20Aug 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
How to Reach Your Doctor During COVID-19 & Prepare for a FaceTime Office Visit?

How to Reach Your Doctor During COVID-19 & Prepare for a FaceTime Office Visit?

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How to Reach Your Doctor During COVID-19 & Prepare for a FaceTime Office Visit? Believe it or not, in order to reach your healthcare provider during COVID-19, all you need to do is call or sign up for the patient portal. Many primary care offices have electronic medical records with patient portals to communicate with your doctor. Establish a relationship with an urgent care clinic if you do not have a doctor. Just call the urgent care and the staff will tell you the best way to establish care. Now that you know how to contact your health care provider, I will discuss how to prepare for a virtual or Facetime visit in the remainder of this post. You might be skeptical about going to your doctor's office to be…
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11Aug 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
What is the Best Time to Monitor Blood Pressure at Home?

What is the Best Time to Monitor Blood Pressure at Home?

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What is the best time to monitor blood pressure at home? The best time to monitor at home is an excellent question; due to much research, we now know the answer. Why do we want to know the best time to measure? As you know, blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day, going above and below your normal level at various times. The damage to your blood vessles happens when your blood pressure is higher than normal. When your blood pressure is high you are more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and blindness at any time. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly how long it will take for these things to happen. Studies have shown that the damage may take time to happen, but there is no prediction…
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29Jul 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
High Blood Pressure Medication & Pregnancy: Substituting Methyldopa

High Blood Pressure Medication & Pregnancy: Substituting Methyldopa

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A member of my Facebook Group is having trouble finding her prescribed high blood pressure medication called methyldopa. She wanted to know what medication might be a substitute in pregnacy and if she is trying to conceive. The best person to answer this question is her doctor or her pharmacist (PharmD). Many times physicians, pharmDs, and insurance providers work together to come up with the best medication substitution. The member said, "Hello Everyone! Does anyone know of any high blood pressure medication that is approved for during pregnancy or trying to conceive? I’ve been taking Methyldopa for a while now but it’s discontinued at my regular pharmacy, and all other pharmacies in my area are saying the same thing." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se7JqYbLGdA Methyldopa Methyldopa is also known as Aldoment, and it is…
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14Jul 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
Blood Pressure Control: How Low is Too Low

Blood Pressure Control: How Low is Too Low

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A hypertension Facebook member share that her blood pressure was 85/69 mm Hg, and her heart rate was 65. She was concerned about heart rate and wanted to know if her blood pressure was too low. She said she did not have any symptoms. Her question was, would her heart rate be lower while asleep. Her Story Her blood pressure has been 140-150/100, sometimes higher, usually lower, but she would get spikes. Her doctor told her to try a low salt diet, exercise, and continue to monitoring. It helped, but she was still a Stage 1-2. Her blood pressure would spike, sometimes as high as 165/115 mm Hg. So, she called her doctor for medication. She was started on hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 25 mg. After the 2nd day of od 25…
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10Jul 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
Stress, Anxiety, Blood Pressure & COVID-19

Stress, Anxiety, Blood Pressure & COVID-19

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Today I want to talk about stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and COVID-19. This pandemic has caused many people to be quarantined, jobless, and worst affected personally by the infection. As a result, many people are feeling stressed, anxious, and blood pressures are rising in response to emotional stress. Is your blood pressure uncontrolled or worsening? Do you find yourself eating more comfort food lately, staying up all night looking at social media or the news? Are you having difficulty concentrating and getting your work done, and smoking, using drugs or drinking too much? These are all common signs of stress according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1) Take breaks from the news and social media 2) Take deep breaths, stretch or meditate 3) Eat healthily 4)…
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23Jun 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire

Does Amlodipine Cause Ankle or Foot Swelling?

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Does amlodipine cause ankle or foot swelling? A person in one of my hypertension groups was just started on amlodipine a week ago. Now, she is complaining of swelling in her left ankle and lower foot. She wants to know if the swelling in her ankle and foot is normal. She is on 25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide and 50 mg of losartan in the mornings, and 50 mg of metoprolol in the evenings. I don't know the dose of amlodipine, but I will assume that she is taking 10 mg in the mornings. However, usually, a smaller dose is started unless her blood pressure was severe at the time the medication was started. She is planning to see her cardiologist soon. The question was asked because she wanted to know…
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08Jun 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire

For Anyone Trying to Understand Racism: #Black Lives Matter

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#blacklivesmatter #racism #uncomfortableconversations For anyone trying to understand racism, I wrote this blog just for you because I have been trying to understand too. We witnessed the horrific murder of Mr. George Floyd by police on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis during an arrest. This is not a common occurrence, but it is happening too frequently. I'm trying to understand why we are still experiencing racism? Of course, there is no simple answer to why there is racism in America. Yet, we do know that it is a learned behavior that is taught from one person to another. Allow me to oversimplify a very complex topic based on what I have learned about human behavior. Ambivalence exists in America, but more people are outraged and committed to acting in "good…
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31May 2020 by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire
COVID-19 Survivors: Experts Tell How to Get Better

COVID-19 Survivors: Experts Tell How to Get Better

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by Tonya L. Breaux-Shropshire, Ph.D., MPH, RN - I have had a Coronavirus (COVID-19) survivor ask me what to do to get better. In this post, I turn to the experts who tell how to get better from COVID-19 as a survivor. Hypertension is among other chronic diseases that are risk factors for COVID-19) symptoms. African Americans are at a higher risk for COVID-19 as well. Only a small percentage of people who become ill from COVID-19 will have a severe case of the virus. Further, even less will end up in the ICU, and not many will die from the virus when compared to the number of people exposed. It takes some time to get better. The length of time may be different for different people. However, COVID-16 experts…
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