Marlborough Living Jan - Feb 2020
We've got 2020 vision as we look ahead to the new year with fitness and health tips, a wedding guide, meat free recipes, an interview with chef Michael Caines and lots of home inspiration.
We've got 2020 vision as we look ahead to the new year with fitness and health tips, a wedding guide, meat free recipes, an interview with chef Michael Caines and lots of home inspiration.
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ADVERTISING FEATURE<br />
How high is your<br />
blood pressure?<br />
By Shalbourne Private Health<br />
Care’s Dr Tom Hyde, a<br />
highly experienced<br />
general cardiologist<br />
with a specialist interest<br />
in the prevention and<br />
management of coronary<br />
artery disease...<br />
High blood pressure is pretty common.<br />
Around a third of adults in the UK have<br />
blood pressure levels that are persistently<br />
high, although many of these will be<br />
unaware of it. That’s because high blood<br />
pressure, or hypertension as it’s also<br />
known, rarely has symptoms that we<br />
notice.<br />
Yet, if left untreated, it can be serious.<br />
Persistently raised blood pressure can<br />
increase our risk of many serious health<br />
conditions, including heart disease,<br />
strokes, aneurysms, kidney disease and<br />
vascular dementia.<br />
That’s the bad news. The good news<br />
is that there are steps you can take to<br />
reduce your chances of developing<br />
high blood pressure, and that if you are<br />
diagnosed with high blood pressure, it<br />
can be treated.<br />
You can get your blood pressure checked<br />
by a health professional at your surgery<br />
or pharmacy, or you can buy a home<br />
blood pressure monitor. The British<br />
Hypertension Society has information<br />
about validated blood pressure monitors<br />
that you can buy at bihsoc.org/bpmonitors/for-home-use/.<br />
Everyone’s<br />
blood pressure fluctuates, so remember<br />
that one high reading doesn’t necessarily<br />
mean you have a problem. Anxiety<br />
about the test can itself raise your blood<br />
pressure!<br />
How can high blood pressure be<br />
prevented or lowered?<br />
If you have a family history of high blood<br />
pressure, or are of African or Caribbean<br />
origin, your risk of developing it may be<br />
higher. But these steps can help you<br />
reduce your blood pressure:<br />
• Reducing the amount of salt in<br />
your food – by cutting down on<br />
processed food and cooking with<br />
fresh or frozen ingredients, using<br />
spices and herbs to flavour instead<br />
of salt.<br />
• Cutting out smoking altogether.<br />
• Taking more exercise. A brisk walk<br />
that makes you slightly breathless<br />
but not uncomfortable, taken three<br />
or four times a week, will bring<br />
benefits.<br />
• Maintaining a healthy Body Mass<br />
Index (BMI) of between 18.5 and<br />
24.9. Go to www.nhs.uk/live-well/<br />
healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/ to<br />
check yours out.<br />
• Keeping to the guidelines of no<br />
more than 14 units of alcohol a<br />
week, with several alcohol-free<br />
days a week.<br />
• Checking with your pharmacist<br />
which over-the-counter medicines<br />
may raise your blood pressure.<br />
Some cough and cold remedies,<br />
NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and<br />
herbal remedies (especially those<br />
containing liquorice) may do so.<br />
• Sleeping well. Long-term sleep<br />
deprivation can raise blood<br />
pressure, so try to relax with a bath<br />
or easy read before bed, avoid<br />
using mobiles and PCs before<br />
sleeping and keep your bedroom as<br />
quiet and dark as you can.<br />
Shalbourne Private Health Care is<br />
proudly provided by Great Western<br />
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. To<br />
find out more call 01793 646060 or<br />
01793 646061.<br />
www.theshalbourne.co.uk<br />
www.marlboroughliving.co.uk | 69
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