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Things That Can Affect Blood Pressure World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that hypertension (high blood pressure) cause 7.5 million deaths or about 12.8 percent of total deaths worldwide. It affects approximately one billion people globally, including 1 in 3 adults in the United States. A person is said to be hypertensive if this person’s blood pressure reading consistently exceeds 140/90 mmHg (140 is the systolic and 90 is the diastolic reading). Uncontrolled hypertension is dangerous because the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke is extremely high. Hypertension can also lead to other complications including heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, renal impairment and visual impairment. Factors that can cause hypertension include smoking, obesity or overweight, diabetes, lack of physical activity, high salt intake, stress, and aging. During the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) held between May 15 and 18, 2013, scientists further suggested that mobile phone calls might also cause a rise in blood pressure. It was also reported in the meeting that yoga might lower hypertension, and hypertensive individuals might have an increased desire for saltier foods. Mobile phone seems to be something that most people cannot live without it. As of December 2012, 87 percent of American adults had a mobile phone. According to researchers from Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Piacenza, Italy, talking on mobile phones could cause a temporary but significant rise in blood pressure. During a phone call, blood pressure readings could jump from 121/77 to 129/82.
The researchers focused on 49 Italian women with an average age of 53, all of whom were taking medications to control high blood pressure. Analysis showed that patients' systolic readings went up significantly whenever the patients answered their phones. But patients who had indicated relatively heavy routine mobile phone usage (30 or more calls per day) experienced a less steep rise in their systolic readings during incoming calls. Incoming calls, on the other hand, had no impact on patients' diastolic readings and there was no shift in patients’ overall heart rates when mobile phone rang. It has been known that radio-frequency field generated by mobile phones does not affect blood pressure, and should therefore not increase blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension. The rise in blood pressure could possibly be caused by the effect of the noise generated by the phone ringing and of the intrusion into the life of an unscheduled phone conversation. To ensure accuracy, it is advised for patients to turn off their mobile phones whenever and wherever they have a blood pressure reading. Being an effective way to reduce stress, to get fit and to stay healthy, yoga could also lower blood pressure significantly. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America reported that blood pressure of people who practiced yoga 2 to 3 times per week decreased significantly: an average of 3 points for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, from 133/80 to 130/77. The blood pressure readings of participants, who did not practice yoga but only followed a controlled diet, were reduced only 1 point, 134/83 to 132/82. Though hypertensive patients are always advised to consume less salt, it appeared that they actually prefer more salt in their food than those with normal blood pressure (normotensive). In a study, researchers from Sao Paolo University in Brazil initially gave 3 pieces of bread with varying amounts of salt to 44 adults with an average age of 73.5 years. 68 percent of hypertensive and 31 percent of normotensive patients preferred the bread with the highest salt contents. 15 days later, the participants underwent an identical taste test with other seasonings added to the salted bread. It was found that only 14 percent of hypertensive and none of normotensive patients preferred the bread with the highest salt content. This clearly showed that hypertensive patients prefer a higher salt content. Meanwhile, replacing salt by other seasonings could actually lower the preference for salt, which is certainly an excellent way to lower salt intake for hypertensive patients.
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