Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 10A
AHA recommends
l
monitoring blood
at home
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Doctors say daily readings can
help guide medicines, treatment
By Debbie Gilbert
FCN regional staff
If you’re diabetic, you know
you’re supposed to check your
blood sugar every day.
But if you have high blood
pressure, chances are you only
get your pressure checked a few
times a year, when you go to a
doctor’s office.
Many physicians now
believe that’s not enough. About
72 million Americans have high
blood pressure, also known as
hypertension, and the majority
do not have their condition
under control.
That’s a serious concern.
“If blood pressure is not
well-controlled, damage to
blood vessels can cause strokes,
heart attacks and aneurysms,”
said Dr. Gary Minkiewicz, a
cardiologist with Northeast
Georgia Heart Center in
Gainesville.
Last month, the American
Heart Association recommend¬
ed that hypertension patients
should have a home monitor
that allows them to check their
blood pressure every day.
The theory is that if patients
keep a record of their readings,
the doctor can see how much
their level fluctuates on a daily
basis, indicating whether the
medication is working. The
drug or dosage then can be
changed if necessary.
Minkiewicz said he and his
colleagues have been recom¬
mending home monitors for
' years.
“I am very happy to see the
AHA pushing this,” he said.
“Having home blood pressures
to work from is extremely help¬
ful.”
Minkiewicz said if he makes
treatment decisions based only
on a patient’s blood pressure
CHURCH from 9A
classes. Classes are offered for
children 12 months through 4
years old. They are a small,
family-oriented, nurturing pro¬
gram and have limited open¬
ings. Hours are 9 a.m.-12:45
p.m. Call (770) 205-9656 for
information.
Good Shepherd Catholic
Preschool
... is now registering for the
"2008-09 school year.
For more information, call
(770) 887-9861, ext. 14.
Deer Creek Shores
Presbyterian Church pre¬
school
... is now enrolling for the
fall 2008/2009 school year.
Classes are offered for children
2, 3, 4 and 5 years old. Call
(770) 887-6801 for more infor¬
mation.
New Hope United
Methodist preschool
... this is the first year the
long-established church is
offering preschool classes.
Current classes are from 9
a.m.-noon Tuesday through
Thursday. Call Joy Stanley at
(478) 361-4299 or (770) 887-
3597 for more information.
Good Shepherd Catholic
preschool
■ ... is currently accepting
registration for the 2008-2009
school year.
They accept children from
ages 1 -4 and offer multiple pro¬
grams in a loving, nurturing
Catholic environment.
For more information, call
(770) 887-9861 ext. 14 or visit
www.gspreschool.org.
i «' ,
Episcopal Church of the
Holy Spirit preschool
... has openings for the 2-,
3- and 4-year-old classes.
Registration is now open.
Those interested are welcome
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Friday. June 6,2008
reading at the doctor’s office, he
may treat too aggressively.
“Some (patients) don’t have
sustained, chronic high blood
pressure that requires treat
ment,” he said. “It may spike in
response to stress, but it goes
back down. The biggest error is
that (the doctor) may prescribe
unnecessary medication. Then
the patient has blood pressures
at home that are much too low
and they end up passing out.”
A consistent reading of 140
over 90 used to be considered
the threshold for being diag
nosed with hypertension. Now,
the acceptable range is 100-130
for the upper (systolic) number
and 50-80 for the lower (dias
tolic) number.
When Minkiewicz has a
patient whose blood pressure
has tested high several times at
the doctor’s office, he advises
them to start checking it at
home.
Do-it-yourself monitors are
sold at almost any pharmacy
and can range from $30 to
$ 100 .
Minkiewicz doesn't recom
mend getting the kind of moni
tor that requires a stethoscope,
unless the patient is a medical
professional who has been
trained how to use it.
He also doesn’t recommend
the self-inflating cuffs, because
they’re more expensive. He sug
gests a cuff that the patient
inflates by squeezing a bulb.
“There's a console that has a
liquid crystal display, and it
comes with very good direc
tions,” he said. “It also tells
your pulse, whether it’s regular
or irregular.
The least expensive moni
tors are those that wrap around
a finger or wrist. But
Minkiewicz said they’re worth
less.
for a tour anytime between 9
a.m.- 12:15 p.m. Monday
through Thursday. Call (678)
372-0778 for more informa¬
tion.
