10 tips for using diet to control blood pressure.

Fiddling with diet to control cholesterol makes perfect sense. After all, some of the cholesterol that ends up in arteries starts out in food. Changing your diet to control blood pressure doesn't seem quite so straightforward. Yet food can have a direct and sometimes dramatic effect on blood pressure.

Salt certainly plays a role. But there is far more to a blood pressure–friendly diet than minimizing salt intake. Fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy foods, beans, nuts, whole-grain carbohydrates, and unsaturated fats also have healthful effects on blood pressure.

There isn't a ...

Damage to the endothelium sets the stage for cardiovascular disease.

The well-being of your heart and circulatory system depends on a layer of cells half the thickness of Scotch tape that stretches for thousands of miles. This layer, called the endothelium (en-doe-THEE-lee-um), was once thought to be little more than a barrier separating blood from the muscle, nerves, and connective tissue that make up arteries and veins. We now know that it is a dynamic regulator of blood vessel health. Damage to the endothelium, which often begins quietly in childhood, matures decades later as stiff or cholesterol-pocked blood vessels.

Anatomy ...

The decision involves a trade-off between durability and the need to take an anticoagulant for life.

Four small valves open and close with each heartbeat. Their coordinated movements direct blood in a seamless, life-sustaining cycle. Each contraction of the powerful left ventricle drives oxygen-rich blood through the aortic valve and on to all parts of the body. Blood depleted of oxygen returns to the right atrium and passes through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. From there it is pumped through the pulmonary valve and into the lungs, where it gets recharged with oxygen. The next stop is the ...

Researchers refine the calculation of peak heart rate.

The heart has an amazing range of speeds, from a slow, steady rhythm during sleep to a fleeter beat during strenuous physical activity. Its upper limit, known as the maximum or peak heart rate, is a helpful number. Peak heart rate is used to help diagnose heart disease as well as to guide cardiac rehabilitation and daily exercise. It also carries some information about the heart's health and about longevity.

The most accurate way to determine peak heart rate is by taking an exercise stress test. Under a health care professional's ...

  Researchers found that the rates of artery-clearing procedures varied significantly among different regions in the United States.  

Daily self-monitoring of blood pressure readings can help keep pressure from drifting upward.

Brief reports on anxiety disorders and increased risk of heart disease, the decline in trans fat use in fast food, and the health benefits of bicycling.

I am an 80-year-old man. Forty years ago I had a heart attack after completing a long hike. I stopped smoking but remained very active, doing a lot of hiking and kayaking. I now walk 2 to 3 miles a day, work out with weights three times a week, and walk up and down 25 flights of stairs twice a week. My blood pressure, with the help of medications, hovers around 125/70; my resting pulse is 55. A year ago I tore my quadriceps tendon, but am now back to my usual activities. My physician thinks I am pushing too hard and has urged me to take it easier. Is he right? Should I follow his recommendation?

My family has squabbled about oats for some time. Some members say that to get the biggest health benefit from oats you need to eat them raw, at room temperature, and moistened with water. Others say they should be cooked. Does cooking take something beneficial out of oats? Can you bring us some peace at breakfast time?