High blood pressure is by far the most common diagnosis listed in our clinic records.  The majority of people over the age of 50 actually have high blood pressure.  High blood pressure rarely causes symptoms until complications occur, so the only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to measure it.  Beyond all other factors, including high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity, high blood pressure is the main cause of heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.   

You can now measure blood pressure at home, store the result on your iPad or iPhone, and send the numbers anywhere you want, for $129.

The instrument, made by Withings, can be purchased on Amazon. It is a battery-powered device that is placed on your arm. The device also measures pulse rate.  

I recommend measuring blood pressure in the early morning, when it is highest due to the wake-up surge of adrenal hormones. You might also measure it during a time of stress, to see how much it affects you.   

Normal blood pressure is under 140/90, ideally 115/70. In older people, under 160/90 may be acceptable.  It is notable that the majority of people over 50 in this country have hypertension.

I personally measure patient blood pressure at the time of the office visit.  There is considerable variance in blood pressure results depending on who is performing the measurement, and what technique is used.  Many people perform the measurement too quickly and obtain inaccurate results.  At the time of the first visit, blood pressure should be measured in both arms, in the sitting and standing positions.  Many older people, and those taking blood pressure lowering drugs, have lower blood pressure when standing, and if it goes too low they may get dizzy or weak when standing.  In that case the dosage should be reduced.

Sometimes the systolic blood pressure (higher number) is elevated and the diastolic (lower number) is low.  This reflects stiffness in arterial walls.  When employing drug therapy for hypertension, the diastolic pressure should not be reduced below 55-60 in the standing position, regardless of how high the systolic blood pressure may be.  Cardiac circulation depends on maintaining adequate diastolic pressure, and too little pressure may place the heart muscle at risk.

Blood pressure is most easily reduced through salt restriction, weight loss, and exercise. Drinking regular coffee may raise blood pressure for about 3 hours.  

Supplements that may lower blood pressure include omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), magnesium, potassium, L-arginine, and a couple of special items we carry called Heart Tension and OptiTensin.  Heart tension is an herbal formula. OptiTensin is a fish protein extract. They most likely act by relaxing the muscles in blood vessel walls.

Allan Sosin

Your pet is approaching the end of his or her life. What do you do?

To a pet lover, there is no greater emotional pain. Many people consider their pets to be an integral part of the family and the loss of a pet is commensurate to the loss of a parent, a child or a friend. We all know that the humane thing to do is to end a pet's life when he is suffering. The "traditional" end of a pet's life involves taking the pet to the veterinary hospital and having him humanely euthanized. But is that really humane? Most pets experience tremendous anxiety, fear and even pain at being brought to the vet's. When this experience is necessary in order to handle a curable condition, it is entirely justified to put the pet through this anxiety because the pet will get good treatment and will get better. But when it's time to end his suffering, isn't there a better solution?

Dr Annie Forslund, veterinarian, has created a service that prevents pain and suffering for the pet and for the family. She travels to the family's home and provides hospice care for the pet in order to avoid the stress of hospital visits to the dying pet and performs the euthanasia in-home when the time comes. This provides a new and more gentle way to part with your pet with dignity, privacy, compassion and respect, in the relaxed, private and warm environment of your home. The pet will not experience anxiety, fear, stress or pain and will peacefully leave his or her body surrounded by all his loved ones. The service is called Home Pet Euthanasia of Southern California. Dr Forslund has extensive training in grief counseling and although she will not provide grief counseling on-site nor force anyone into grief counseling, her training enables her to handle this painful moment with caring emotional support. Available 24/7 on appointment or on an emergency basis.

To contact Home Pet Euthanasia of Southern California, please visit our comprehensive website which provides over 100 pages of information on End of Life, Quality of Life issues, In-Home Euthanasia etc...

In an internet presentation, Ron Gutman, CEO of Health Tap, presented the results of an informal study of baseball players' longevity. In a 2010 Wayne State University research project, 1952 bubblegum cards of professional baseball players were examined for the presence or absence of smiles. Those players who smiled lived to an average age of 79.8 years, while those who frowned lived an average of only 72.9 years.

Ultrasound studies of pregnant women reveal smiles on their infants' faces in utero. Young children smile as often as 400 times in one day. Adults smile much less often, and some adults smile less than 5 times a day.

Smiling may help to raise endorphin levels, those hormones that increase the sensation of pleasure and suppress pain. Smiling may also suppress release of stress hormones, cortisol and epinephrine, known to interfere with recording of new memories.

So keep on smiling, and you're likely to gain something to smile about: a longer and happier life.