoting relaxation of the mind and body. Practicing yoga helps decrease the negative impacts of stress, including tension, shallow breathing and elevated heart rate. It also improves physical strength and flexibility, plus may assist with weight loss, according to Prevention magazine.

Beneficial high blood pressure exercises

Certain yoga poses are therapeutic for high blood pressure, according to Yoga Journal. Well-known poses like downward facing dog and easy pose are beneficial, but so are lesser known exercises like the big toe pose and seated forward bend:

Big toe pose

Stand with feet together. Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the nose and bend forward at the waist, keeping the back straight. Grab the big toes and gently pull down.

Seated forward bend

Sit with legs straight and pressed together. Exhale through the nose and bend forward at the hips. Keep the back straight and reach for the toes.

Additionally, MedIndia.net, a website managed by the Medindia Health Network, recommends camel pose and the knee squeeze as high blood pressure exercises:

Camel pose

Kneel on the floor. Exhale and arch the back, reaching back for the ankles. Tilt the head and look at the ceiling. Hips remain in line with the knees.

Knee squeeze

Lie face up on the floor with the legs straight. Exhale, bend one knee and hug it into the chest. Keep the other leg straight. Switch legs.

Potentially dangerous yoga exercises

People with high blood pressure need to be careful with inversion poses, according to Yoga Journal. Inverted poses are where the head is below the heart. This position increases pressure inside the blood vessels of the neck and head. However, starting with mild inversions and gradually increasing the degree of inversion overtime may strengthen the blood vessels and could be beneficial in the long run.

Additional recommendations

To prevent high blood pressure, the AHA advises limiting alcohol intake and refraining from smoking. Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but low in salt, is also recommended.