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WPMG
Celebrates Our Silver Anniversary 25
Years of Serving Bay Area Women !
Newsletter #20 Index -- 10/1/08 Nurse Barb on View from the Bay Women Physicians' Speaker Program El Camino Hospital presents A Woman's Health Seminar
Nurse Barb on View from the Bay Women Physician's very own Barb Dehn NP, has
been appearing regularly on ABC's View from the Bay, here in the San Francisco
Bay
Area. Barb is on "live" with Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang every
few weeks talking about a variety of health issues. "I love
connecting one-on-one with my patients at Women Physicians, " says Barb,
"and being on TV allows me to connect with a bit larger audience. I've
learned so much from each of the physicians here, and that’s helped me
translate complicated health issues for the public. The show is now open
to the public and anyone can contact the station (www.abclocal.go.com) for tickets to be in the studio
audience. Barb says that it's fascinating to see how a live show is
produced, and how personable and friendly the hosts are even off camera.
Barb is actively recruiting women who would like to be interviewed for magazine or television interviews on every conceivable subject of interest to women. If you'd like to be notified when interview or other health related opportunities arise, visit her blog, www.NurseBarb.com and register. She will not distribute your contact information.
Dr.
Sutherland has had the pleasure of delivering babies for 25 years.
In June of this year, she had the special treat of delivering baby Ethan.
This was a particularly gratifying experience because she had delivered his
father, Cory, almost exactly 25 years earlier in June of 1983.
Mother Desiree did a great job delivering her 7 pound 10 ounce bundle of
joy.
Cory, Desiree, Baby Ethan, and Dr. Sutherland
Blood
pressure is the force of blood against artery walls. It is measured in
millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and recorded as two numbers—systolic pressure
(when the heart beats) over diastolic pressure (when the heart relaxes between
beats). Both numbers are important. Blood
pressure rises and falls during the day. When it stays elevated over time, then
it's called high blood pressure, or hypertension. High blood pressure is
dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard, and the high force of the
blood flow can harm arteries and organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain, and
eyes. Once it occurs, it usually lasts a lifetime. If uncontrolled, it can lead
to heart and kidney disease, stroke, and blindness. Hypertension
frequently occurs without any symptoms whatsoever.
That is why it has been called “the silent killer”.
People who are not aware of their hypertension may be incurring damage to
various organs in their body. At
every doctor’s visit, your BP (blood pressure) should be taken.
Many pharmacies have automatic BP machines that you can use and follow
your own BP. What
causes hypertension? Most hypertension is considered “essential
hypertension”, meaning there is no specific cause and therefore no treatment
to cure it. There are several
factors that play a role in hypertension including smoking, obesity, lack of
exercise, excessive alcohol consumption, stress, older age and genetics. In some
cases, kidney, adrenal and thyroid disease may be the cause of hypertension and
treatment of these underlying disease may actually cure it. Blood
pressure is categorized in the following way:
The
risk of a heart attack and stoke doubles for every 20 point rise in systolic BP
or 10 point rise in diastolic BP starting from a BP as low as 115/75.
People with blood pressure levels between 120/80 and 140/90 – levels
once considered normal — have twice the risk of heart disease as those with normal blood pressure.
And, people with blood pressure above 140/90 — the definition of high
blood pressure — have four times
the risk of heart disease as people with normal BP.
Hypertension affects more than 65 million Americans or 1 in every 3 adults.
Another 59 million people have pre-hypertension.
If you have hypertension or pre-hypertension you should:
· Maintain
a healthy weight.
· Be
moderately physically active on most days of the week.
· Follow
a healthy eating plan, which includes foods lower in sodium.
· If
you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
· If
you have high blood pressure and are prescribed medication, take it as directed.
There are many medications that are used to control and treat hypertension.
They, unfortunately, will not cure hypertension.
Frequently the first line therapy is with a simple diuretic.
There are many other classes of drugs that are used and, depending on
your medical health and other personal factors, you and your doctor will decide
which medicine is right for you.
If you would like to learn more about hypertension, Web MD has a good site at: www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/default.htm
The
DASH Diet for Hypertension
With so many diets out there, it is often confusing as to
which one we should follow. For
people with high blood pressure, borderline blood pressure, a family history of
high blood pressure or at risk for high blood pressure, consider the DASH diet.
DASH stands for Dietary Adjustments to Stop Hypertension. The basic tenets of this diet are really quite simple and
logical. This is not a fad diet. In
fact, it is a very healthy diet that can be used by anyone wanting to improve
their life style habits. The diet is
rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium. It
is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and total fat.
