Read real stories of hypertension suffers taking help: blood pressure alongside other lifestyle changes in their fight to lower blood pressure and improve their heart health.
Margaret
from Devon is a professional singer and she also hand-makes Wedding headdresses.
Leading a hectic life is something Margaret enjoys as she
embraces any opportunity that comes her way. However, when her sister fell
seriously ill, work became a way to forget about her worries and escape
any unsolved issues. This meant Margaret worked harder than ever before
and became more and more stressed, which affected her overall health.
“At the same time as my sister got ill I also lost
two very close friends and the pressure began to build, I did what I know
best - work. I didn’t take the time to have regular meals and instead
ate on the go. Also, I wasn’t taking any time to relax and reduce
the stress I was under. As a result, I couldn’t sleep, suffered from
high blood pressure as well as hair loss, and my childhood eczema flared
up”, says Margaret.
click to expand
Worried about her health, Margaret went to see her local
GP who at first was concerned her symptoms could be caused by some underlying
illness but after all tests came back negative, this was fortunately ruled
out. With Margaret’s blood pressure rising to a level of 159 / 106,
it was clear she needed to make some changes.
Margaret’s GP encouraged her to stop cramming so many
things into her life and instead prioritise her recovery. It was at this
moment that Margaret realised she had to take control of her own health
and do everything she could to get her whole body and soul back on track.
“Although I do believe in traditional medicine and
I regularly visit my GP to have a health check-up, I also wanted to be proactive
and try out other ways of getting better. I started taking regular exercise,
gave up processed food and also took a four month break from work. In addition,
I started taking the natural supplement help: blood pressure to tackle my
high blood pressure”, says Margaret.
After using help: blood pressure for six months, Margaret
is delighted with the results.
“My blood pressure has certainly improved and I’ve
even managed to get it down to 120 over 80 on several occasions, which is
of course the blood pressure reading everyone is aiming for! However, when
I’m under pressure due to work or personal issues my blood pressure
does fluctuate, but the levels are still much better than what they were
six months ago”, says Margaret. “My GP has now classified my
blood pressure as being normal, which is a fantastic achievement.”
Margaret feels that where possible we all should take control
of our health and not wait until we get ill as it’s much easier to
prevent illness than recover from it. Natural products like help: blood
pressure and easy lifestyle changes can make a long term difference and
Margaret’s personal story is a perfect example.
Karen said: "I developed high blood pressure whilst
I was pregnant with my youngest child and had been controlling it with
drugs prescribed by my doctor ever since.
"Before I was diagnosed with high blood pressure
I thought it was something that only affected older people and never thought
it was something I’d have to consider at this stage in my life.
"I saw the opportunity to take part in the help:
blood pressure study and jumped at the chance to take part."
Karen took the equivalent of 2 x 4g sachets of help: blood
pressure every day and settled into a routine after the first week.
click
to expand
"As a mum with three very active children aged
15, 12 and three I’m always very busy so it fit into my lifestyle
very easily.
"After four weeks I was thrilled with the results.
My blood pressure at the beginning of the study was 168/108 and by the
end was down to 135/94 which is just outside the usual range.
"I was really impressed with the fact that it managed
to lower my blood pressure in spite of added stresses such as the children
going back to school and as an added bonus I also noticed that my skin
looked much clearer."
It was during a business meeting in April 2009 that Kevin
Healey, a sales director at the five-star Radisson Edwardian Hotel in
Manchester, first discovered he had a serious health problem. "I
felt dizzy and my eye started going all over the place. I was squinting
and thought I was going to pass out. So I went straight to the accident
and emergency at Manchester Royal Infirmary, but I didn’t leave
again for six days." During Kevin’s stint in hospital he was
told that his blood pressure was sky-high - 225/140, as compared with
a normal reading of up to 130/85.
"I didn’t even know if that was high. I have
to confess that I’d been told to keep an eye on my blood pressure
ten years previously, but as there weren’t really any symptoms I
never thought to get it checked out. What’s so frightening is that
you don’t even know you’ve got it, until something like this
happens.”
click to expand
Over the next few days Kevin remained in A&E having
his blood pressure monitored and was subjected to a kidney scan, a liver
scan, a brain scan and a CT scan. Luckily all were fine, except his
blood pressure. Kevin was diagnosed as having chronic hypertension and
was put on statins to lower his cholesterol. It was during this time
that doctors also discovered that the retina in the back of his right
eye had completely detached.
Kevin comments: “They said that could be down
to the blood pressure. It’s just fortunate it was my eye that
went, not my heart.”
After Kevin left hospital he was determined he wouldn’t
be another heart disease statistic and set about making changes to his
lifestyle.
“My time in hospital was really awful and I didn’t
want to repeat it. I wasn’t stressed at work so I knew that my
high blood pressure was down to my lifestyle. I stopped eating on the
go, avoided fried or fatty foods and went for grilled instead. Now I
choose the salad or pasta option instead and everything is low-fat.
Despite not drinking excessively, I have cut down on alcohol tremendously.”
Small, manageable lifestyle changes have worked well
for Kevin, helping him go from just under 16 stone to 13stone 11lbs.
"I began to walk two or three nights a week, and
joined a gym, once I’d got a form from my doctor. As well as continuing
to take Atenolol and statins, I also started taking a natural, soluble
supplement derived from milk, called help: blood pressure.
"It’s just two sachets a day, so I put it
in milk with my breakfast cereal and also add to a glass of water before
I go to bed, when I take my cholesterol tablet. It fits into my daily
routine easily and I feel that it is working - small things over a long
period of time can really work miracles."
The lifestyle changes got Kevin’s blood pressure
readings down to 140/80. Within two months of taking help: blood pressure,
those figures had fallen further to around 120/70-80.
Back to top