Noise Pollution Increases Heart Disease Risk
By Ann-Marie Waters, Associate Editor.
According to the ‘World Health Organisation’ any form of unwelcome sound is noise pollution. Until recently the damaging effects of noise pollution on one’s health was unclear but new data concludes that irritating noise leads to high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline that can result in hypertension – increasing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and immune deficiencies.
The biggest offenders are air and road traffic noise, and loud music, but other irritating and prolonged noise such as a barking dog or constant banging from D.I.Y fanatics next door can increase one’s stress levels and lead to a raised blood pressure.
For instance – John Stewert, who went on to set up the ‘National Noise Pressure Group’ in the United Kingdom, was seriously affected by noise pollution when a landing aircraft flight path at Heathrow Airport, London was changed – resulting in planes flying over his apartment every 90 seconds. His sleep became interrupted and he developed heart palpitations. After visiting his doctor and finding that his blood pressure was too high, and his GP suggesting that he needed to take serious and immediate action to decrease his stress levels – he sold his house and moved to a quieter area, and subsequently his blood pressure gradually returned to normal.
Additionally, a study carried out by Cornell University in New York found that employees in an open-plan office exposed to constant noise from telephones, machinery, and chitter-chatter contained higher levels of adrenaline in their urine than employees working at a quieter self-contained work station.
What Constitutes Noise Pollution?
Many experts agree that any type of noise that is causing you to feel irritated and stressed over a prolonged period is damaging to your health. The worst scenario being: you are in a position where you cannot change the offending circumstances, and feeling trapped and helpless.
Moreover – According to Deepak Prasher Professor of Audiology (University College London), some people are unaware of the changing physiological effects taking place as they become habituated to noise over time. Women who judge themselves to be particularly sensitive to noise have an 80% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.
The Psychological Pain of a Stroke
By Ann-Marie Waters, Associate Editor.
Until recently, little was understood regarding the psychological effects of suffering a stroke. According to a recent study, the first of it’s kind, carried out by Newcastle and Durham Universities from The United Kingdom, the psychological side-effects are so devastating that they are considered to be as traumatic as those that soldiers have suffered in war-torn zones, commonly know as ‘post traumatic stress disorder’.
The study which was funded by the Clark Lister Brain Haemorrhage Foundation concluded that post-traumatic stress disorder in stroke sufferers was more prevalent in people who had suffered a ‘subarachnoid haemorrhage’ – a life threatening condition where blood seeps from arteries that run beneath the arachnoid membrane of the brain.
Approximately 8.000 people a year in the UK have a subarachnoid haemorrhage, and it is more likely to affect middle-age people; women being more susceptible than men. This type of stroke is particularly devastating; as fifty per cent of people struck down with it will be left either seriously incapacitated or will die.
One sufferer describing his experience said “It was like being struck by a bus”, and Professor/Neurosurgeon David Mendelow from Newcastle University refers to this type of stroke as a ‘brain attack’. He is delighted that the study has given more insight into a sufferers need for more psychological help in coping with acute and distressing symptoms, as well as support for their carers.
If you have suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage and are concerned regarding your eligibility to drive, you can check out the possible implications on the NHS website by clicking on the ‘complications’ section.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring provides early diagnosis of heart disease
High blood pressure is not known as the silent killer for nothing, as although it is a primary cause of heart disease, heart attack and stroke, it does not usually produce any symptoms that are easy to spot with the naked eye. for more information about what constitutes high blood pressure readings please refer to this related article on blood pressure terminology.
Historically, high blood pressure has been initially diagnosed in people aged in their late forties, early fifties or sixties. However due to the pressure of modern living, stress, lack of exercise and diets that are high in saturated fat, the age at which raised blood pressure starts to appear has been falling steadily.
In some cases the problem is so severe that young people who are addicted to high fat fast food diets, TV and video games from an early age, have been developing high blood pressure in their twenties and thirties.
If you are concerned about your heart health then you may wish to start monitoring your blood pressure at home on a regular basis, in consultation with your doctor.
This is very important as you should never try to interpret the results yourself, or become your own ‘physician’.
There are several advantages to the concept of home blood pressure monitoring:
- Blood pressure varies naturally throughout the day
- Most people don’t visit their doctor just to get their blood pressure checked
- When you do visit the doctor’s office to have your blood pressure checked it is a one-off reading, a snapshot in time
- The act of visiting the doctor in itself can adversely affect your actual blood pressure reading
- Home blood pressure monitoring equipment has improved greatly in recent years
- Home monitoring allows you to take multiple readings each day to give a more accurate result in a relaxed environment
- Home monitoring allows you to spot an early rising trend in your BP before it becomes a severe problem
- If you identify a rising BP over several months you can take remedial action in conjunction with your doctor
How often should you take blood pressure readings?
There is no fixed rule about this, but you may consider taking two or three readings per day. You should take your blood pressure readings at the same time each day, and keep a daily log of the results. This is important to identify long term trends and will help your doctor to understand more about your condition should you identify a potential problem.
What type of blood pressure monitor should I buy?
We prefer the type of blood pressure monitor that has a cuff that attaches to the upper part of the arm, inflates itself automatically, and quickly shows the result on a digital display.
There are so many different varieties of this type of consumer blood pressure monitors available that the choice can be overwhelming. Our recommendation is that you use an Omron automatic blood pressure monitor. This company has been around for many years and has a solid reputation for producing accurate and reliable instruments. The automatic inflation type makes the process very simple and easy to use.
Garlic and Onions can reduce Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
By Ann-Marie Waters, Associate Editor.
The evidence that garlic and onions – considered to be two of the most highly pungent vegetables goes back for centuries. In Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, both vegetables were used to treat heart disease. Clay models of garlic bulbs were found in an Egyptian tomb dated from 3750 BC!
Recent scientific studies show that preparations based on garlic and onion juice help to reduce blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
For instance – In a study carried out by Kempaiah & Srinivasan (2004) a group of rats were fed a saturated fat diet i.e. lipids containing three fatty acids which are proven to increase atherosclerosis risk.
Kempaiah & Srinivasan found that by introducing a regular addition of garlic and onion to the diet the increased levels of blood triglycerides in the rats decreased.
A diet rich in garlic helps to reduce the bad cholesterol known as LDL, but at the same time increases the good cholesterol known as HDL. Its powerful key ingredient – ‘allicin’ posesses anti-inflammatory properties that lower blood pressure and prevent bloods clots from forming, thus decreasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The health properties in onions are equally beneficial in terms of increasing and decreasing good and bad cholesterol respectively. They also contain a compound known as ‘quercetin’ that is extremely powerful in the treatment and prevention of cancer.
How should I eat garlic and onion to maximise their benefits?
It is raw (uncooked) onion and garlic which contains the most powerful medicinal properties; some of which are destroyed in cooking, so you would be best trying to introduce them to your diet in their natural state. Some people couldn’t imagine eating these wonderful bulbs uncooked, but if you consider the possibility that if they had been invented by man – then you would probably be buying them as prescription drugs today!
I think that the best way to eat garlic raw is to add slices of it to a salad or a ready cooked dish such as a stir-fry. If you don’t like the taste of raw garlic – you can always chop it to pill size pieces and swallow it with a glass of water. Add sliced raw onions to your salad and sandwiches. You will be surprised how easy it is.
Note: 1 clove (not bulb!) of raw garlic per day is sufficient, and should not be consumed in large quantities.