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More Important Than My
Blood Sugar?
Did you know that controlling your blood pressure may
be more important than controlling your blood sugar? This is because persistently
high blood pressure could increase your chances of heart attack and stroke. To
make matters worse, diabetics already have a greater risk of heart disease or
stroke just because they are diabetic. So any diabetic with high blood pressure
is in the high risk bracket. Controlling your blood pressure is one of major ways
to help reduce this risk especially if you are diabetic. What should
my blood pressure be? There have been a lot of studies and
research into the ideal blood pressure for diabetics and in truth there isn't
one ideal answer. The experts, National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE),
recommend that BP for Type 2 diabetics should be under 140/80 mmHg, and for Type
1 diabetics should be under 135/85. Your physician may well have a lower or different
target for you and aim to follow what your physician recommends.
What
to use to measure blood pressure (BP)?
There is a huge range of blood
pressure monitors on the market. The best way to check blood pressure would be
to use an automatic "arm"
blood pressure monitor such as the Omron
MX2. The other type of blood pressure monitors are wrist
monitors such as the Omron
R7. However, blood pressure readings from arm monitors tend to be more
reliable then wrist.
With arm monitors the blood
pressure cuffs used are important, using the right sized cuff and the
right type can affect accuracy and comfort. There are 2 main types of cuffs the
pre-formed
cuffs found with the Omron
M6 Comfort which are made to be a fixed hard round shape or the floppy
standard cuffs which are found with monitors such as the Omron
M2 which are a bit more flexible. Which cuff you choose is down to
personal preference. With blood pressure cuffs it is important the right
size is used and for this reason large
cuffs and small
cuffs are availale for most makes of monitors separately. If your blood
pressure cuff does not fit around your arm properly it will affect the accuracy
of any measurement. In such cases you will neeed a large
cuff.
If you like to monitor your blood pressure using your
pc then the Omron
M10 IT is a good selection as it can be connected to the pc and results
transferred. If you would like a mini print out with each blood pressure
measurement then the Omron
705 CP comes with an additional mini printer. Ideal for screening for
blood pressure or for use by health care professionals to give patients a take
away print out of their blood pressure reading. We would recommend you
use a BHS (British Hypertension Society) validated blood pressure monitor. These
monitors have an official stamp of approval which meet the BHS's stringent validation
requirements. Like most products be careful of "cheap" monitors which
may not be reliable and can brake down very easily. From our own experience we
have found the Omron
brand to be a very reliable. All the monitors mentioned in this article have been
approved by the BHS.
Tips to lower my blood pressure
There are steps that you can take to help reduce your blood pressure. These
include * Reduce dietary salt intake to less than 6g of salt per
day (the less the better). * Avoid too much coffee (>5 cups) *
Avoid stress (this is easier said then done but stress can play a major role in
high bp)
* Try relaxation therapies (e.g. stress management, meditation,
etc.) can reduce BP * If you smoke, stop. This will make a huge benefit
to your heart disease risk * Exercise, ideally aerobic exercise for 30-60
minutes, three to five times each week. (Check with your doctor that you can do
this) * Limit alcohol consumption
If your blood pressure is still
high after making these lifestyle changes then your doctor may decide to prescribe
you antihypertensive medicines which lower blood pressure. Related
Articles - 10
Essential Tips On Getting The Right Glucose Meter - Blood
Glucose Meters or Urine Strips - Which is Best? - What
to Monitor to Prevent Diabetic Complications
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