Being physically
active is one of
the best things
you can do
to prevent or
control high
blood pressure.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
The
exercise
solution
THERE ARE PLENTY
of healthy reasons to
stay physically active. Exercise can help
you manage your weight, strengthen your
heart and reduce your stress level. It can
also help you control your blood pressure.
In fact, being physically active is one of
the best things you can do to prevent or
control high blood pressure.
A dangerous condition
More than 75 million Americans have
blood pressure that is too high. As you
get older, your risk for developing high
blood pressure increases—75 percent of
all people older than 60 have higher-than-
ideal blood pressure rates.
High blood pressure can increase your
risk for having a heart attack or stroke.
It can also lead to kidney damage, vision
problems, lung damage, memory loss and
other unwanted health conditions.
It’s important to have your blood pres-
sure checked when you visit your doctor.
Many people don’t know they have high
blood pressure because the disease has
few symptoms—especially in its early
stages.
Get up and get moving
It doesn’t take a lot of activity to lower
your blood pressure. If you get in 30 min-
utes of moderate-level physical activity
most days of the week, you may see your
blood pressure begin to drop within a
month.
If you’re busy, you can even divide
that 30 minutes of exercise into shorter
periods of at least 10 minutes each. For
instance, you can use the stairs instead
of an elevator, get off the bus one or two
stops early, or park your vehicle at the far
end of the parking lot.
Other types of moderate-level activity in-
clude:
➜
Shooting baskets
➜
Riding a bike
➜
Gardening
➜
Shoveling snow
➜
Walking
briskly
➜
Swimming
➜
Jogging
It’s a good idea to check with your doc-
tor before starting a new activity if you
have heart problems, are older than 50
and are not used to exercising, or if you
have a family history of heart disease at
an early age.
American College of Sports Medicine; National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute
AS A CAREGIVER,
you need to be familiar
with the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.
This rule requires health care provid-
ers to keep their patients’ medical records
confidential. A doctor may discuss a
patient with caregivers or others only if
the patient grants permission to do so
or implies that doing so is OK. But if the
patient objects, the doctor generally must
honor the patient’s desire to keep health
information private.
HIPAA doesn’t require health care
providers to get written permission before
sharing health information. But some
providers ask their patients to name,
in writing, the people—such as family
members or caregivers—the provider is
allowed to talk to.
This is important to keep inmind. If other
family members or caregivers sometimes
take your loved one to a medical appoint-
ment or speak to a health care provider on
the phone, the provider may not know if it’s
OK to share information with them unless
permission is granted in writing.
It’s a good idea to talk about the pri-
vacy rule with the person you’re caring for.
Then be sure your loved one lets his or her
health care providers know who can have
access to personal health information.
You can learn more about HIPAA
at
www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa
.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
CAREGIVING
Laws guide
the sharing
of health
information
4
www.mercyiowacity.org