GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019 - 10

ask dr. gramma karen

A
Must--‐Read
for
A Must Read for
Grandparents
Everyone!

and an EKG (electrocardiogram) was administered. The cause of all this commotion was
my blood pressure reading: 198/120, a far cry
from my usual 120/80. As I later learned, this
high reading can lead to a stroke, can cause
damage to blood vessels, or be a sign of
organ damage, usually to the kidneys or eyes.

I Hereby Resolve ...

So going forward, I have accepted that I
am one of the "one in three" U.S. adults - or
about 75 million people - who have high
and ignore medical warning signs by ending blood pressure. The CDC (Centers For Disease
up in the emergency department for appen- Control and Prevention) reports that high
dicitis, a broken toe, and a urinary tract infec- blood pressure was a primary or contributtion - all conditions that became more seri- ing cause of death for more than 410,000
ous unnecessarily because of my inattention. Americans in 2014 - that's more than 1,100
deaths each day. In addition, high blood presFortunately, I paid attention to this blacksure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year.
out-like experience: I reported the incident
Knowing that only about half (54%) of
to my husband, who called my primary phythese people have their high blood pressure
sician. She directed me to go immediately
under control, I take my medications faithto my local emergency department. On the
fully, I check my blood pressure once a week,
ride over I resisted, repeating my ritualistic
response, "It's nothing. This is a waste of time. and I am scheduled to meet with my cardiologist (my new best friend) every few months.
I'm in great health."
In the future, I will immediately share with
During the admittance process, a nurse
took my blood pressure, first on my left arm, my primary doctor or cardiologist any out-ofthe-ordinary events and not assume they will
then on my right arm. All of a sudden there
self-correct because "I am in good health."
was this flurry of activity all around me as I
was rushed into a private room while equip- Yes, I will try to remain as healthy as possiment was hooked up to me, IVs were started, ble by continuing to do all those things that
10 GRAND

Nov-Dec 2019

Look
Inside

promote good health, but I have resolved to
be attentive and responsive when my body is
trying to tell me something. I hereby resolve
to pay attention!

Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., writes
an advice column for parents and
grandparents at Mommybites.com.
Her most recent book is, It's All
About Relationships: New Ways to
Make Them Healthy and Fulfilling,
at Home and at Work.

"This
book...set
me
straight.
I
wasn't
sure
This
book
the
where
mtakes
y
boundaries
uncertainty
thorniwere
as
a
gand
randma..."
ness out of relationships.

No
more ibeing
confused,
"Karen
dentiﬁes
the
or
unsure
about
what
cause
and
eﬀect
of
to
do,
oftenissues
doingin
somefamily
plain
thing
makes
a relaand
sthat
imple
language."
tionship
even worse!
--‐
Amazon.com
Reviewers

Show me the book!

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-symptoms-high-blood-pressure https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-symptoms-high-blood-pressure https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098962742X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=098962742X&linkId=66a0e1a55f91dad29012703995da3f18 https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_bloodpressure.htm https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098962742X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=098962742X&linkId=66a0e1a55f91dad29012703995da3f18 http://www.Amazon.com http://www.askdrgrammakaren.com/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098962742X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=098962742X&linkId=66a0e1a55f91dad29012703995da3f18 https://www.mommybites.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Its-All-About-Relationships-Fulfilling/dp/098962742X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1553688108&sr=1-2-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Its-All-About-Relationships-Fulfilling/dp/098962742X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1553688108&sr=1-2-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Its-All-About-Relationships-Fulfilling/dp/098962742X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1553688108&sr=1-2-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Its-All-About-Relationships-Fulfilling/dp/098962742X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1553688108&sr=1-2-fkmrnull

GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019