Showing posts with label Hypertension. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hypertension. Show all posts

Monday, July 19, 2010

Tests For Pulmonary Hypertension

In my previous article I explained the signs and symptoms that you might have which reflects the status of your hypertension of pulmonary origin. They are used for the purpose of primary diagnosis for this disorder.
Now further evaluation of your disease requires confirmatory tests. These will probably be tests conducted for ruling out the probability of related but different disorders. Therefore for this purpose you would have to undergo a series of such tests.

So what are these tests and why should I have them performed on me?
Online pharmacy is here to help you understand the significance of these tests. Although in many cases the disease is diagnosed but provisionally in patients, so it is likely to have these following be performed on you.
These general tests procedures include the following:
• Pulmonary function tests to check your pulmonary status
• Blood tests to rule out the presence of diseases such as AIDS/HIV, autoimmune diseases, and liver disease.
• Electrocardiography (ECG) to check out related abnormality of cardiopulmonary origin
• Arterial blood gas measurements
• X-rays of the chest that might be followed by a high-resolution CT scanning. The scan is performed when there is suspected interstitial lung disease.
• Ventilation-perfusion or V/Q scanning that is to exclude the chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.
• Lung tissue biopsy is indicated only when you are suspected to have an underlying interstitial lung disease otherwise it is not much regarded in pulmonary hypertension.
• A point to note here is that if a high intrapulmonary blood pressure, there is a risk of bleeding in simplest of lung biopsy.

Which procedure is the most specific other than the above mentioned tests?
For the diagnosis of pulmonary artery hypertension you must know one thing that there are always two associated conditions with this problem. They are namely Pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) that should be less than 15 mm Hg (2000 Pa) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) which must be greater than 3 Wood units (240 dyn•s•cm-5 or 2.4 mN•s•cm-5). If these two conditions are found to as mentioned above then you are a pulmonary hypertension patient.

Echocardiography can be used to estimate the pressure of the pulmonary artery but there is a more definite assessment with the Swan-Ganz catheter. This is because the PAOP and PVR cannot be measured directly with echocardiography. Thus the diagnosis of PAH requires a right-sided cardiac catheterization. This procedure uses a Swan-Ganz catheter that can also measure the cardiac output, which is a far more important tool in measuring disease severity than the pulmonary arterial pressure.
As the Normal pulmonary arterial pressure has a mean value of 12-16 mm Hg (1600-2100 Pa) and that too in a person at sea level. But if you have Pulmonary hypertension your mean pulmonary artery pressure will exceeds 25 mm Hg (3300 Pa) at rest or 30 mm Hg (4000 Pa) with exercise.

Often reported on the echocardiogram reports Mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) is generally confused with the systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP). So when you get your echocardiogram report you should be aware of it. A systolic pressure of 40 mm Hg typically implies a mean pressure more than 25 mm Hg that is roughly, mPAP = 0.61•sPAP + 2. So don' forget to check these out in your reports.
What tests are there which indicates the improvement of my disease?

The chances of improving clinically can be checked by the simple walk test known as the "six-minute walk test." If you are to be checked for stability and improvement in your disease this measurement will correlate with better survival. In this test you would have to walk for 6 minutes and the distance you walk will indicate and this assess the relation between distance walked during the six-minute walk test and exercise capacity determined by your maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), now known as B-type natriuretic peptide or GC-B, is a 32 amino acid polypeptide which secreted by your heart ventricles in response to excessive stretching of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes). So it can be used to follow the progress of patients with pulmonary hypertension.


Though this disease is rare and you might not know about it until the symptoms surface out with much force it still treatable and depends on your will power as is the case in all diseases. Watch out for more on pulmonary hypertension at pharmacy online.

Article Source: Ezine Articles

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Lower Blood Pressure Through Healthy Foods

High blood pressure is definitely a serious and tricky topic. It is a type disease that doesn't show any signs or symptom in the early stages. It is often referred to as a silent killer since it leads to life threatening diseases before you know it. A wide variety of effects from having a high blood pressure ranging from occasional headaches and neck pains to strokes, kidney and heart failure, and paralysis can be very alarming especially if it doesn't only affect adults but also teenagers with known history of blood pressure in their family. Good to know that there are safe ways of lowering blood hypertension for those who are already suffering from it and at the same time preventing members of the family from acquiring it.

Just by making simple modifications to your daily meals and shopping can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. Since we live in a modern world of processed foods and instants ready to eat meals, it would be very helpful to check carefully on the food labels so that you will be able to prioritize foods that are low in sugar, fat and salt.

Some of the foods that are strongly suggested are the following: Potassium rich foods such as papaya, guava, bananas, fresh figs, cantaloupes, kiwi, prunes, oranges, strawberries, and raspberries. Celery is considered the best food for strength since it contains a unique type of oil that regulates blood flow without any side effects. Some vegetables rich in potassium and fiber include spinach, avocado, green beans, carrots, tomato, green peas, broccoli, beets, baked potato, lentils, yam and Lima beans. Garlic is very effective in lowering blood level quickly. Spinach is high in fiber content which reduces unwanted fats from the blood stream. In addition, it helps build good physique. Foods that are rich in glucose are very good in lowering blood pressure and high amount can be found in bananas and red grapes. Nutrients found in them are very capable of acting against fats accumulating in the vascular wall and regulate blood flow.

Fish food as an alternative to meat food is advised especially for patients experiencing higher effects of high blood pressure. Fish foods such as salmon are rich in omega 3 which is good for the heart. Tofu is also a good alternative for meats since it helps you meet your daily protein requirements.

In preparing your meal, it is better to prioritize food items that are low in cholesterol, saturated fats and total fats. It will be effective if we include whole grains, low fat dairy products, lean proteins and a plenty of fruits and green vegetables. Always consider the food pyramid and always check labels for processed foods. Take food items which are low in food calories. Of course aside from eating foods that lower blood pressure, you need to change your daily routine and add exercise to your daily habit. All these will effectively and safely reduce the risk of diseases related to high blood pressure.