Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association's national call to women to take charge of their heart health and live longer, stronger lives. Go Red For Women helps you discover unique life-saving power by learning about heart disease and stroke, and taking positive action to reduce your risk. Red is the American Heart Association's color for women and heart disease. Make it your color, too.

There is no time like the present to check your blood pressure, especially since people with high blood pressure rarely experience discomfort or outward signs of trouble. Yet high blood pressure (hypertension) is a killer—and a silent one. Uncontrolled, high blood pressure increases the odds that you'll have a heart attack, a stroke, or kidney failure—and directly or indirectly accounts for nearly a million deaths each year.

Many who have high blood pressure simply don't know it. Worse yet, nine out of ten people who know their blood pressure is dangerously high are doing nothing to try to control it. And for 95% of those affected, there is no known cause. The amazing part is that blood pressure is one of the easiest health problems to control and manage. Have your blood pressure checked more than once on several occasions. If it is generally pretty good and suddenly registers high, don't be alarmed.

Anxiety and other strong emotions, physical exertion, drinking a large amount of coffee, or digesting a recently consumed meal can temporarily elevate normal blood pressure with no lasting effects. If, after several readings, your doctor is convinced you do indeed have high blood pressure, follow his or her advice. Here's a multipoint plan to help you to control high blood pressure.

• If you're overweight, lose weight.
• Don't smoke.
• Limit alcohol to two drinks or less a day.
• Eat a low-salt diet and use salt substitutes with physician approval.
• Get regular exercise at least three times each week.
• Learn to handle stress by practicing relaxation techniques and rethinking stressful situations.
• Take any prescribed blood pressure medicine as directed. Don't skip your pills because you
  feel fine.
• If you're a woman, talk to your doctor about oral contraceptives and blood pressure. Many
  other birth control methods are available.
• Avoid over-the-counter cold remedies containing the ingredient phenylpropanolamine. It can
  raise blood pressure. Talk to your physician or pharmacist for advice about using these drugs.
  
  
  

Each year, more than 62 million cases of the common cold in the United States require medical attention and more than 80% affect school-aged children. Recent research—consistent with that from earlier studies— showed both fewer colds and significantly shorter cold duration with the use of zinc gluconate lozenges.

The zinc lozenges are well tolerated, easy to use and have the potential to substantially reduce cold-related school absences and antibiotic use and misuse, as well as to provide a cost saving.1