High blood pressure is a common, yet potentially deadly condition. When left untreated, it can lead to heart disease and other serious health problems. While medications are typically the best course of treatment, did you know exercise can also help to lower your blood pressure? Running in particular can have fantastic health benefits, including reducing…
An important study carried out on mice, has revealed a link between zinc deficiency and high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. According to the findings of the research, a deficiency in zinc can alter how the kidney’s manage sodium. So, what do these new findings mean for patients and could zinc be the key…
Uric acid is a molecule in the blood that is historically associated with a very old-fashioned disease: gout. Yet in recent years, uric acid has gained a great deal of interest as a deciding factor in many of the metabolic health concerns that plague us and has also been identified as a determinant of cardiovascular…
Statins are certainly one of the most widely used drugs in the history of medication and they have reshaped the treatment of cardiovascular disease, with an estimated one billion people around the world prescribed them daily. Statins are guideline recommended and do play a role in treating patients with heart disease. It is however important…
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most common conditions in the UK. While medications are currently used to manage it, they can cause unwanted side effects. Instead, experts suggest using a functional medicine approach to tackle the problem. Here, we will look at what a functional medicine approach means and how it…
Serious health concerns caused by a malfunctioning response of our immune systems has been linked to the Western diet in new research efforts led by UK scientists. The body’s natural defence system can no longer tell the difference between healthy cells and foreign micro-organisms, leading the body to attack the body’s organs including the heart.…
Following on from our article on the concept of functional medicine and how it benefits the patient, we now look at which patients could benefit from a functional cardiology approach. And, the short answer is, everyone with a chronic condition. Acute emergencies are – and will remain – the domain of traditional medicine. If you…
Medicine has evolved in recent years with an increasing focus on a holistic approach to looking after patients. Functional medicine looks at why illness occurs rather than just treating the symptoms and aims to restore health by addressing these root causes. The functional medicine approach is to consider each patient’s genetic and individual lifestyle factors…
The NHS look to the future by offering hundreds of thousands of free blood pressure monitors as part of their Long Term Plan, designed to prevent 2,200 heart attacks and 3,300 strokes over the next five years. Similar to the blood pressure monitors used in GP practices, more than 65,000 of the devices have already…
Every November the focus is on diabetes as charities raise awareness of the challenges of living with this condition. This year marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin, one of the 20th century’s greatest medical breakthroughs and still the only effective medication for diabetes, particularly of type 1. Controlling diabetes, whether through insulin, lifestyle…