What is high blood pressure?

What is HBP?

HBP

HBP, or High Blood Pressure, is a chronic health condition characterized by elevated blood pressure levels. It is also known as hypertension. There are two types of HBP: primary (essential hypertension) and secondary hypertension. Primary hypertension is usually a result of genetic factors and develops gradually over time. Secondary hypertension is linked to other health conditions.

How can you determine if you have hypertension?

The best way to identify if you have hypertension is by regularly checking your blood pressure. This can be done in a healthcare provider's office or at home. Multiple readings showing high blood pressure levels confirm the diagnosis.

How do you check your blood pressure?

If you are using a manual blood pressure machine cuff, you will also need a stereoscope. However, if you are using an electronic blood pressure machine, a stereoscope is not required.

Here is the process of checking your blood pressure: Wrap the blood pressure machine cuff around the upper arm. Use your right hand to pump air into the machine until it reaches the optimum level. Then, release the air slowly by undoing the pin close to the rubber tube with your right hand. As the air releases, the blood pressure starts to drop.

The blood pressure measurement when the blood contracts against the artery wall is called systolic. If you are using a manual blood pressure machine, you can hear the systolic beats with a stereoscope. However, an electronic blood pressure machine automatically reads both systolic and diastolic. The second reading you hear is the diastolic pressure, which is when the blood is in a resting phase after contraction.

What are the symptoms of hypertension?

Some symptoms associated with hypertension include severe headaches, chest pain (feeling like someone is stepping on your chest), shortness of breath, and dizziness. It's important to note that experiencing these symptoms does not automatically mean you have high blood pressure. However, when these symptoms are present, it is highly recommended to check your blood pressure.

What are the different categories of blood pressure readings?

The following categories outline blood pressure readings and corresponding modification plans:

1. Normal blood pressure: less than 120 (systolic) and less than 80 (diastolic).

 

2. Pre-hypertension: 130/90. Engage in lifestyle modification programs, such as fast walking for 60 minutes a day.

 

3. High blood pressure: 140/90. For older individuals, these readings may be considered normal given their age. However, it is still beneficial to engage in physical activity like power walking to lower blood pressure and improve overall fitness.

 

4. High blood pressure: 150/90. Similar to pre-hypertension, lifestyle modification programs should be pursued. If these measures do not effectively lower blood pressure, medical support should be sought.

It is important to consider other potential risk factors, such as socioeconomic status, medical conditions, or genetic heart conditions, and address them accordingly.

Blood pressure readings that indicate immediate medical attention are as follows:

- 160/90: High blood pressure

- 170/90: High blood pressure

- 180/90: High blood pressure

- 190/90: High blood pressure, and so on.

Treatment.

If your blood pressure is consistently at 160/90, it is advisable to see a doctor for prescription medication. Once your blood pressure is stabilized, engage in lifestyle programs such as exercise (such as fast walking), maintain a healthy diet, and manage any other factors that can trigger high blood pressure.

Take home points:

When blood pressure is consistently high, the heart has to work harder to distribute oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. This places individuals at a higher risk for heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure. Therefore, it is crucial to manage and treat high blood pressure effectively. pressure effectively.

Cooking healthy rice cake & cookies

 The food brings family together. It also rejuvenate family unity, love and care when converting sweat into food. Following are simply recipes for cooking rice cake and cookies,

#1: Cooking rice cake

Requirements 

1. Two (2) cups of any rice 
2. Four cups of milk
3. One & half (1/2)  tablespoon salt
4. Two (2) boiled eggs 
5. Four (4) tablespoon margarine 
6. Four (4) tablespoon sugar
7. Five (5) ripe bananas or 1 ripe pawpaw

How to prepare them.

Step 1. Bring milk and salt to a boil.

Staple 2. Pour rice to boil until it's done.

Step 3. Cut ripe bananas or pawpaw into slices pieces.

Step4. Mix the rice with bananas or pawpaw, eggs, sugar and margarine. Ensure mixing it well done.

Step 5. Spread some margarine or oil on the tray.

Step 6. Spread the mixed rice on the tray and ensure it's done well.

Step 7. Bake the rice for about 4o minute until it's light brown.

Serve with juice or water.

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Enjoy the food for good health.

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#2: Cooking cookies 

Requirements 

1. Two (2) cups of flour
2. Six (6) tablespoon oil
3. One (1) egg
4. One (1) cup milk
5. Oil for deep-frying
6. Margarine 

How to prepare it

Step 1. Clean and dry the tablet

Step 2.pour flower, oil, salt and egg on the cleaned and prepared table.

Step 3. Mix them all well until it's done well.

Step 4. Add plenty of milk, so that the dough is not too soft.

Step 5. Take some dough and roll to thin.

Step 6. Cut small squares, deep-fry them into the boiling oil. You can decide the shapes and sizes that best suit your menu. 

Step 7. Add some sugar on top of the cookies.

Step 8. Serve it with milk, milk, juice or cool water.

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Enjoy the food for good health.

Healthy steam cooking

Drum or pot steam cooking is traditional practice. It has natural food taste for good health.

Requirements 

Kaukau, pumpkin, taro, onion, corn, peanuts, green, carrots, coconut's milk, or water, bananas leaves, slice of meats, peppers, any vegetables of choice like beans.

Get read big pot or drum with lid, and prepare dry firewood and get the gas lighter.

How to prepare it:

Step 1. Prepare a fireplace.

Step 2. Prepare all the vegetables, cut the meats, kaukau, taro, banana, greens, carrots etc.

Step 3.  Wash all the vegetables and some stones.

Step 4. Place all the cleaned stones on the bottom of the pot or drum.

