high blood pressure

Salt Shake-Up: Low-Salt Push May Be Unhealthy

Posted on 05/17/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthFor years we’ve been told to slash our sodium consumption to protect against strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. But now an influential committee says there’s no scientific evidence that a very low-salt diet cuts the risk of heart disease. In fact, the new Institute of Medicine report says that cutting sodium to 1,500 milligrams (mg) daily — the current government recommendation for older adults (ages 51 and up), African Americans and those with diabetes, high blood pressure and …

Aging Boomers Less Healthy Than Their Parents

Posted on 02/6/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthThe nation’s 78 million baby boomers may be living longer than their parents, but a new study finds that boomers have worse health than the previous generation. Researchers from the West Virginia University School of Medicine and the Medical University of South Carolina wondered if those born between 1946 and 1964 were living longer only because of advances in medicine, not because they were really healthier than prior generations. To find out, the researchers compared the boomers’ and an earlier generations’ …

New Tools to Help You Get Blood Pressure under Control

Posted on 09/13/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthThe following is a guest post by Janet Wright, MD, FACC, Executive Director of Million Hearts™, a national initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly one-third of all American adults have high blood pressure and more than half of them don’t have it under control, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have high blood pressure (also called hypertension) you are at risk for a heart …