Since the last edition of this book, big changes have occurred in our understanding of high blood pressure and its treatment. The categories of high blood pressure have been reduced, and our recommendations about early treatment have changed as well. New drugs are available and old ones are off the market. A major Medicare drug plan, Part D, has confused millions of elderly Americans and changed how they pay for their drugs, including those for high blood pressure. These changes alone are more than enough justification for a new edition of High Blood Pressure For Dummies. This edition has more emphasis on prevention. I also include new discoveries and myths about high blood pressure, so if you already have the first edition, know that I've packed this one with new stuff. (At the very least, buy it for your spouse - then borrow it so you stay up to date!). But the main reason I wanted to write this update comes from an article that appears in the January 2007 issue of the journal Diabetes Care. The article points out that ''despite the publication of increasingly aggressive guidelines for lowering blood pressure, [high blood pressure] remains substantially unimproved among diabetic patients.'' In other words, the number of people with diabetes is increasing explosively, but they're not achieving the level of blood pressure control that will prevent heart attacks, strokes, and amputations. . I hope to change this outcome by helping the even larger population without diabetes to control their blood pressure. ----Alan L. Rubin, MD.

Lower your blood pressure in just two weeks with the #1 rated diet When high blood pressure becomes chronic, it's called hypertension—a condition that affects 970 million people worldwide, and is classified by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of premature death. While medications can help, nothing beats dietary and lifestyle modifications in the fight against high blood pressure, and the DASH diet is a powerful tool in your arsenal. Focusing on lowering sodium intake and increasing fiber, vitamins, and minerals can help lower your blood pressure in as little as two weeks. It's no wonder that the DASH Diet is ranked as the number 1 diet for three years in a row and is endorsed by the American Heart Association, The National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, and The Mayo Clinic. DASH Diet for Dummies is your ultimate guide to taking control of your body once and for all. Originally conceived to alleviate hypertension, the DASH Diet has been proven effective against a number of conditions including Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, weight loss, and more. DASH Diet for Dummies contains all the information you need to put the diet into practice, including: Over 40 DASH-approved recipes, including meals, snacks, and desserts 100+ DASH-approved foods, including meats, seafood, sweets, and more Tips for navigating the grocery store and choosing healthier fare A 14-day Menu Planner to help you get started today The DASH Diet is built upon the principles of healthy eating and getting the most nutritional bang for your buck. Doctors even recommend DASH to their healthy patients as an easy, stress-free way to adopt the food habits that will serve them for life. DASH Diet for Dummies is your roadmap on the journey to good health, so get ready to start feeling better every day.

Beat hypertension with simple and delicious low-sodium recipes Hypertension Cookbook For Dummies features 150 delicious and simple low sodium and low or non-fat recipes that avoid pre-packaged and processed food while remaining economical and easy to prepare. You'll get recipes for making delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, easy on-the-go, and kid friendly recipes to suit any lifestyle, complemented by a full-color, 8-page insert exhibiting many of the book's recipes. Twenty-five percent of American adults have pre-hypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal, but not yet in the high blood pressure range. The recipes presented in Hypertension Cookbook For Dummies are not only for those currently diagnosed with high blood pressure, but those who are at risk. 150 recipes that cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, and on-the-go meals Delicious meals for those who are at risk of high blood pressure Special considerations for on-the-go and kid-friendly meals Hypertension Cookbook For Dummies shows you how to take charge of your blood pressure by making simple and surprisingly delicious changes to your diet.

For the nearly 78 million Americans with hypertension, a safe, effective lifestyle plan—incorporating the DASH diet principles and much more—for lowering blood pressure naturally If you have high blood pressure, you're not alone: nearly a third of adult Americans have been diagnosed with hypertension, and another quarter are well on their way. Yet a whopping 56 percent of diagnosed patients do not have it under control. The good news? Hypertension is easily treatable (and preventable), and you can take action today to bring your blood pressure down in just four weeks—without the potential dangers and side effects of prescription medications. In Blood Pressure Down, Janet Bond Brill distills what she's learned over decades of helping her patients lower their blood pressure into a ten-step lifestyle plan that's manageable for anyone. You'll: • harness the power of blood pressure power foods like bananas, spinach, and yogurt • start a simple regimen of exercise and stress reduction • stay on track with checklists, meal plans, and more than fifty simple recipes Easy, effective, safe—and delicious—Blood Pressure Down is the encouraging resource that empowers you, or your loved ones, to lower your blood pressure and live a longer, heart-healthy life.

Many of the nearly 70 million Americans with hypertension (high blood pressure) would like to bring it under control through lifestyle changes such as losing weight, cutting back on salt, exercising, or reducing stress. But, like it or not, most will require medication to get their blood pressure where it needs to be. The good news is that we have many excellent blood pressure medications which, when prescribed wisely, can control hypertension in almost everyone. The bad news is that, despite good intentions, doctors are placing millions of people who have hypertension on medications, drug combinations, or doses that are wrong for them, with staggering consequences that include uncontrolled hypertension, higher risk for stroke and heart attack, avoidable side effects, and billions of wasted health care dollars. Here, Dr. Mann, a nationally recognized hypertension specialist, identifies the drugs most likely to have side effects, and those that can be used in their place. He describes the shortcomings of some of the new drugs, while also introducing readers to some excellent old drugs that are woefully underused as a result of the publicity blitz surrounding the new, expensive ones. He emphasizes the importance of matching the medication and dosage to the individual who will be taking them, and presents the overlooked clues that can tell us who should be on which drug (even an excellent drug can be the wrong one if it is given to the wrong person or in the wrong dose). Hypertension and You is directed at the more than 50 million Americans (including a majority of people over the age of 60) who are taking blood pressure medication. Many patients suspect they might be on the wrong medication, but don’t know enough to be sure. This book shows how medications can be prescribed more wisely to achieve better results and gives patients the knowledge they need to capably discuss their medications with their health care providers. Hypertension and You provides many ideas and approaches that will be new to readers, and also to many physicians, and which no other book offers. It’s the first book to make the case that something is terribly wrong with how doctors are prescribing drugs for this condition. It provides readers with better knowledge of the available medications, empowering them to work with their physician to get onto the medications that are right for them.