Step 5. Pour some water high as the stone.

Step 6.  Cover the stones with bananas leaves. Ensure it's all the spaces are well covered.

Step 7. Put all the mix foods inside. You can add peppers or anything that you think that bring the food to best taste.

Step 8. Make fire and place the pot or drum on the fire. 

Step 9. Cook the food until it's done.

Step 10. Serve the food

Food brings happiness in the family.

Enjoy the food for good health.

Cooking healthy vegetables in bamboo tube

The vegetables cooked in the bamboo tube is one of the decade cooking practices. This style of cooking is still practised in many parts of Papua New Guinea. It's an outdoor activity.

Requirements 

Kaukau, pumpkin, onion, corn,peanut11agreen, carrots, coconut's milk, or water, bananas leaves, a slice of meats, peppers, any vegetables of choice like beans and bamboo tubes, and prepare dry firewood and get the gaslighter.

How to prepare it:

1. Prepare a fireplace. 
2. Prepare all the vegetables, cut the meats into pieces and cut some bamboo into tubes.
3. Bring them to water and wash them.
4. Add peppers or spices at your wish. Mix all the vegetables until it's done.
5. Fill all the mixed vegetables into the bamboo tubes. Close the bamboo tubes with bananas leaves of any leaves that you think it's all okay.
6. fill up the fireplace with firewood and make a fire.
7. Put the bamboo tubes containing vegetables on the open fire. 
8. Watch the stream coming out from the opening end of the tube which you have closed with leaves until the vegetables are soft.
9. Remove the leaves and pour the vegetables on the plate. Add salt if you like.
10. Serve the dish now.

My mother's best pork meat cooking recipe, love it my childhood days.

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Enjoy the food for good health.

How to reduce high cholesterol level

Cholesterol build-up narrowing blood vessel.

The presence of high cholesterol levels is a health risk. If no actions are taken to lower the high cholesterol level, it can lead to other medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke that can lead to fatal.

Cholesterol build-up narrowing the blood vessel thus obstructing the blood to flow
freely. 

The clients with high cholesterol level experience various symptoms. There are many other symptoms, but one that stands out in my clinical work is 'headaches'. Many other health conditions can cause headaches, but two questions that can lead clinicians to do further medical investigation are: How was your protein food intake in the last few days? Or do you have a family history of cholesterol? If yes to one of these questions, then, it may interest the medical clinicians for further medical investigation.

Accutrend Plus 

Cholesterol Machine.

One of the world's best cholesterol portable testing machines available on market is Accutrend Plus Cholesterol Meter. This machine does an amazing job within 180 seconds (3 minutes) to give a perfect result. The laboratory test result waiting time will kill you, but this piece of machine is sure to cease the result waiting for stress.

I have used this many times and found it to be very reliable.  This piece of machine is cost-effective medical equipment for both clinicians and clients.

The operation of this machine do not require training, it's like a blood sugar testing machine, so any family can have it at home. Please follow the link to order one for your family.

Healthy tips to reduce high cholesterol levels.

(1). Control food choice on the shopping list.

The number one effective prevention tip is controlling the food choice on the shopping list. This means, stop going to the shop with an open book. The shopping list must be finalized at home so that you go with a closed shopping list.

When you have a controlled shopping list means your food budget expenditure is also controlled. So, going to the shop with planned shopping money.

The idea of controlling food choices on a shopping list must communicate to the family. This new norm practice must be supported by the entire family. This provides a good opportunity for family education on cholesterol.
So, the biggest challenge is controlling the shopping; going to the shop with fix budget; temptation on the shopping shelves; gaining family support and living a new norm lifestyle.

If one can overcome these temptations, surely, you and the family will win the battle against cholesterol.

The other cholesterol reduction strategy becomes ineffective if there is no control over the intake of cholesterol food and plenty of cholesterol foodstuffs at home.

(2). Engaging in physical exercise.

There is no recommended exercise for clients with high cholesterol levels. Any physical exercise that suits your perfection can help work out the high cholesterol level.

Example: Fast walking down the road for 60 minutes for the next few days is sure to reduce the high cholesterol level.

It is highly recommended that before engaging in exercise, check your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is at the management level, (ask your doctor), then, you can start engaging in exercise.

Engagement in any exercise therapy won't go wrong. It will help, however, you need to commit yourself to engage in doing the physical exercise.

All health care workers will recommend physical exercise as it burnout high cholesterol level very fast but at the same time reduce cholesterol food intake. Exercise therapy also shapes up body weight, thus improving the quality of life.

Personal clinical experience.

"I ate lots of protein foods like fried eggs, chicken meats, pork (etc.) over the week".

" I was sitting in my workstation, I felt headaches on both rights of my foreheads".

" I never had such experience before, so, I prescribe myself a test".

"What do I accept"?

" The result was 7.5". "A very high result".

Action taken.
"That afternoon, I engage in 60 minutes fast walk down the road".

" I continue fast walk for 2 days, and on 3rd did review the test".

"What do I accept"?

"The result was astonishing one, it was 3.5".

(3). Prescription medicine is highly recommended if the cholesterol level is.

·         Not improving on exercise.

·         Not improving on food control - cut out.

·         High cholesterol is associated with high blood pressure or other medical conditions.

 IMPORTANT POINT.

·         If you have high blood pressure, stabilize it with prescription medicine, and also get medical advice from your doctor.

·         Lifestyle and nutrition modification treatment therapy works well for high cholesterol.

·         Family support in cholesterol control at home through shopping choices and reduce or stop having high cholesterol base foodstuffs at home. This provides an educational opportunity for the entire family to learn about cholesterol.