What are the "3 highs"?
The 3 highs are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugars (diabetes). These conditions often coexist with central obesity, known as metabolic syndrome.
High cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar damages the blood circulatory system and the organs it supports.
High Cholesterol: With high cholesterol, your body may store the excess cholesterol in your arteries, which can build up and form plaque. This results in your arteries hardening or turning more narrow; and in severe cases, being completely blocked off, which impedes blood flow to important organs.
High Blood Pressure: Blood pressure is the force your blood places on your artery walls as it travels through your body. High blood pressure can eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease, due to the additional strain that is placed on your blood vessels, heart, and other organs.
High Blood Sugar: When there is too much sugar in your blood, fatty deposits may build in blood vessel walls and may eventually cause your blood vessels to harden. This restricts blood flow around your body.
Impact of the "3 highs"
High blood pressure (hypertension)
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.
Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. A blood pressure reading is given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It has two numbers.
- Top number (systolic pressure). The first, or upper, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.
- Bottom number (diastolic pressure). The second, or lower, number measures the pressure in your arteries between beats.
You can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected.
High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your blood. Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, but high levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.
With high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits grow, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Sometimes, those deposits can break suddenly and form a clot that causes a heart attack or stroke.
High cholesterol can be inherited, but it's often the result of unhealthy lifestyle choices, which make it preventable and treatable. A healthy diet, regular exercise and sometimes medication can help reduce high cholesterol.
High Blood Sugars
Elevated blood sugar levels are known as hyperglycemia. Blood sugar levels are measured using a small sample of blood (typically pricked from the finger) that is tested in a lab. Blood sugar can also be tested using at home devices such as a handheld glucometer. Levels that indicate hyperglycemia are indicative of prediabetes and both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Normal ranges of blood sugar will vary depending on the test being done. In general, a normal fasting (testing done early in the morning before breakfast is eaten) glucose level will be between 70-100 mg/dL. After a meal, these levels are expected to rise slightly around 1 to 2 hours after the beginning of a meal, but should be less than 180 ml/dL.
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is important not only for metabolic health, but heart health too. Over time, high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart. People with diabetes are also more likely to have other conditions that raise the risk for heart disease:
- High blood pressure increases the force of blood through your arteries and can damage artery walls. Having both high blood pressure and diabetes can greatly increase your risk for heart disease.
- Too much LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in your bloodstream can form plaque on damaged artery walls.
3 high often not easy to be found
Unfortunately, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar have no obvious symptoms. These conditions often go undetected until the onset of debilitating diseases such as heart attacks, organ damage and blindness. Survivors find a reduced quality of life after these episodes due to disability, loss of autonomy and financial burden.
Unlike infectious diseases for which there may be a vaccine or cure, chronic diseases must be managed through lifelong lifestyle changes and habits. We share 3 things you can do to prevent chronic disease from lurking in your body.
1. Monitoring
Weight Scales
All you need is a scale to help you calculate your body mass index (BMI). BMI can be used to measure whether you are overweight, as obesity is a risk factor for chronic disease.
To calculate your body mass index
BMI = your weight in kilograms / (your height in meters) x your height in meters)
Healthy range BMI: 18.5 to 23 kg/m2
* Self-assess your weight and BMI at least once every 3 months
If you find yourself outside the healthy range, you may want to consider adopting healthier lifestyle habits to better control your weight.
Blood Pressure Monitor
A basic blood pressure monitor can be purchased for about $70 and can save you money on medical care and travel expenses in the long run due to early detection. Medasia's blood pressure monitors are even as low as $34.50, helping you know how well you are doing for less money.
Your blood pressure reading consists of 2 numbers, systolic (the larger number) and diastolic (the smaller number).
Healthy range:
Systolic < 130 mmHg
Diastolic blood pressure < 80 mmHg
*Self-measured blood pressure at least once every 3 months
Testing your cholesterol at home can save you a lot of money and help you understand your health for less. Testing your cholesterol at home gives you easy-to-understand results for the 3 key measurements of your blood lipids, TC, HDL, and TG.
Health range:
TC: 35 to 65 mg/dL for men, 35 to 80 mg/dL for women.
HDL: Average adult equal to or above 60 mg/dl, Males above 40 mg/dl, Females above 50 mg/dl.
TG: Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or less than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
*Self-measurement of cholesterol is recommended every 6 months to a year
A basic blood glucose monitor can be purchased for about $70 and can save you money in the long run on medical costs and travel expenses due to early detection. medaisa's blood glucose meters are even as low as $14.90, helping you know your health for less money.
