If you have high cholesterol, you’ve probably been warned: Failure to control this beast ups your odds of heart disease and can cause a heart attack or stroke. It’s a no brainer to take your meds, right? Wrong.
Remarkably, 50% of all people who’ve been prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs don’t take them even though the consequences to heart health can be dire. Blowing off your cholesterol meds can be deadly, says Guy L. Mintz, M.D., director of cardiovascular health and lipidology at Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, NY. “The stakes are high.”
So, what’s keeping folks from staying the course with a treatment plan? Some people just hate the side effects. Others say routinely remembering to take a pill (or pills) is the problem. As is failing to understanding just how important it is to take your meds.
When Lifestyle Changes Don’t Control Cholesterol
Medication may be a must to protect your heart health, even if you’re doing everything else right.
January 20, 2021
You take care of yourself. You exercise. You limit the booze, fried fare, and sweet stuff, too. So,
why, you ask yourself in the mirror with more than a little frustration, is your cholesterol so out of whack?
High cholesterol, or hyperlipidemia, drives up your risk of a heart attack and stroke. It can be a silent killer, since it has no symptoms. Scary as that sounds, you have it in your power to bring your cholesterol back down. Some people can curb high cholesterol by living healthier lives. But the truth is, if you have high cholesterol, you’ll likely need to take medication, too. The good news? Doing so can save your life.
Written by Julia Ries on January 14, 2021 Fact checked by Dana K. Cassell
Many people have at least one symptom months after being hospitalized for COVID-19. Getty Images
New research has found that 76 percent of people who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 experienced at least one lingering symptom 6 months after recovering.
Long-term symptoms affect people of all ages and have occurred in people with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19.
Doctors suspect the risk factors include genetics, inflammation, and abnormal immune responses.
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
What You Should Know About Marijuana and High Blood Pressure Denise Mann, MS
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Marijuana and high blood pressure
More and more states are legalizing marijuana for medical and/or recreational use. However, if you are one of the millions of people with high blood pressure, you should probably proceed with caution when it comes to marijuana.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. It is called a silent killer as there are often no symptoms until it has started to affect your heart or other organs. Stage 1 hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure reading of 130-139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and a diastolic reading of 80-89 mm Hg. Stage 2 hypertension is 140 mm Hg or higher and 90 mm Hg or higher. (A blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg is considered normal.)
Even if You’ve Had COVID-19 You Still Need the Vaccine 23rd Dec 2020 | Source: Healthline The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) last week for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Cases of reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 have been reported. Even if you’ve developed COVID-19, getting the vaccine may help prevent reinfection and lower your risk of getting sick again.
COVID-19 is currently the leading cause of deathTrusted Source in the United States killing more people each day than heart disease or cancer.
To help stem the tide of this life-threatening disease, scientists around the world have been working to develop vaccines.