by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Not eating enough potassium appears to be related to high blood pressure—independent of how much salt you eat—reported Dr. Susan Hedayati at the American Society of Nephrology annual meeting.  (Dr. Hedayati works at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where I trained, since it is affiliated with Parkland Hospital.)

I look forward to the published study.  If you read my blog often, your next question should be …

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The blood pressure in some people goes up just thinking about a medical clinic (white-coat hypertension). It is fine otherwise. Others have elevated blood pressures at certain times of the day. If you have hypertension, prehypertension, or at high risk for getting it, you should consider getting your own cuff. Don’t take my word, look at the AHA recommedations that suggest the same.

If you get a cuff, you want one that is accurate, don’t you? Consumer Reportshelps with unbiased recommendations for blood pressure monitors, along with glucose meters, in their September issue, along with tips such as:

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Today, I am excited to introduce a new video series from the American College of Physicians that highlights research findings from their journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, along with other pertinent medical news.

For each video we add (including this one), I will make comments here on the blog.

This week, the video explains a recent study on prehypertension–and finds that many develop the problem at a young age.

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