Airplane Noise Can Boost Blood Pressure

As reported in HealthDay... People who live near major airports may be disturbed by the din of aircraft flying overhead all day, but a new study finds it can also boost their blood pressure even while they're sleeping.

In fact, the louder the noise, the higher blood pressure will go, the study found. That finding holds whether the noise comes from airplanes, passing traffic or other sources, according to the report in the February issue of the European Heart Journal. Click here to read entire article.

A Happy Marriage Lowers Blood Pressure

As reported in Reuters... "Happily married people have lower blood pressure than unhappy married people or singles, a Brigham Young University study says.

On the other hand, even having a supportive social network did not translate into a blood pressure benefit for singles or unhappy married people, according to the study.

"There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage. It's not just being married that benefits health -- what's really the most protective of health is having a happy marriage," study author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist who specializes in relationships and health, said in a prepared statement.

The study included 204 married and 99 single adults who wore portable blood-pressure monitors for 24 hours. The monitors recorded blood pressure at random intervals and provided a total of about 72 readings.

"We wanted to capture participants' blood pressure doing whatever they normally do in everyday life. Getting one or two readings in a clinic is not really representative of the fluctuations that occur throughout the day," Holt-Lunstad said.

Overall, happily married people scored four points lower on the blood pressure readings than single adults. The study also found that blood pressure among married people -- especially those in happy marriages -- dipped more during sleep than in single people.

"Research has shown that people whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at much greater risk of cardiovascular problems than people whose blood pressure dips," Holt-Lunstad said.

The study was published in the March 20 issue of the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The study also found that unhappily married adults have higher blood pressure than both happily married and single adults.

Holt-Lunstad noted that spouses can encourage healthy habits in one another, such as eating a healthy diet and having regular doctor visits. People in happy marriages also have a source of emotional support, she said."

Meditation Lowers Blood Pressure

Meditation can not only lower stress, it also helps in regulating high blood pressure with an added benefit of bypassing possible side effects and hazards of anti-hypertension drugs, says a new study.

In the new meta-analysis, researchers from University of Kentucky conducted nine randomized, controlled trials with Transcendental Meditation as a primary intervention for hypertensive patients.

The findings revealed that practicing Transcendental Meditation led to approximate reduction of 4.7 mm systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mm diastolic blood pressure.

Dr. James W. Anderson, lead author and professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, insisted that reduction the blood pressure could significantly reduce the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease without the side effects of drugs.

“Adding Transcendental Medication is about equivalent to adding a second antihypertension agent to one’s current regimen only safer and less troublesome,” he said.

The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.