Coal Mountain Baptist
preschool
... is now taking registration
applications for the 2008/2009
school year. Classes are offered
to children 2-4 years of age.
For more information, con¬
tact the school at (770) 781 -
8910 or (678) 936-9964 or visit
www.coalmountainbap
tistchurch.org. Space is limited
and registration is on a first
come, first serve basis. The pre¬
school is located at Hwy 9. at
Coal Mountain Crossing.
Concord Baptist Church
Weekday preschool
... Preschool registration for
the 2008-09 school year for
classes for 2-4 years is open.
Contact the preschool from
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday
through Thursday at (770) 886
9230. The preschool is located
at 6905 Concord Road in
Cumming. Visit www.cbccum
ming.org for more information.
Grace Community
Church
... meets every Sunday at 6
p.m. at the Bear Praise Center
located at 256 Beartooth
Parkway in Dawson County.
Wednesday services alternates
between the church location
and members’ homes at 6:15
p.m. for dinner and 7:25 p.m.
for bible study. The church
sponsors a book shop open to
the public from hoon- 5:30
p.m. every Wednesday. The
church is a Reformed Southern
Baptist Church, holding to the
doctrines of grace. Ray Rhodes
Jr. is pastor. For more informa¬
tion, call (678) 697-4495 or
visit www.nourishintheword.’
org.
“f always insist that
(patients) get the ones that go
around the arm, which are
much more accurate,” he said,
He instructs patients to
check their pressure once a day
and keep a written record for
him.
“It gives me a much better
idea of where their blood pres
sure is ranging, so I can make
adjustments (in medication) as
needed,” he said.
But the monitor that works
for one patient may not be
appropriate for another. Eva
Johnson, heart failure disease
manager at Northeast Georgia
Medical Center, said the self
inflating models are best for her
patients.
“We recommend an auto¬
mafic cuff that goes around the
upper arm,” she said. “A lot of
our patients are weak, and it's
hard for them to press a bulb.”
Johnson said many patients
with congestive heart failure
also have hypertension. But par
adoxically, some of the drugs
used to treat heart failure can
cause blood pressure to plum
met too low, so patients need to
be monitored for fluctuations in
both directions,
Johnson said most of her
patients are on Medicare,
which covers the cost of the
monitors,
“It’s a lot less expensive
than the cost of most blood
pressure medications,” she said.
Private insurance doesn’t
always cover the devices. But
Minkiewicz said if patients have
to pay out of pocket, it’s a
worthwhile investment,
A good monitor will last for
years, and unlike the glucose
meters used for checking dia
betes, no test strips or other
daily supplies are necessary,
“It’s a one-time expense,” he
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Jefferson State Bank’s 12 Month Certificate of Deposit
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Visit us in Cumming ut 108 Canton Road, call us at (678) 679-0442 or visit our website at www.jsbofga.com.
*tl .000 00 minimum dsposil wd Mwo I«quind to «trt iUted Annual Percentage Yield lAPY), which is effective date of publication and and sub|*ct to change without
U notice Available to new money only funds from enisling Jefferson State Bank accounts will not qualify Must have a Jefferson State Bank checking ecrountoi n»n«y mar.
STATE BANK kot account to qualify Substantial penalty for early withdrawal
4 4 If blood pressure is not well-controlled,
damage to blood vessels can cause strokes, heart
attacks and aneurysms. >>
- Dr. Gary Minkiewicz, a cardiologist with Northeast Georgia Heart Center in Gainesville
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Photo/Tom Reed/FCN regional staff
Kyle Killinger, retail manager of Care Medical in Gainesville, demonstrates one type
of blood pressure monitor designed for home use. Some pharmacies also sell mod¬
els that don’t require a stethoscope.
said. “All you need is the moni
tor and a pencil and paper.
Johnson said the device can
potentially save thousands of
dollars in medical bills.
“For our patients, keeping
blood pressure under control
can prevent re-hospitalizations,”
she said,
Do home monitors actually
save lives? There hasn’t yet
been a study that shows a direct
connection. But according to
statistics from the American
Heart Association, 69 percent of
people who have a first heart
attack and 77 percent who have
a first stroke turn out to have
hypertension,
If their blood pressure isn’t
brought under control, those
patients may not be lucky
enough to survive a second
attack.