My sister has high blood pressure. While lifestyle choices and medication keep her blood pressure in healthy ranges she can't seem to shake the edema. Despite her best efforts, her feet and ankles remain swollen and puffy. While my blood pressure is within healthy range, as soon as the weather gets hot and humid, I'm dealing with swollen feet, too.

Our bodies are designed to move water through our systems. Edema is a condition where excess fluid is retained between cells. There are many reasons you may have edema including immobility, pregnancy, heat/humidity, medications, high blood pressure, trauma, and kidney disease. If you have swollen feet, take heart. There are plenty of things you can do:

• Elevate your legs above heart level. You can use a leg wedge to raise your legs up while sleeping.
• Wear support socks.
  
• Increase your activity -- walking is a perfect exercise for helping edema.
• Avoid standing or sitting in one place for a long time. (If you are sitting for a while, try raising your feet up a bit.)
• Ask your doctor if a short-term course of diuretics would be advisable.
• If you're on high blood pressure medication, talk to your doctor about possibly modifying your medications. (Do not make any changes without speaking to your doctor.)
• Drink plenty of water.

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A recent study revealed that stretching exercises may be effective in reducing preeclampsia risk. In fact, the study shows that stretching may be even more effective than walking or other exercises for women who have had preeclampsia before or were inactive before pregnancy.

Preeclamspia -- or pregnancy-related high blood pressure -- is one of the top risks of pregnancy. Up to 8% of pregnant women experience the condition. During the study, 79 pregnant women who had had preeclampsia before and were inactive were assigned to different groups -- one group walked five times per week, another group followed a non-aerobic stretching exercise video. While almost 15% of the women in the walking group developed preeclampsia, less than 5% of those in the stretching group developed the condition.

If you're pregnant, talk to your OB/GYN about what exercises can be beneficial to your health and are safe during pregnancy.

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New research is shaking up the belief that a low-salt diet benefits heart health. A low-sodium diet has long been recommended to lower blood pressure, but this new research suggests that lower sodium may not impact heart health as much as previously thought ... if at all.

Through surveys, researchers followed the health of over 8,000 participants over a period of years. After adjusting for other risk factors, the participants who consumed the least salt were 80% more likely to die from cardiac disease.

It's important to note that the researchers are not implying that a low-salt diet could be a causative factor for heart disease. Rather, they're questioning the efficacy of low-sodium diets for heart health and questioning whether it makes sense for doctors to recommend lowering sodium intake for people who have no other health problems. Personally, I'm having a hard time shaking the low-sodium belief. What do you think?

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The results of a recent study show that an aspirin taken at bedtime lowered the blood pressure of pre-hypertensive patients, whereas an aspirin taken in the morning didn't have the same effect. While the exact reasons are unknown, researchers suggest that nighttime aspirin usage could slow the production of clot-producing hormones and other substances that are typically generated at night.

The three-month study followed 244 adults with blood pressure that hovered just below the 140/90 mark. (Consistent readings greater than 140/90 are considered high blood pressure (HBP). Readings that are just below that threshold are considered pre-hypertension -- a warning that the patient is at risk of HBP. The group was divided into thirds: one group followed a blood pressure reducing diet, the second took a 100 mg aspirin at bedtime, the third took an aspirin in the morning.

The group that took the aspirin before bedtime saw the best results -- an average drop of 5.4 points in systolic pressure and 3.4 points in diastolic pressure.

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The Norwegian National Headache Center found that people with high blood pressure were less likely to have migraine headaches. Previously, it was believed that high blood pressure was a causative factor for migraine headaches, but research shows otherwise.

The study followed more than 50,000 adults and included information on headache frequency, use of blood pressure medication, and blood pressure readings. People with the highest pulse pressure had up to 50% fewer headaches.

Knowing that high blood pressure doesn't cause migraines is a good thing -- it leads researchers closer to better understanding painful migraine headaches. Also, blood pressure medication is sometimes prescribed for migraines and this study may prove that is unnecessary or ineffective. However, it's clearly not a reason to stop treating high blood pressure. As my grandmother used to say, "don't trade one evil for another." High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and can even lead to reduced function later in life.

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Recent research shows that the anniversary of a parent's death can trigger sudden death, particularly for men. Researchers think the mental stress from the anniversary of the event may induce sudden death in people that are prone to heart failure. People at risk will likely have a family history of heart attack, sudden death, and/or coronary disease. Other risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, or a sedentary lifestyle.

Researchers evaluated 102 sudden deaths of people between 37 and 79 years old. 70% of those people died from coronary artery disease. 12% of the people died on the anniversary of a parent's death. 80% of those who died on an anniversary date were male.

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An American Heart Association study states that young, otherwise healthy patients who use cocaine can sometimes experience heart attack symptoms such as palpitations, nausea, chest pain, sweating, and shortness of breath. It can also result in high blood pressure.

