We can literally breathe our way to a successful life and boost our health by learning simple breathing techniques. Awareness of our breathing patterns and muscular tension are the most powerful tools we have as individuals to control our thought patterns, our physiological state, our whole well-being. With this book, the result of ten years' work treating patients with breathing-related disorders, learn effective techniques for wellness and optimum performance.

The fourth report from the Nat. High Blood Pressure Educ. Program (NHBPEP) Working Group on Children & Adolescents. This report updates clinicians on the latest recommendations concerning the diagnosis, evaluation, & treatment of hypertension in children; recommendations are based on English-language, peer-reviewed, scientific evidence (from 1997 to 2004) & the consensus expert opinion of the NHBPEP Working Group. This report includes new data from the 1999-2000 Nat. Health & Nutrition Exam. Survey, as well as revised blood pressure tables that include the 50th, 90th, 95th, & 99th percentiles by sex, age, & height. Charts & tables.

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 purpose of the “Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7)” is to provide an evidence-based approach to the prevention and management of hypertension. The key messages of this report are: in those older than age 50, systolic blood pressure (SBP) of greater than 140 mmHg is a more important cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor than diastolic BP (DBP); beginning at 115/75 mmHg, CVD risk doubles for each increment of 20/10 mmHg; those who are normotensive at 55 years of age will have a 90 percent lifetime risk of developing hypertension; prehypertensive individuals (SBP 120–139 mmHg or DBP 80–89 mmHg) require health promoting lifestyle modifications to prevent the progressive rise in blood pressure and CVD; for uncomplicated hypertension, thiazide diuretic should be used in drug treatment for most, either alone or combined with drugs from other classes; this report delineates specific high-risk conditions, which are compelling indications for the use of other antihypertensive drug classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers); two or more antihypertensive medications will be required to achieve goal BP (less than 140/90 mmHg, or less than 130/80 mmHg for patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease); for patients whose BP is greater than 20 mmHg above the SBP goal or 10 mmHg above the DBP goal, initiation of therapy using two agents, one of which usually will be a thiazide diuretic, should be considered; regardless of therapy or care, hypertension will only be controlled if patients are motivated to stay on their treatment plan. Positive experiences, trust in the clinician, and empathy improve patient motivation and satisfaction. This report serves as a guide, and the committee continues to recognize that the responsible physician's judgment remains paramount.

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

This book sheds new light on the management of patients with borderline cardiovascular risk factors in order to prevent their progression to end organ damage. The book stimulates discussion of this poorly understood condition and lays the groundwork for developing recommendations and guidelines. While the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to full-blown diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity is well defined, there is still a lack of clear understanding and guidelines as far as patients with borderline conditions – especially when multiple – are concerned. Moreover, end-organ damage depends on several factors, including genetic factors, making it difficult to predict its extent. As such, the gradual transition from a healthy subject to one with functional hemodynamic changes, and then one with structurally asymptomatic changes and lastly to overt disease needs further investigation. In order to address these knowledge gaps, the book covers a broad variety of topics, making it a valuable tool for identifying which asymptomatic subjects could profit from being appropriately screened and at what stage. Furthermore it offers insights into better treating these patients to prevent their progression to overt disease. The book appeals to cardiologists, primary care physicians and all those healthcare professional looking to optimize the management of these complex and often undiagnosed cases.