For a Healthy Heart ?

[JGreene]

I've been on hypertension and cholesterol meds for a few years.  No improvement, but its not getting any worse.  I'm really interested in knowing what may be available. 

[joeinwv]

High BP and high cholesterol - strict adherence to a good diet / exercise plan will help both of these.

[Truik]

Fish oil capsules.

Omega 3

Wal-mart or your local pharmacy.

Four or five of those capsules a day.

Drink with a full 8-ounce glass of water.

[Rorschach]

For you blood pressure consider supplementing/eating olive oil.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10737284 )( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleic_acid), Magnesium (http://www.mgwater.com/hyper.shtml)( http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/13/3/227).  For your cholesterol consider Niacin 1-2 gram each day (it has the side effect of flushing but this can be mitigated by apple sauce (http://www.medications.com/se/niaspan-er/applesauce),  or a slow increase in the dose .  Fish oil is helpful, but best for the triglycerides(http://www.lovaza.com/) and good for the heart (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-fishoil.html).  Look at the bottle and take at least 1 gram of EPA + DHA, this is what anyone with heart disease is discharge from the hospital in Europe.  The dose for treating very high triglycerides (> 500) is 4 grams if you are taking the prescription Lovaza, this will take a lot of capsules each day.  Place them in the freezer this will reduce the severity of the burpy aftertaste. 

[JGreene]

High BP and high cholesterol - strict adherence to a good diet / exercise plan will help both of these.

Somewhat, but over the past 10 years I've cycled up and down including training (and finishing) of a full marathon and it affected both of these a little bit.  But I agree that it wouldn't hurt.

[MightyRunt]

I assume you're doing the basics like weight maintenance, reduce sodium intake, limit caffeine and don't smoke. How about lots of whole grains, fresh fruit and vegs and 30 min/day of whatever exercise you like that will raise your heart rate. I take a multi vit, Fish Oil, B-12, and CoQ10.  I had to get off my bp meds because my bp was averaging 87/57-65, and I smoke.  Good luck with the quest.

[javabrewer]

In addition to watching your diet and exercising you may want to work in some stretching and build your flexibility.  Sometimes we work ourselves to a point where our muscles tense up and never fully relax which puts a stress on your system, causing high blood pressure and other negative physiological changes.

I'm a recovering RSI (repetitive stress injury) sufferer caused by too much time working on the computer.  I got to a point where everything made me upset and irritable and while I never checked my blood pressure I'm sure it was up there.  So I started a regimen of running, light free weights, massages, and some traction at the chiropractor.  My shoulders which were static in a tense position finally relaxed and almost instantly my arms and wrists felt better.  Just had to get the blood flowing down there well again.  I'm much happier now and the stress is gone.