Often, cocaine-related chest pain occurs within 3 hours of taking the drug, but cocaine can cause complications up to 18 hours after taking it. The American Heart Association report encourages doctors to ask patients exhibiting heart attack symptoms if they've used cocaine. Some common heart attack treatments such as beta-blockers and clot-busting drugs are very dangerous to cocaine users.

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Research shows that women who suffer high blood pressure during pregnancy may be at an elevated risk of stroke or other heart problems later in life.

Scientists examined data on almost 5,000 women and found that half of those who had high blood pressure while pregnant also had it again by the age of 52. Concurrently, these women's' risk of heart attack and stroke became greater.

Doctors suggest that if your blood pressure soars above 140 over 90, you should make efforts at lowering it through diet and exercise. With respect to the former, try walnuts, whole grains, and vegetables. You should also avoid any foods that contain trans fat. As for the latter, choose the right workout for you from the scores of great books, magazines, and websites featuring sound exercise advice.

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It's estimated that Americans are getting at least twice the amount of sodium they need every day, if not more. Sodium is a problem because it contributes -- among other things -- to high blood pressure. Hypertension contributes to cardiovascular disease, and since heart disease is the number one killer in America...well...you can see why it's in our best interest to reduce the amount of sodium we eat.

Processed foods are a big source of added salt, so one of the easiest ways to reduce sodium in your diet is to eat fresh, whole foods rather than those that are boxed or frozen. According to Ediets, there are several other ways to reduce your daily intake of sodium, including these:

• Leave the salt out of your recipes and let everyone salt their own dish at the table.
• When using canned goods, choose low-salt varieties or rinse before using.
• Make your own salad dressings.
• Pass on salty lunch meats and prepare your own meats at home.

How do you reduce sodium in your daily diet?

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Sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value and chemical composition. The only difference -- taste and texture -- come from the salt's refining process. Refined salt (table salt) consists of uniform crystals and may contain added iodine and an anti-caking agent, which research suggests is harmless. Sea salt is less refined and composed of larger crystals that contain trace amounts of naturally occurring minerals, giving it a slightly different taste and coarse texture.

Regardless of your preference, odds are you're using too much. Try to limit your intake to 2,300 mg per day.

When it comes to blood pressure, you really want to be a dipper. At night, most healthy people and many people with hypertension have blood pressures that "dip" lower than during the day. Health experts theorize that this dip gives the arteries a break. But for some patients with high blood pressure, that dip never comes, making them harder to treat.

A small Italian study found, however, that when hypertension patients changed just one of their medications to the evening, instead of the morning, nearly 90% of them became "dippers." Though more research needs to be done, many hope this is an advance that will help patients get better control over their blood pressure. Be sure to speak to your doctor before making any changes to your medication.

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Can kids have elevated blood pressure levels? Judging from some of the huffing and puffing I've seen from overweight kids in the local Wal-Mart, I would say a definite yes to that question.

As such, a British study took the old axiom from adulthood and applied it to kids. As in, the amount of exercise kids receive is related to healthy blood pressure levels more than short, intense bouts of exercise.

Kids in the study wore movement detectors for a week so that researchers could get a grip on how much these kids exercised and for how long. The conclusion? The amount of exercise was a contributing factor to lower blood pressure, "even after taking into account a number of possible confounding factors, such as social class and maternal health," according to the researchers.

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High blood pressure is no laughing matter -- and in elderly patients, it can lead to thinking difficulties that ultimately turn into dementia according to a report this week.

Hypertension (aka, high blood pressure) was linked to two types of mild cognitive impairment by the researchers in the study. What wasn't connected was hypertension and Alzheimer's Disease.

Now, although mild cognitive impairment does not necessarily mean dementia, it's a small step that can 'foreshadow' dementia's development. In many cases, mild cognitive impairment is not noticeable, and sometimes it can't even be detected in tests. It can, however, interfere with daily life.

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If you have high blood pressure, you might want to keep a closer eye on it as the seasons change. A recent study found that patients with hypertension were better able to control their blood pressure during the summer months than over the winter. Researchers theorize that people are more physically active in the summertime, and that it's common to gain weight over the winter.

While it's a good idea to keep an eye on your blood pressure, it's also smart to keep those good summer habits going all winter long. Adjust your summer workout by adding layers of clothing and winter gear, or bring your workout inside by joining a gym or ordering a workout DVD. What are some indoor workouts that you like?

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Yes, we've heard it before: eat whole grains as part of a daily, healthy diet. Do most of you get to that serving of whole grains each and every day, though? It's tough sometimes just to get a few servings every week for some of us.

But just having a single servings of whole grains daily (just one) may be able to slash your risk of high blood pressure, and the benefits go up if you can get in more servings per days (like with every meal). A new study revealed this fact this week when published in The American journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study concluded that developing high blood pressure over a decade fell by 4 percent when study participants ate just one daily servings of whole grains. Eat two servings, and see an 8 percent decline. The funny thing is how easy it is to eat whole grains every day, even on the go. Just make sure those grains aren't mixed with chemicals and fake taste enhancers.

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