Smoothy Slim
Smoothy Slim
Photo: William Fortunato
A cuff that is too snug or too loose on the mid-upper arm can lead to greatly exaggerated blood pressure measurements, results of a community-based study show.
3-4 times a week While it can be applied daily, start with 3-4 times a week if you like to play it safe and work your way up. Although vitamin C is...
Read More »
Generally a 50mg dosage once a day is enough to get all of zinc's many benefits. If taken in higher dosages or for long periods of time, zinc...
Read More »
This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.
Learn More »In some patients with bigger arms, a regular-size cuff overestimated their systolic pressure by as much as 20 mm Hg. A cuff that is too snug or too loose on the mid-upper arm can lead to greatly exaggerated blood pressure measurements, results of a community-based study show. “If you need a large adult cuff and you use a regular adult cuff, the blood pressure on average is overestimated by 5 millimeters of mercury systolic,” said Tammy M. Brady, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD), who led the study. “But if you need an extra-large cuff and instead you're given a regular cuff that is two sizes too small, you can have a blood pressure measurement that's 20 millimeters of mercury higher than what your actual blood pressure is.” Brady, who presented the findings yesterday in a poster session at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health (EPI|Lifestyle) Scientific Sessions 2022, told TCTMD that they highlight the potential for patient harm, especially if the incorrect measurements are acted upon by physicians. “This has big implications, particularly for populations where there is significant overweight and obesity, because those are the people who tend to need those larger cuff sizes,” she added. Pamela Lutsey, PhD, MPH (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), co-chair of the EPI|Lifestyle program committee, told TCTMD that while the study is small, the results are compelling and speak to the importance of improving the quality of BP measurements. “These data absolutely drive home the point that the wrong size blood pressure cuff can have serious consequences that are going to lead people to be managed inappropriately for their blood pressure,” she said. In 2019, the AHA issued an updated scientific statement on appropriate BP measurement that highlighted the steps necessary for accuracy, including proper cuff sizing and placement.
To peel or not to peel? While fruits with hard or inedible skins (such as mangoes) can be peeled before juicing, the skins of fruits and vegetables...
Read More »
Usually, 60–80 mmol of supplements per day for a few days to weeks is sufficient for treating mild to moderate hypokalemia. That said, always...
Read More »
A potent powdered supplement blended right into water or your favored beverage to be appreciated as a scrumptious morning smoothy.
Learn More »Among participants with a BP ≥ 130/80 mm Hg as measured by their correct cuff size, overestimation of BP due to undercuffing resulted in a misclassification in 39%, while underestimating BP due to overcuffing missed 22%. “We know that there are a lot of low- and middle-income countries where there is often only one cuff that's available at the time of the healthcare encounter,” Brady said. “That was really our motivation to see how big of an impact the [cuff size] makes. We expected that there was going to be a difference, but we didn't expect to see this magnitude of difference.” Even in North America, Brady said many clinics and offices likely don’t have multiple cuff sizes readily available without a staff member or physician having to hunt them down. The issue takes on additional significance for patients who record at-home BP measurements. “This was a big struggle with the pandemic trying to conduct telemedicine with my patients, because I had to guide them in which cuff or which device to purchase so that they were appropriate for their arm,” Brady noted. “If you need an extra-large cuff, often the regular devices that are just sitting on the shelf in the pharmacy do not accommodate those arms, and you have to buy either a special device or you have to pay an additional $25 to $50 dollars to get the cuff that's appropriate.” Lutsey stressed that arm size is a fluid dynamic that should be measured with frequency during BP checks, since patients can gain or lose weight from one healthcare encounter to the next for any variety of reasons. “I think this is very pragmatic in terms of thinking about how we can change the quality of care in the community [by] getting more accurate measurements so that blood pressure can be managed better,” she added.
Zinc also has protective effects against autoimmune conditions in which the body starts attacking healthy cells.
Read More »
A classic mojito cocktail usually lands around 240 calories each, with its mixture of lime juice, sugar, mint leaves, soda and rum. Rum can be a...
Read More »
Contains a potent powdered supplement blended right into water or your favored beverage to be appreciated as a scrumptious morning smoothy.
Learn More »
Aside from directly helping the adrenal glands themselves, which is important, garlic can also help combat some of the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue....
Read More »
This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.
Learn More »
Is soda bad for your health, and what are the options? Soda is not good for a person's health because it contains lots of sugar. Consuming too much...
Read More »