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foods good for lowering cholesterol
* Weight--Excess weight tends to increase blood cholesterol levels. Losing weight may help lower levels.
The effects of high blood pressure range from mild to severe. High blood pressure can harm the mother's kidneys and other organs, and it can cause low birth weight and early delivery. In the most serious cases, the mother develops preeclampsia--or "toxemia of pregnancy"--which can threaten the lives of both the mother and the fetus.
Once the lining of the artery is damaged, white blood cells rush to the site followed by cholesterol, calcium and cellular debris. The muscle cells around the artery are altered and also accumulate cholesterol.
While the institute estimates that heart disease killed nearly half a million in 1996, the most recent year for which figures are available, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in September 1998 says heart disease deaths have declined steadily over the last 30 years. Indeed, between 1990 and 1994, heart disease deaths decreased by 10.3 percent, the study says. From this and other studies, it appears that this is due largely to improvements in medical care after heart attack, a reduction in the number of repeat heart attacks, and better prevention of heart disease development.
What Is High Blood Pressure? Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries. A person's blood pressure is considered high when the readings are greater than 140 mm Hg systolic (the top number in the blood pressure reading) or 90 mm Hg diastolic (the bottom number). In general, high blood pressure, or hypertension, contributes to the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.
Drug Treatment: Even if you begin drug treatment to lower your cholesterol, you will need to continue your treatment with lifestyle changes. This will keep the dose of medicine as low as possible, and lower your risk in other ways as well. There are several types of drugs available for cholesterol lowering including statins, bile acid sequestrants, nicotinic acid, fibric acids, and cholesterol absorption inhibitors. Your doctor can help decide which type of drug is best for you. The statin drugs are very effective in lowering LDL levels and are safe for most people. Bile acid sequestrants also lower LDL and can be used alone or in combination with statin drugs. Nicotinic acid lowers LDL and triglycerides and raises HDL. Fibric acids lower LDL somewhat but are used mainly to treat high triglyceride and low HDL levels. Cholesterol absorption inhibitorrs lower LDL and can be used alone or in combination with statin drugs. Once your LDL goal has been reached, your doctor may prescribe treatment for high triglyc
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