Do blood pressure cuffs come in different sizes?
Yes. Children and adults with smaller or larger than average-sized arms may need special-sized cuffs. These are available in some pharmacies and from medical supply companies. They may also be ordered directly from companies that sell blood pressure cuffs. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for help. ...
- How can I reduce my chance of getting diabetes?
You can do a lot to lower your chances of getting diabetes. Exercising regularly, at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, reducing fat and calorie intake, and losing weight if you are overweight can help reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lowering blood pressure and cholesterol le ...
- What is pre-diabetes and how is it different from diabetes?
Pre-diabetes is the state that occurs when a person's blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Other names for pre-diabetes are "impaired glucose tolerance" and "impaired fasting glucose." Studies show that most people with pre-diabetes ...
- What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures of the hip, spine, and wrist. Men as well as women are affected by osteoporosis, a disease that can be prevented an ...
- How can I prevent high blood pressure or at least reduce my risk?
You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle. These steps include: Losing weight, if necessary, and maintaining a healthy weight. Being physically active for 30 minutes each day. Following a healthy eating plan like DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hyper ...
- Can type 2 diabetes be prevented by eating foods low on the glycemic index?
Foods high on the glycemic index can cause glucose levels to spike upward very fast, but eating low glycemic index foods do not prevent type 2 diabetes. High blood glucose levels are just an indicator of the presence of diabetes, not the root cause. The disease is caused by the body's resistance ...
- How can I reduce my risk of heart disease?
Coronary heart disease (CHD occurs when plaque builds up in blood vessels, blocks or slows blood flow and flow of oxygen to the heart. Heart disease affects both men and women. It may be hereditary or develop over a period of years. Being overweight, having diabetes, or suffering from high bloo ...
- What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is a rather unique condition because, unlike most diseases, it has no identifying symptoms. For this reason, blood pressure is commonly referred to as “the silent killer. High blood pressure can cause symptoms through its effect on other organ systems. For example, high ...
- What can I do to prevent osteoporosis?
Perform weight-bearing exercise like walking, dancing, running Get adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. Eating high-calcium foods (milk, cheese, yogurt, saltwater fish, liver) helps strengthen bones. Dairy products are the primary source of vitamin D in the American diet, but the body can ...
- What causes high blood pressure?
In 90 to 95 percent of high blood pressure cases, the cause is unknown. In fact, you can have high blood pressure for years without knowing it. That's why it is called "the silent killer.” When the cause is unknown, you have what is called "essential" or "primary hypertension." Factors th ...
- What causes osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is caused by a lack of bone strength or bone density. As you age, your bones get thinner naturally. But some things can make you more likely to have the severe bone thinning of osteoporosis. These things are called risk factors. Some risk factors you can change. Others you can't ch ...
- What factors increase my risk of getting diabetes?
Although researchers don't fully understand why some persons get diabetes and others don't, it is clear that certain factors increase your risk. You are at risk for having diabetes if: Your mother, father, sister, or brother has diabetes; You are African American, Hispanic American/Latino, Ame ...
- What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease (coronary artery disease or CAD) is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood. CAD is the most common type of heart disease. It's the leading cause of death in the United States for both men a ...
- What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs. The term blood pressure generally refers to arterial pressure, the pressure in the larger arteries; arteries being the blood vessels which take blood ...
- What kinds of exercises are good for my heart?
It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you choose; just find an activity you like to do regularly. The best types of exercise are those that involve your whole body, such as walking, cycling, jogging, biking, cross-country skiing or swimming. These are called cardio exercises, short for ...
- Are there any benefits to eating foods based on glycemic index?
Ranking and eating foods according to their glycemic index has a number of problems. First, a person’s blood glucose (sugar) response to eating a food can vary from day to day and also according to how the food was prepared and which foods were eaten in the same meal. Even something as sim ...
- What is glycemic index?
Glycemic index (GI) is a scale from 1 to 100 that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how quickly they raise blood glucose levels compared to a standard food. The "standard food" is glucose (100) or white bread. All foods that contain carbohydrates, such as starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, peas ...
- If I exercise, will I prevent heart disease?
Physical inactivity, along with cigarette smoking, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, is one of the major risk factors which you can control to prevent heart disease. There is no guarantee that you won't get heart disease, but you'll reduce your chances if you avoid the risk factors ...
- Will eating sugar cause diabetes?
This is probably the most common misconception about diabetes. If you have diabetes, you do need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake to properly manage your blood sugar level. A registered dietitian can help. If you do not have diabetes, a diet high in sugar alone will not cause diabetes ...
- Is heart disease caused by eating too many high-cholesterol foods and fat from animal foods?
Cholesterol found in seafood and other foods such as eggs has very little effect on blood cholesterol in most people. Saturated fats and trans fatty acids are the two most important fats that raise blood cholesterol, not cholesterol in your food. Saturated fats are usually found in meat, the ski ...
