CardioCurrents
News and tips for the heart-conscious

Do visits to the doctor make you anxious?
Do you suffer from white-coat hypertension—when your blood pressure level rises at your doctor’s office, resulting in a higher reading than what might be normal for you? If so, you may benefit from taking your own blood pressure at home for a more accurate reading. In a recent study, 400 hypertensive patients were assigned to two groups: One group measured their pressure at home and the other at a physician’s office. Readings were taken regularly and reported to a doctor who adjusted patients’ blood pressure medication according to accepted guidelines. After one year, 26 percent of patients in the “home” group stopped medication, compared with 11 percent of the “office” group. Experts don’t advise exclusive home management but say the study suggests self-monitoring may complement traditional care.

Hold that salt!
Do you know how much sodium you consume each day? If you’re like most Americans, you’re getting too much, says the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Healthy 19- to 50-year-olds need about 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day (about one-half teaspoon of salt). Older adults need slightly less. But many Americans are regularly consuming more than the recommended limit of 2,400 mg of sodium a day. Most of the extra salt is coming from processed and prepackaged foods. The extra amount can put some people at risk for blood pressure problems. To shake your salt habit, check labels for sodium content and make more meals from scratch.

Getting to the heart of the habit
You’d think undergoing heart bypass surgery would scare smokers into quitting, but as many as 75 percent of patients resume the habit after surgery. For these stubborn smokers, aggressive strategies work best, according to the medical journal Chest. Researchers compared two antismoking plans in 37 smokers who underwent heart surgery. Both groups were offered nicotine patches. The 20 people in the aggressive-treatment group enrolled in an additional eight-week cessation plan that included weekly education and behavior-modification counseling. While 14 of the 17 people in the conservative group resumed smoking, only three in the aggressive-treatment group did.

Did you know?

• About 65 percent of American adults—129 million people—are overweight or obese.
• The health risk posed by physical inactivity is nearly as great as those for smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
• American women consume 22 percent more calories a day than they did 30 years ago, and more than half their daily calories now come from carbohydrates like rice, bread and pasta.