| Don't miss any of Bottom Line's Daily Health News. Add our address, dailyhealthnews@edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. January 4, 2011  In This Issue...
 Arthritis Vanishes So Fast I Am in a State of Shock! Free Recipe Requires Just Two Ingredients... Huh? How can a recipe for gin-soaked raisins qualify as the arthritis remedy of the century? Hey, this was your decision! In the past few months, savvy readers like yourself have been writing in stunned with amazement about their personal results from the Wilen Sisters' secret raisin remedy. But we can understand your skepticism. So, rather than tease you any longer, we're reproducing a short version of the recipe right here... Blood Pressure Medication Breakthrough People who take blood pressure medications may not realize how unscientific doctors have been in their approach to finding the right drug or drugs for their condition -- in fact, the expression, "Throw enough mud at the wall and some is bound to stick," seems an apt description. Commonly, drugs for hypertension are prescribed on top of others in the hope that the growing pile will keep blood pressure under control. As a result, many patients end up taking three or even more different drugs daily to manage their blood pressure. Drugs aren’t the only tool that people can use to get blood pressure under control, of course. Many patients find that losing weight, exercising and making other lifestyle changes can do the trick. But for those who do require blood pressure medication, scientists have now developed a more precise method of predicting which drug will control hypertension in a particular individual -- and this could be very good news for drug-saturated blood pressure patients! ABCs of HBP Let me start by introducing you to renin, an enzyme produced by the kidneys that plays a critical role in modulating blood pressure. Renin regulates blood volume and vascular resistance as the body’s needs change -- but having too much renin is one cause of hypertension. Until recently, doctors have had no way to identify the patients in whom this is the root cause of the problem. Of the two types of drugs that treat hypertension, there is one category called "R" drugs (beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors) that works to control pressure by blocking the effect of blood renin levels. The other type, called "V" drugs (diuretics and calcium channel blockers), controls pressure by reducing blood volume. Since doctors have not had any easy techniques to help them determine whether a patient would benefit more from one or the other, some people with hypertension end up taking both types. For instance, they may take a pill that combines an R and a V drug along with another that is either an R or a V on its own. This new research may dramatically reduce the need for such guesswork. Better Than a Crystal Ball Done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York City, this new research was published in the August 2010 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension. Researchers measured renin levels in 945 previously untreated participants diagnosed with hypertension (a systolic, or top blood pressure, reading of at least 140 mmHg) before assigning them to either a V or R drug. A follow-up blood pressure reading was done one to three months later, and researchers found that the patients who had had high renin levels (more than 2.5 ng/mg/h) at the start of the study achieved better blood pressure control with an R drug, while those who had had low renin levels (below about 0.74 ng/mg/h) did better on a V drug. The conclusion -- renin levels can indeed be useful as a predictor of how a particular patient will respond to a particular type of blood pressure drug. A very important finding: For some patients, being on the wrong drug actually elevated their blood pressure, making the situation especially dangerous. The researchers found that 16% of patients with the lowest levels of renin who took an R drug experienced an increase of 10 or more points in their blood pressure. This rise, called a "pressor response," is not at all uncommon -- doctors have tended to assume it was caused by "noncompliance," blaming the patients for failing to take their medications. The study shows, though, that the pressor response often is caused by giving patients the wrong drug. Talk to Your Doctor I called the study author, Michael Alderman, MD, former president of the American Society of Hypertension. Based on these findings, Dr. Alderman said that he recommends that doctors measure renin levels in newly diagnosed hypertension patients as well as in those now taking multiple antihypertensive medications -- most particularly when the drugs don’t seem to be helping. Dr. Alderman told me that it will likely be a few years before testing renin levels in advance of prescribing blood pressure medications becomes a standard practice, but he expects that it eventually will. If you need blood pressure medications, ask to have your renin level tested before you get a prescription -- trial and error is not the way you want to find out what works! Source(s): Michael H. Alderman, MD, former president of the American Society of Hypertension, professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, the Bronx, New York.  Erase Tumors in 2 Months "Within two months, every tumor had shrunk, dried up and fallen off," said Tom to Dr. Gary Null about the miraculous disappearance of his rapidly spreading cancer. Tom had already gone through surgery once for skin cancer on his forehead. Unfortunately, his skin cancer was melanoma. Just 10 days after the operation, the cancer was back with a vengeance. It reappeared on his forehead, and quickly spread to his arm, upper body and chest. Four doctors all agreed: There was nothing they could do to cure this cancer. They all still wanted to operate. But Tom wanted to live -- not just get sliced up. Jewelry That Can Save Your Life Medical ID jewelry has evolved. Those simple and basic necklaces and ID bracelets that people used to wear to alert others to medical problems, such as a heart condition or a seizure disorder, have gone high-tech, offering an array of data-sharing options so emergency responders can gain instant access to your comprehensive medical information. The new generation of medical-emergency bracelets and tags uses portable computer memory devices (typically a USB drive) or an Internet component to store and share your medical information. Here’s a sampling of what’s available:
How to choose Daily Health News medical editor Richard O’Brien, MD, a top emergency room physician and associate professor at The Commonwealth Medical College of Pennsylvania, in Scranton, told me that only about 20% of the patients he sees come in with any sort of information at all. He’s quite enthusiastic about these products and especially likes the flash drive devices, since they can provide comprehensive information (such as the date of a patient’s last tetanus shot or stress test) very quickly. This is especially helpful for patients with chronic conditions, but Dr. O’Brien said that even healthy folks would be well-advised to take a few minutes to consider and make notes on their medical history in order to have important information at the ready in the event of an emergency. At minimum, he suggested writing down your information on an index card, having it laminated (you can do this at many office-supply stores) and storing it in your wallet, as EMTs know to look there. I asked Dr. O’Brien if he had a "wish list" of information that emergency physicians would like to get from every patient in order to deliver the best possible emergency care. Here’s what he suggested...
Whether it is recorded on a flash drive, a bracelet, an index card or elsewhere, putting this information together and keeping it with you can make all the difference -- at the very least, by expediting treatment in the event of an emergency and quite possibly even saving your life. Source(s): Richard O’Brien, MD, spokesperson, American College of Emergency Physicians, associate professor, The Commonwealth Medical College of Pennsylvania, Scranton. Be well,
Lost and Found in My Address Book It's the New Year, and my head is clearly in organizational mode. I'm cleaning up my desk at work... and, with my family, cleaning up the accumulated clutter around our home. Last week, I blogged about not losing leftovers in my refrigerator. This week, I'm writing about not losing people in my address book. Read on... You received this free E-letter because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Click here to easily subscribe. You can easily unsubscribe by clicking here. To change your e-mail address click here To update your e-mail preferences click here Important: Help your friends live more healthfully -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Need to contact us? Boardroom Inc. Privacy Policy: Required Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. Bottom Line's Daily Health News is a registered trademark of Boardroom, Inc. Copyright (c) 2011 by Boardroom Inc. |
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