Hypertension

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by periods of intense mood symptoms. If you have bipolar disorder, you may experience: Typically, treatment for bipolar disorder involves a combination of therapy and medication — you'll find more information on those below. Of course, these existing bipolar disorder treatments may not work for everyone, and some medications involve a number of side effects. That's why researchers continue to explore new potential medications to help treat bipolar disorder. One drug currently undergoing study is naltrexone, a medication typically used to treat substance use disorder (SUD). Some preliminary research suggests that low dose naltrexone (LDN) may help reduce mood episodes. Below, you can find answers to some of the most common questions about naltrexone for bipolar disorder, including why a low dose might be beneficial as part of treatment. Naltrexone is a medication that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ...

More than 7 in 10 older adults in the United States who need more intensive treatment for high blood pressure don't get it, according to a new Harvard study. The findings, published on September 16, 2022, in the American Heart Association journal  Hypertension , suggest that millions of people are being undertreated, putting them at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. "We haven't been doing well, despite robust evidence demonstrating the strong benefits of good blood pressure control in older adults," said the lead study author, Nicholas Chiu, MD, a clinical fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in a press release. "This is a major public health gap that needs to be tackled." Nearly Half of American Adults Have High Blood Pressure Blood pressure is simply a measurement of the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries, according to the MedlinePlus. Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a bl...

Panic attacks are short periods of intense fear or discomfort characterized by feelings of dread and fear and physical symptoms like shaking, sweating, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. Panic attacks can be scary, especially if you aren't familiar with them. This article will discuss how to recognize when someone is having a panic attack, what to say and do for them, things to avoid, and when to seek help.  bymuratdeniz / Getty Images How to Recognize a Panic Attack A panic attack is a type of anxiety disorder. Someone having a panic attack is experiencing an intensely anxious reaction to something that may or may not be obvious. Therefore, it is often more helpful to pay attention to the symptoms than to determine the cause of the panic attack. Some visible signs of a panic attack include: Sweating Shaking Difficulty breathing Appearing lightheaded or unsteady There are also some non-observable signs of a panic ...

Is your blood pressure out of control? "High blood pressure is a medical condition in which blood pressure is persistently higher than 130/80 mm Hg," says Andrew Yocum, MD . "High blood pressure increases the risk of heart diseases like coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Lifestyle changes and sometimes prescription blood pressure medication can help lower or manage high blood pressure." Want to learn more? Here are five signs your blood pressure could be out of control. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID . iStock Headaches could be a sign of high blood pressure. "If you have a sudden, intense headache that's significantly worse than usual and your blood pressure is elevated, you should seek medical attention," says cardiologist Luke Laffin, MD . "Another thing to remember about headaches and bl...

(ET, ) - It was the most watched episode in Shark Tank history when sisters Anna and Samantha Martin won over the Shark Tank panel. N ever before had the judging panel unanimously decided to each invest millions of dollars into a potential company. After buying a staggering 25% share in the sisters' company, the Shark Tank panel have personally mentored the pair, helping them undergo re-branding and re-packing of their miracle product. Touting their discovery as "the greatest step forward in weight-loss history," the judges were quick to offer up their hard earned cash to back the entrepreneurial pair. "We were shocked. The most we were hoping for was some advice…we weren't even sure that we would manage to get any investors," explained Samantha. After outstanding offers from each panel member, the sisters burst into tears. "It didn't feel real. The fact tha...

Juli Fraga, Psy.D., is a psychologist with a private practice in San Francisco. As the pandemic continues, so does the mental health crisis. Many of us are struggling with the grief and trauma the coronavirus unleashed, as well as stressors such as mass shootings and climate change. With so much suffering, there is a greater need for therapy, but many psychotherapists — myself included — can't meet the rising demand. When new patients contact me, I help those in crisis find emergency care and connect others with counselors or group support. But when capital "S" stressors such as unrelenting anxiety, depleting depression and insomnia roar loud, some patients want more immediate help. This might explain why many prospective patients ask me: "What can I do now to improve my mental health?" One possible solution, says clinical psychologist Emily Anhalt, is to add an "emotional workout" to your self-care regimen. "Just like working out prevents high bl...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Dealing With High Cholesterol, or Looking to Avoid It in the Future? Here Are 24 Foods to Watch Out for    Henry Herald View Full Coverage on Google News

For the last two years, my throat has had a tight feeling. It literally came out of the blue. Breathing, talking, and eating are strenuous, and it caused me to lose 30 lbs. Every medical test came back normal, and the doctors could see that my throat looked small, but had no explanation. I was finally able to see a specialist at Johns Hopkins, and I got some answers. He said the muscles surrounding my throat were tensing up, and it was creating the tight feeling that I had.  He told me this is typically caused by stress. It could be emotional or physical stress causing the muscle tension, and he said that actually most tension in the body is caused by stress. To be honest, I didn't even notice that I was abnormally stressed out. I think I'd been living in this condition for a long time, and it became my normal. After some research, I realized that your body responds to stress in many different ways.  So, to help my ladies out there experiencing strange ailment...

By Anissa Durham | Word In Black Carenda Deonne a Charlotte, North Carolina-based certified stress managementlife coach, speaker, and author. (WIB) – Racial discrimination, children being gunned down in classrooms, and a healthcare system that has historically disregarded Black folks — are just some of the reasons we are stressed. On top of all that, studies also show that between May and June of 2020, Black folks experienced a 31% increase in stress relating to police violence.  While there are so many pressures and worries in our lives, taking control of our mental health is one of the ways the Black community continues to rise.   That's where the work of Carenda Deonne a Charlotte, North Carolina-based certified stress management life coach, speaker, and author comes in. Deonne says she experienced several stressful situations that led her to commit to helping others alleviate their stress. In 2019, she started a business to help women and corpo...