It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fat-free milk and milk products as well
as whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. The DASH eating plan has been proven in various studies to
lower blood pressure. You can frequently see a response in as little as two
weeks. The best response is seen in people whose blood pressure was only
moderately high. But for people with more severe hypertension, the DASH diet can
help improve response to medication and may allow them to decrease the amount of
medication they take. In addition, the DASH diet can help lower cholesterol, and
along with weight loss and exercise can reduce insulin resistance. The DASH diet is not primarily based on a decreased sodium
(salt) intake. However, studies have
shown that the greatest reductions in BP are in patients
on the DASH diet who also have the lowest sodium intake.
The diet is high in potassium, which is found in fruits, vegetables, some
fish, and milk products. Potassium
not only lowers BP but also can help prevent kidney stones and bone loss
(osteoporosis). The key to reducing salt intake is making wise food
choices. Only a small amount of the
salt we consume comes from added salt at the table and only a small amount of
sodium occurs naturally in food. Processed
foods account for most of the salt and sodium Americans consume. READ FOOD
LABELS to choose products lower in sodium. You may be surprised to find which
foods are high in sodium. If you eat
the DASH way you will naturally consume less sodium, as there is less sodium in
fruits and vegetables, which is the major portion of the diet. You will likely
find the transition to a lower sodium diet fairly difficult especially if you
make dramatic changes. You will more
likely succeed and continue with a low sodium diet if you make adjustments
gradually allowing your taste buds to change. You should be aware that the content of this diet plan has
more daily servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grain food than you are
probably used to eating. The high
fiber can cause bloating and diarrhea in some persons.
To avoid these problems, gradually increase your intake of fruit,
vegetables and fiber. The
typical DASH plan is:
Resources ·
www.dashforhealth.com
— an on-line program dedicated to teaching you to eat the DASH way.
With it you can track your progress, access various health calculators
(like BMI [body mass index] and number of calories burned with exercise), view
recipes and articles on nutrition as well as send in questions.
There is a charge for this service. ·
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
—a fairly good summary of the plan, along with some recipes.
This can be downloaded as a free PDF file called “Your guide to
lowering your blood pressure with DASH” ·
www.mayoclinic.com/health/dash-diet-recipes/RE00089 — lots
of DASH diet recipes and ideas · “DASH Diet Action Plan” — a book by Marla Heller, M.D., R.D. is available for purchase on Amazon.
Women
Physicians’ Speaker Program
Women Physicians Ob-Gyn Medical Group enjoys serving the community with educational seminars on women's health. We have given numerous talks for high schools, church groups and health fairs including the following topics:
· Menopause
and the menopause transition · Breast
cancer · Cancer
in women · Birth
control · Sexually
transmitted diseases · Planning
for a pregnancy · Breastfeeding · Heart
disease in women · Excessive
sweating (hyperhidrosis) · Osteoporosis · Hormones
through the ages · Infertility Our usual format is a slide
presentation followed by a question and answer session. We can also tailor
presentations to meet your specific needs. An option which has worked
nicely is for women to submit questions in advance thus making the session more
interactive. If you have a group of 15 or more who would benefit
from our expertise in women's health, please call our office manager, Randy, at
(650) 988-7557 or e-mail him at info@elcaminoobgyn.com.
He will be happy to answer any questions you may have. There is no charge
for the presentation. El
Camino Hospital presents A Women’s Health Seminar Save the date—Saturday, November 1, 2008, 8AM to 3PM! The Community Education department at El Camino
Hospital has organized a Saturday seminar covering a broad range of women’s
health topics on November 1, 2008 at the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino.
There will be a line-up of expert speakers covering topics including TM
and yoga, heart health, genetics and cancer, care and compassion, nutrition,
joint replacements for arthritis, aging and more.
The format will allow you to choose among topics of particular interest
to you. Lisa Rinna is
the keynote speaker. Dr. Katherine Sutherland of
Women Physicians Ob-Gyn Medical Group will be speaking on Intimacy and Sex for the Older Woman.
If this is a concern for you
or if you would simply like to learn more about the topic, please join her for
this talk. For
more information on the seminar, go to www.elcaminohospital.org/womensfair or
call 650-988-7703
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Information on this website is for educational and reference purposes only and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice.
Copyright © 2010Women Physicians Gyn Medical Group
650.988.7550 |