The safe and trusted way to prevent and reverse heart disease Written in plain English and packed with tons of authoritative advice, Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies includes the most up-to-date information on coronary heart disease and its treatment. This resource covers new ways to diagnose and treat both short- and long-term complications of heart disease, the latest medications, updated diet and exercise plans, the lowdown on recognizing the risk factors and warning signs of a heart attack, determining if you have heart disease, distinguishing between angina, heart attack, and stroke, and much more. It is projected that by the year 2020, heart disease will be the leading cause of death throughout the world. As the magnitude of cardiovascular diseases continue to accelerate globally, the pressing need for increased awareness and a stronger, more focused national and international response has become more important than ever. Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies tackles this vital subject with compassion and authority, outlining the steps you can take to help ensure you don't become just another statistic. Helps you find the right doctor and handle a managed care plan Covers all thirteen types of heart disease and discusses the key differences that may determine their progression and treatment Illustrates how simple changes in diet may be enough to prevent heart disease Shows how you can reverse some of the effects of heart disease through exercise If you're suffering from or are at risk of heart disease—or love someone who is—Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies empowers you to take control of heart health and get on a path to a longer, healthier life.

This book by the National Institutes of Health (Publication 06-4082) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides information and effective ways to work with your diet because what you choose to eat affects your chances of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension (the medical term). Recent studies show that blood pressure can be lowered by following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan-and by eating less salt, also called sodium. While each step alone lowers blood pressure, the combination of the eating plan and a reduced sodium intake gives the biggest benefit and may help prevent the development of high blood pressure. This book, based on the DASH research findings, tells how to follow the DASH eating plan and reduce the amount of sodium you consume. It offers tips on how to start and stay on the eating plan, as well as a week of menus and some recipes. The menus and recipes are given for two levels of daily sodium consumption-2,300 and 1,500 milligrams per day. Twenty-three hundred milligrams is the highest level considered acceptable by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. It is also the highest amount recommended for healthy Americans by the 2005 "U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans." The 1,500 milligram level can lower blood pressure further and more recently is the amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine as an adequate intake level and one that most people should try to achieve. The lower your salt intake is, the lower your blood pressure. Studies have found that the DASH menus containing 2,300 milligrams of sodium can lower blood pressure and that an even lower level of sodium, 1,500 milligrams, can further reduce blood pressure. All the menus are lower in sodium than what adults in the United States currently eat-about 4,200 milligrams per day in men and 3,300 milligrams per day in women. Those with high blood pressure and prehypertension may benefit especially from following the DASH eating plan and reducing their sodium intake.

The latest ways to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease Need to get your cholesterol in check? You’ll find the latest information about cholesterol, including treatments, drug information, and dietary advice, in Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies, 2nd Edition, an easy-to-understand guide to cholesterol control. You’ll learn how to lower your numbers and maintain healthy cholesterol levels. You’ll also find out how to eat and exercise properly, use vitamins and supplements, and quit unhealthy habits. You’ll find out cholesterol’s positive functions and why too much can be a bad thing. You can also assess your cholesterol risk by taking your age, sex, ethnicity, and family history into consideration. Find out what you need to ask your doctor about stress tests, ECBT, and angiograms to check for plaque buildup. Design a cholesterol-crushing diet and understand which foods can help you lower your numbers. Find out how smoking, alcohol, exercise, excess weight, supplements, and prescription medications affect your cholesterol levels. Find out how to: Assess your cholesterol risk Understand the benefits and risks associated with cholesterol Design and adhere to a cholesterol-lowering diet Avoid dangerous drugs Reduce your risk of heart attack Choose fats and fibers correctly Check for plaque buildup Complete with lists of ten important cholesterol websites, ten nutrition websites, ten cholesterol myths, ten landmarks in cholesterol history, ten foods that raise your cholesterol, and ten foods that lower your cholesterol, Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies, 2nd Edition will help keep your cholesterol levels under control for good!

If you are over the age of 30 and can’t remember when you last had your blood pressure checked, you could be one of the 7 to 10 million people in this country who has high blood pressure. Doctors usually use the term ‘hypertension’ to describe this condition which may cause no symptoms at all for many years, but could eventually lead to serious complications, including heart disease and strokes. The most important message on hypertension is that, unless you have your blood pressure checked, you may not know that you have hypertension until it has done you harm.

How to play a vital role in your own health and longevity: A handbook from“one of the most reliable, respected health resources that Americans have” (Publishers Weekly). This easy-to-use guide will help you understand the many issues related to high blood pressure and assist you in preventing it, managing it, and making essential treatment decisions. · Learn which single factor you can do the most about when it comes to influencing your blood pressure. This one step may be all it takes to lower your blood pressure and keep it under control. · How losing as little as 10 pounds may reduce your blood pressure to a healthier level—includes practical help for maintaining a healthier weight. · Discover a great alternative that may lower your blood pressure just about as much as medications—without the expense of prescriptions. · Why your blood pressure goes down if you make your heart stronger—and dozens of tips to realize this goal. · How to manage your sodium intake. · Information about medications for when changes in lifestyle aren't enough and more