Talking on phone raises blood pressure
18 May Times of India
Talking on the mobile phone can significantly increase your blood
pressure.Chanting " Om" and a session of yoga on the other hand calms
nerves and bring down BP. New research has identified the culprits that
raise blood pressure mobile phones and salt consumption. Studies have
found that talking on mobile phones causes a significant rise in blood
pressure. During a phone call, BP readings jumped significantly from
121/77 to 129/82.
Systolic blood pressure rise was less drastic in patients who were
used to participating in more than 30 phone calls per day.
Scientists say "people who make more than 30 calls per day may feel
more reassured if the mobile phone is activated since they are not
running the risk of missing an opportunity." A separate study shows that
hypertensive individuals actually prefer more salt in their food than do
normotensive individuals. The study of 44 adults aged 73.5 years was
conducted by a team at Sao Paolo University in Brazil. Initially,
participants were given three pieces of bread with varying amounts of
salt on each.
In this tasting, 68% of hypertensive and 31% of normotensive patients
(those with normal blood pressure levels) preferred the bread with the
highest concentration of salt. Fifteen days later, the patients
underwent an identical taste test the only difference being that other
seasonings had been added to the salted bread. In that case, only 14% of
hypertensive and none of normotensive patients preferred the bread with
the highest salt content. Not only did this show that hypertensive
patients prefer a higher salt content, but that, across the board, use
of other seasonings diminished the preference for salt.
Chanting "Om" and yoga on the other hand has been found to calm the
mind and works out the body. T has been found to significantly lower
blood pressure. A 24-week study, conducted by Debbie Cohen from the
University of Pennsylvania showed that people who practiced yoga 2 - 3
times per week saw their BP decrease significantly an average of three
points for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, from 133/80 to
130/77. Participants who only followed a controlled diet and did not
practice yoga saw only a decrease of one point, from 134/83 to 132/82.
How healthy your doctor is also makes a huge difference to your BP.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that a primary care
physician's (PCP) healthy lifestyle behaviors may be linked to his or
her recommendations for hypertension prevention. The study looked at
what percentage of physicians recommended one of six key healthy
lifestyle recommendations for hypertension prevention: consume a healthy
diet (89.4%); reduced salt intake (89.9%); attain or maintain a healthy
weight (90.3%); limit alcohol intake (69.4%); be physically active
(95.1%); and stop smoking (90.4%). Fifty-six percent of practitioners
recommended all six healthy habits. Of note, the probability of
recommending all six lifestyle behaviors increased when PCPs engaged in
regular physical activity or consumed the recommended amount of produce
(five or more cups per day) for four or more days each week showing that
a PCP's own behavior was associated with clinical recommendations to
prevent hypertension for their adult patients.
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