May 2024   Hypertension Awareness May is hypertension awareness month. Almost half of the adult population, about 48%, will be diagnosed with hypertension at some point in their lives. Known as the "Silent Killer," due to its relative lack of symptoms, uncontrolled hypertension can contribute to a host of other health concerns including Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Knowing Your Risk Factors There are some risk factors that increase the likelihood of being diagnosed with high blood pressure, these include: - Family history of hypertension - Being diagnosed with CKD - Being at an unhealthy weight - Lack of physical activity - High sodium diet - Diabetes - Smoking Be Proactive with Your Health While many instances of hypertension do need medication to help keep your blood pressure regulated, there are some things you can do to help naturally bring your blood pressure to more healthy levels. - Follow a diet that is supportive of your other health conditions (i.e. diabetes, heart healthy) - Get regular movement into your routine as this can help with blood pressure as well as other health concerns - Avoid smoking - Meet with your doctor regularly to address concerns and monitor changes Get involved with some May events:  May 17- World Hypertension Day  May 19- NKF Kidney Walk (Come walk with us!) May 24- National Senior Health and Fitness Day May 31- World No Tobacco Day Gear up for the Kidney Walk! Our teams at Jacksonville Nephrology and DialySuites come together to form 'The Dream Team' to participate in a 5k put on annually by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). We want to extend the invitation to you to walk with us! This month's education is a great way to start moving your body in preparation for the walk in May. Click the link below for more information about the walk! NKF: Jacksonville Kidney Walk Hypertension Awareness Resources Websites and Videos Listed below are trusted websites, like the National Kidney Foundation and Mayo Clinic, to help provide additional information. American Heart Association: Hypertension Awareness American Heart Association: Knowing Your Risk Factors American Heart Association: Making Changes Blog Posts The Bean provides a variety of resources about all things kidney related.  Kidney Korner: Electrolytes - Sodium Kidney Korner: Introduction to Blood Pressure Local Classes and Locations Find a local class or gym that offers classes and equipment to get active with others.  YMCA Classes Silver Sneakers Classes Mandarin T'ai Chi Society How the HumHealth App Helps Viewing your Blood Pressure Graph Looking at lists of blood pressure readings can be daunting. Viewing a graph can sometimes make it easier to see what your blood pressure is doing after making a lifestyle change. This can show you the "before and after" of creating new routines such as implementing more movement or changing to a healthier diet. Navigate to the menu button (3 horizontal lines) in the upper lefthand corner on the home screen. Scroll to the "Self-Assessment" section and select "Vitals" Select the "Blood Pressure" from the list, do not click on the purple icon This screen shows a graph of your readings over a selected period of time To change the length of time, locate the time settings in the upper left hand corner and toggle between "1W, 1M, 3M, etc."  Download in the Apple App Store Download in the Google Play Store RPM Empowered To continue our mission of 'Empowering Through Education,' we provide monthly education topics for our Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) patients.  Learn More   Patient Care Coordinator Samantha Samantha is a dedicated team member who will work side by side with you to help manage your care via our RPM program. Need Help? Contact us! Phone: (904) 260-9898 Fax: (904) 260-9891 Email: [email protected] Address: 13241 Bartram Park Blvd Suite 1001 Jacksonville, FL 32258 www.jaxnephrology.com Designed with BEE