Health range:
| Blood Sugar Levels | ||||
| Age | Before meal | Two hours after eating | Eight hours after eating | Before bedtime |
| Below 6 years | 100 to 180 mg/dL | 180 mg/dL | 80 to 180 mg/dL | 110 to 200 mg/dL |
| 6 to 12 years | 90 to 180 mg/dL | Below 140 mg/dL | 80 to 180 mg/dL | 100 to 180 mg/dL |
| 13 to 19 years | 90 to 130 mg/dL | Below 140 mg/dL | 70 to 150 mg/dL | 90 to 150 mg/dL |
| Above 20 years | 70 to 130 mg/dL | Below 180 mg/dL | 70 to 100 mg/dL | 100 to 140 mg/dL |
| Pregnant Women | 90 mg/dL | Below 120 mg/dL | 70 to 90 mg/dL | 100 to 140 mg/dL |
Annual Health Check
Schedule an annual wellness visit for yourself 2 weeks before you are born. As we age, we become more susceptible to these chronic conditions, so it is best to always be aware of our health status.
Depending on your age and gender, you should attend different health screenings. Or, depending on your lifestyle, talk to your doctor to get a better idea of what tests you should have.
Thankfully, Medasia.store has the instruments to make it easy for you to take health screenings. We offer home-based health screening packages, so you don't even have to leave your home to find out what's going on with your health.
2. Stay active
Exercise has many benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of high blood pressure, and boosting your mood. You don't have to go all out in the gym or run a marathon. It's more important to maintain a consistent, doable effort each week, such as:
- Walking briskly for 30 minutes 5 times a week
- Reaching 10,000 steps per day
- Attend your favorite class (e.g. Zumba, kickboxing) 3 times a week
If you haven't worked out in a while, remember to take it slow. Pushing too hard at the beginning may lead to injury.
3. depending on what you eat
Adopt a balanced diet, which means.
More: vegetables, fish, lean meats, whole grains and fruits
Minus: processed foods, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages
Changing your diet all at once can sometimes be challenging. These three healthy eating tips will make it easier for you!
Make a list before you go grocery shopping.
If you follow a pre-planned list, it's harder to make impulsive decisions about buying snacks and unhealthy processed foods. This helps you stay focused in the supermarket so you don't make any unnecessary purchases.
Hold your dessert order until the end of the meal.
If we order everything, including dessert, right off the bat, we tend to over-order. When dessert arrives, we try to finish it even though we're full. Also, if you do want dessert, please consider sharing it with the person you are dining with.
Drink water throughout the day
Drinking enough water will not only help you stay hydrated, it will also prevent you from feeling unnecessarily hungry and overeating. You can also try some healthier alternatives to beverages, although plain water is always best!
What causes these "3 highs"?
The "3 highs" refer to 3 common metabolic disorders called hypertension (HBP), hyperlipidemia (high triglycerides HTG) and hyperglycemia (HBG). "3 highs" is not technically a TCM term, but rather a translation of a group of 3 metabolic disorders commonly seen in Western medicine.
Persistently elevated blood sugar that is not well controlled can eventually lead to diabetes, which can bring on a host of complications leading to kidney problems, eye disease, foot damage and numbness. Uncontrolled blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke and ischemic heart disease, while high triglycerides in the blood (commonly known as high cholesterol) can lead to atherosclerosis, which also leads to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
So now that we know what 3-Highs are and their effects, let us understand the common causes of these common conditions:
| 3 Highs | Common causes | Other causes |
|
Hypertension
(High Blood Pressure) |
|
|
|
Hyperglycemia
(High Blood Glucose)
|
|
|
|
Hyperlipidemia
(High Triglycerides) |
|
Take to manage or prevent the 3 Highs
Know your risks.
Track your weight and waist circumference. Try to keep your BMI in the healthy range of 18.5-23.0.
Get regular health screenings as recommended by your doctor.
Use the Diabetes Risk Assessment Calculator to assess your risk of developing diabetes
Manage yourself
Tackle personal tasks such as being active and paying close attention to your diet, especially the carbohydrate portion.
Focus on exercises and activities that keep your waistline slim, such as jogging, walking, swimming or even cleaning your house.
Reduce stress. People with Type A personalities (highly competitive and self-critical) have a higher chance of developing heart disease because stress can cause blood pressure to rise. You can help calm your nerves by exercising and killing two birds with one stone.
Get help (if needed)
For more challenging tasks such as quitting smoking or managing an existing medical condition, you should consider options such as a smoking cessation support group, having regular medical follow-up and staying on your medications, participating in a structured weight loss program or considering bariatric surgery if your BMI is too high.
Take advantage of techniques that can enhance your health. If you are pre-diabetic or at high risk of developing diabetes, consider using a real-time continuous glucose monitoring device to help understand daily blood sugar fluctuations.
References：
1. High blood pressure (hypertension) - Symptoms and causes
2. High cholesterol - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
3. High Blood Sugar: Causes, Complications, and How
See also:
2. 9 Best At-Home Kidney Tests Buyers Guide In 2022
3. What Is Blood Test For Iron Called?
4. 2022 Best Home Hemoglobin Meter Buyers Guide
5. Cholesterol test at home: Everything You Want to Know 2022 Version