Routine check-up can save lives
BRAWLEY — The Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District is making sure residents understand the importance of knowing their blood pressure, which can only be known with a check-up.
Junior Sanchez, a senior, has his blood pressure checked every two weeks and on Wednesday it was pretty good … 130/68, with a resting heart rate at 70 beats per minute. “I’m taking blood pressure pills, but I feel fine,” said Sanchez. “The doctor told me to lose weight but it’s hard … I walk a mile every day. I start out on Eastern Avenue then to 14th Street, I turn onto K Street, then to J Street and back to 14th Street. I used to play baseball, but I can’t do it anymore.”
PMHD Blood Pressure Clinic is free to everyone and is held every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Phyllis Dillard Medical Center Lobby, 751 W. Legion Road. For more information call 760-351-4500.
Monitoring clients’ blood pressure was Rikki Garcia, Health Unit clerk, who noted one way to make it spike is an excess of salt. “The thing I noticed about diets, because I’m bad about keeping a diet, is stay away from sodas,” she said. “The perfect numbers are less than 120/80, no matter what your size is.”
PMHD checks blood press regularly, especially for elders to help track health and report any fluctuations to the doctor remarked Marselle Cook, staffing coordinator for Nursing Administration. “It’s important to watch your diet because that can influence blood pressure,” said Cook. “Try to avoid fried foods and eat fish and vegetables. But you could almost eat anything but it’s all about portion control. You can have small snacks, but do it in moderation- four graham crackers or carrot sticks.”
Chronic low blood pressure with no symptoms is almost never serious but health problems can develop if the pressure drops suddenly then the brain can be deprived of blood and dizziness or feinting can result.
It can also cause inadequate blood flow to other organs.
“I get a lot of new patients from the doctor’s office who wants to determine which medication or dosage to use or to stop a medication,” said Garcia. “But we usually get about 6 to 15 clients here every week.
Arriving on a sporadic basis in the summer Louis Avalos dropped in Wednesday to see what his blood pressure was after he forgot to take his hypertension medication. “In the winter my blood pressure spikes, the weather affects it,” said Avalos. “But I don’t have any other problems. I do two laps around Cattle Call Park and do two hills a day. I used to do the Cattle Call 5K run. But I can’t do it anymore. But in the summer, my blood pressure is pretty consistent.”