Costco Connection - June 2008

for your
health
Also:
_■Morning
hypertension
_■Heart-attack
symptoms
CPR made simple
g
AS
e
ntle
AS WATER,

THE AMERICAN Heart Association has simplified cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines, calling for a hands-only approach with the goal of saving more lives.

The previous guidelines called for a combination of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions, but many potential responders failed to take action because they feared doing those procedures in the wrong order or for the wrong duration, or feared the mouth-to-mouth contact.

Only about 25 percent of Americans who experience cardiac arrest receive CPR, but it does make a huge difference. Quickly getting

Bpuy_ıe_cr’s_k

Susan Hudson

Pharmacy OTC Buyer

SEVERAL RECENT studies indicate that monitoring your morning blood pressure can be critically important to your health. That’s because of a condition known as morning hypertension—a sudden surge in blood pressure in the first two hours of waking—which can put you at an increased risk of a stroke.

Even if you’re managing your blood pressure and taking medication, you can still have morning hypertension. Fifty percent of patients with high blood pressure have morning hypertension, and half of all strokes occur in the morning.

Omron makes a home blood-pressure monitor, the HEM-775 (item #796775), that detects morning hypertension by calculating the use r’s average weekly morning blood pressure. An indicator flashes when a reading exceeds the American

Heart Association guideline for normal blood pressure. In that case, it is advisable to consult a physician.

For more information about morning hypertension, visit www.morningbp.com.

GETTY IMAGES/STOCKBYTE

CPR doubles or triples survival chances.

The new hands-only approach is aimed at bystanders who witness a sudden cardiac arrest. If you see an adult suddenly drop over, be quick to do the following:

1. Have someone call 911 immediately, or do it yourself.

2. With the patient flat on his or her back, place the heel of one hand on the center of the chest and the other hand on top of the first. Lock your elbows and perform fast, forceful chest compressions at a rate of 100 per minute, lifting your hands slightly after each push to allow the chest to recoil. Take turns with a partner if one is available, and continue until paramedics arrive.

3. If an automated external defibrillator is available, attach it to the patient and follow the voice prompts. Other wise, keep compressing the chest.

A child who collapses is more likely to have breathing problems, so mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should still be used with children.—David Wight

Warning:
It may be a
heart
attack

HERE ARE some signs to look for if you think you’re having a heart attack.

Discomfort in the center of the chest—uncomforable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain—that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back.