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Show Blood Pressure: A Rising Issue By ' t ( lr I " la, ! ; t S j. . ;vv ; i -- Where's Kansas Award Debbie Stanley i nnV ; 1 I 'W f.;. MV 4 3 IS 4 sa0- Courageous lion Award Eddie Pittman Yx i 7 fh v : . - I L i f : ,'ti t f t , r ' 1 I - Y :;ruhh. ; "v'" ", Chris Johnson . F s A,y ; n, ' V n 'v Vf r y y-- t , i $ 'V?' , V. ' , i , v. , f The public Is often bombarded with Information ''concerning diet, reducing cholesterol, keeping blood pressure low and exercising. Advertisements for different products only seem to confuse consumer because all of the the advertisers claim to be experts or they quote different research. What they all fall to tell the public Is what blood pressure really Is. They do not give the public credit for having Intelligence enough to use the facts about blood pressure to advantage by Incorporating It Into their dally habits. Cardiac output Is the amount of blood In liters pumped by the heart per minute. Stroke volume Is the amount of blood pumped by each Individual heart contraction. The cardiovascular (cardla: heart; vascular: arteries and veins) system Is responsible for transporting nutrients and wastes to and from all cells In the body. Cardiac output Is affected by four things: heart rate, the amount of blood that fills the heart when it Is at rest, the ability of heart muscles to contract, and the degree of resistance in the vascular system. The health of the cells throughout the body is also dependent upon four things: adequate blood flow to all cells, air exchange in the lungs, the intactness of the vascular system, and general heart health. Blood pressure is determined by the cardiac output and the stroke volume. The April 17 Kathy Moran of Westminster Colleges Career Services will speak on "Life After College: Career Planning of Undergraduates." Last meeting of Spring April 24 Semester Open Session. Lets support each other through burnout and talk a bit aobut the future The Student Services stqff put together a special, surprise group of awards based on the Wizard of Oz theme for the 23rd annual Awards Night. body maintains its blood pressure by adjusting the cardiac output to for changes in total peripheral resistance, and it changes the total peripheral resistance to compensate for changes in cardiac output The systolic blood pressure (the top jiumber), is the condition of your heart when it is contracting; it tells the condition of the heart and arteries. The diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) is the condition of the heart when it Is at rest. Therefore, if the diastolic pressure number is above normal then the. heart is not getting enough rest and cannot fill with enough blood; in simple terms, the heart is working overtime to get enough blood supplied to the body. Normal levels for mmHg, and systolic pressure are 110-14- 0 diastolic pressure is 60-9- 0 mmHg. There are seven risk factors involved in the development of high blood pressure and hypertension. The three risk factors that cannot be controlled include having a family history of hypertension, advancing age, and race. The good news is that remaining risk factors can be controlled; by reducing sodiumsalt intake, exercising to maintain optimal weight or to reduce weight, taking measures to reduce stress, and limiting alcohol consumption. Taking measures to reduce these risk factors is the best way to maintain optimal cardiovascular health. compensate Single Parent Group Schedule of April: ! Lance Doc quin Mayor of the Emerald City Award Yellow Drtck Road Award Julie Paulson end-of-semes- the group. Do we want to meet over the summer? May 4 at 6 p.m. -- - End of Semester dinner, 2385 E. party - a family pot-luc- k 2100 S. (Laurie Scott's home.) Bring your kids and a dish to share. Lets celebrate the end of finals! For more information, call Susan Lyons at 488-414Laurie Scott 486-198of Kim Rognon 3, of 1, 944-915- 5. Westminister Ftarses Offer Health Tips By N.L. McMlchael-Spackma- n In the spirit of Wellness Week, the blood into the vessels to circulate. The Westminster nursing students have lower number, diastole, is caused by the heart addressed a number of different health issues. relaxing so it can fill up with blood." Information on these topics and many others Shauna Wozab added, "Blood pressure will be made available to students during the can vary considerably between sexes, week of April 10, in the Shaw Center. different age groups, and even between two Blood pressure is explained by Gwynn persons of the same sex and age. Blood Scarle, "It is an Important indication of the pressure also varies according to the time of circulatory function. In a healthy adult, the day and the kind of activity in which a person normal blood pressure is considered to be is engaged. Excitement, nervous tension, or 120 over 80. The upper number, systole, is even fright can increase a person's blood caused by the heart contracting and pushing Dressure. a . t S ? V i &5 bi t One way to keep blood pressure under it will hot come back when medication is control is to exercise. This will help to reduce discontinued. High blood pressure is a killer daily stress levels. Karen Madigan describes and should not be taken lightly." the ideal exercise routine as, "at least three times per week for 30 minutes each time, can Kelly May gives more reasons for help you lower your stress level, decrease your following the doctor's orders about blood pressure and help strengthen and medications, she explains how Important it is maintain bone integrity. Another great that every medication the doctor gives is benefit is weight control." taken in the correct amount and for the In addition to lowering stress levels, proper length of time. What happens if the watching cholesterol level and saturated fats medication is stopped before the prescribed will help keep arteries open and healthy. time? May explains, "Let's take strep throat Marilyn Wolf tells what can happen with too for example. You have-- sore throat, you go to much cholesterol: "Arteries can become the doctor and he gives you a prescription for occluded and increase resistence. This is an antibiotic. After taking the antibiotic for caused by the building of plaque on the inner three or four days, you feel fine. Your throat layer of the arteries, it is known as no longer hurts. The tricky part of this one is athrosclerosis." This plaque is not quite the that the strep organisms are not dead. same as tooth plaque. A bloodstream full of They're floating around in your body looking cholesterol will cause a buildup of plaque that for another place to set up housekeeping. could lead to a heart attack. Also known as The area these organisms enjoy most is the myocardial infarction, it is a heart heart where rheumatic fever caused by the disease and gives no warning. coronary strep organism damages the valves. This causes Diet habits are not the only way this have a lifetime of heart problems that could been avoided by taking the medicine for disease can start. There can also be a genetic as long as it is prescribed." predisposition to it. Miquelle Smith tells about other factors, "Risk factors that cannot For people with irreparable heart be changed are family history, sex (males damage, sometimes the only solution can be age 35-4- 4 are at an increased risk) and increased found in a heart transplant A plea for organ age in both sexes. The risk factors that can be donors comes from Sheila Stovall, "Of the changed include; cigarette smoking, high 20,000 people who suffer brain blood pressure, obesity, diet and exercise. death from trauma, annually approximately 3,000 are organ donors. This means that many Wolf also explains that controlling valuable resources are lost' because potential hypertension with frequent blood pressure donors are not identified and donation is not checks, proper diet and exercise will help the heart work more efficiently. Medication that requested. Organ donation should always be is carefully monitored by a physician can also thought of as a gift of life to the recipient, and a gift for the donor's family of knowing help, but Wolf cautions, "Once started on , something good came from the tragedy of medications it is also important that death. This is an appeal to make the follow your physicians medical advice you public and more aware of such take them as prescribed. Just because It is also a programs. request for you to make it known to your blood pressure is brought under control your and amily and loved one's that it is your desire to stabilized docs not mean that it is cured, and be an organ donor." , t.V. -- A ! ijfe, i ...I V;n ; 7V f 7 V v , rsafife:- V' si' I--J ii - if students offer suggestions for improved health. - t' April 11, 1989 Issue 22 |