As a general rule getting up early is thought to be a healthy habit, but new research says that may not necessarily be the case -- at least not when it comes to your heart anyway. A recent study that followed over 3,000 adults ranging in age from 23 to 90 yrs old found that those who got up early had a higher risk for cardiovascular conditions like high blood pressure and stroke.

It's important to realize also, though, that early risers are generally older, so it's possible that also has something to do with the increase in cardiovascular problems. Also, sleep deprivation is a proven heart risk factor, and obviously getting up early often means not getting enough sleep.

So the key may be that early to rise is fine, as long as it's early to bed also?

Sometimes, having high blood pressure comes as a bit of a surprise to some people. Whether they find out during a visit to the doctor or even during one of those wacky blood pressure chairs at the grocery store, people who don't think they have high blood pressure are typically quite shocked to learn that they do. Once this fact is accepted, the next step is to find out what can be done to remedy this problem. Medication is always an option, but which one? Well, here's one that may not have heard of yet.

Tekturna. It's a first-of-its-kind drug to be approved by the FDA. The difference between Tekturna and other blood pressure meds is that Tekturna deals with the problem by cutting right to the chase. Basically, it inhibits renin, a kidney enzyme that initiates the chemical process that ultimately leads to an elevated blood pressure. By contrast, all other blood pressure meds work at the later stage, dealing chiefly with regulation and not doing a whole hell of a lot in the way of prevention.

A recent study of 2,000 people offered a demonstrable reduction in blood pressure over the entire year that the study was conducted. Also, it appears as though Tekturna can work just fine when taken in conjunction with other anti-hypertensive meds. And, side effects seem to be minimal, though I would suggest taking the time to investigate further before dialing up your doctor for a prescription.

For someone with Allergies, Allegra can be a life-saver. But for someone who takes it, it can also be a life-ender, particularly with the use of Allegra-D, which contains a decongestant. The decongestant in Allegra, pseudoephedrine, works by restricting blood vessels, which can be a serious problem for people with high blood pressure because it raises it. And having habitually high blood pressure can lead to other problems, including stroke, kidney failure congestive heart failure, heart attack and more.

If you suffer from allergies and high blood pressure, please talk to your doctor about alternative therapies for both problems.

Hypertension is common today, and nearly 1/3 of adults suffering from the condition. Though medication can help to bring your blood pressure back in line, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, there are other natural methods you can try as well that may eventually allow you to reduce or stop your medication altogether (under the supervision of your doctor, of course). Some of his suggestions include:

• losing 10% of your total weight
• limiting caffeine and alcohol
• eliminating cigarettes
• reducing salt and processed foods

Dr. Weil also believes that relaxation techniques, including yoga and breathing exercises, can help calm the involuntary nervous system. Read more about relaxation techniques for controlling blood pressure here at Mayo Clinic.

A recent telephone survey of over 100,000 adults found that most Americans with high blood pressure aren't doing everything they can to control it. When asked if they were:

• changing their eating habits
• cutting down on salt
• reducing use of alcohol
• exercising
• taking prescribed medication

to reduce their high blood pressure, most participants answered yes to at least one of those. However, 1/3 hadn't improved their diet or increased their activitiy levels, while 20% reported they hadn't cut back on salt or alcohol. About 1/4 of respondents weren't taking medication for their condition.

The CDC estimates that nearly 70% of people with hypertension don't have their disease under good control. That's a huge number. If you're concerned about your blood pressure, make a plan with your doctor to improve it.

The debate over whether organic produce is really better for you may have just come to a screeching halt. A recent 10-year study out of the University of California found that tomatoes grown organically have 79 to 97 percent more flavonoids than conventionally grown tomatoes. Flavonoids are linked to lower blood pressure, which may help prevent heart disease.

The key seems to be in the fertilizer. Flavonoids are part of a tomato's defense process when it doesn't get enough food. When conventional farmers feed their tomatoes, the flavonoid content goes down. Critics say that just because an organic tomato has more flavonoid doesn't make it healthier. After all, they say, not everyone needs more flavonoids in their diet.

Consumers will be the ultimate judge. What about you? Do you think organic produce is more nutritionally sound or do you think the difference isn't significant enough to matter?

Though when we think of vaccines, we often think of kids, there are all sorts of vaccines for adults -- tetanus, influenza, pneumonia, and...blood pressure? Maybe someday! Switzerland based bio-tech firm Cytos Biotechnology says they've developed a blood pressure vaccine that once administered, lasts for months at a time. The drug works by tricking the body into creating antibodies that help to reduce blood pressure, and in trials the medication appeared to be beneficial. More research needs to be done to find out if the drug is effective enough for high blood pressure patients. If it's found to be safe and useful, it may end daily pill popping for those who suffer from hypertension -- though they would still have to get a shot every 6 months.

Joe Montana admits that after he retired from the NFL, he kept eating as if he was playing football every day. He also concedes that his diet was less than healthy, full of burgers and french fries. Still, he was surprised when -- at a routine check up -- his doctor diagnosed him with hypertension or high blood pressure. Because high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, the only way for a person to find out if they have the condition is to be checked.

Montana began working out every day and eating in moderation to turn his health around and he also signed on as spokesperson for a campaign on hypertension awareness sponsored by Novartis. Now he wants to spread the word so that others can be screened for the condition and learn to take care of their health as well.

Montana will talk to people in 20 states this year to spread the word and teach people to lower their risk of high blood pressure. You can take part in the campaign by taking the Blood Pressure Quiz and reading through the Can Do Checklist to learn how to take control of your own high blood pressure.

Hypertension is so common these days, that they even have machines that can check your blood pressure on the spot in the grocery stores -- it's that easy to do. And although most of the time people think getting tested at the doctor's office or hospital is best, when it comes to your blood pressure that isn't necessarily the case. A study that looked at blood pressure monitoring done regularly by patients at home versus having them visit a professional found that home monitoring was the best way to measure changes over time and assess if adjustments were needed in medication and treatment regimens. Just make sure you stick to the schedule your doctor recommends.

I always love a story about the unusual or fantastical aspects of life. One such story I recently encountered entails a study revealing that African-American men who frequent barbershops are more apt to seek treatment for hypertension than those who do not.

An eight-month study conducted by Dr. Paul L. Hess of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas revealed that black men who are faithful barbershop attendees are more open and willing to control their high blood pressure. The study also concluded that the barbers might be a perfect venue for hypertension education and monitoring for their clients.

Although this study is a bit off the beaten path, it gets to the core of many communities that traditional medical efforts might not effectively reach. Since many barbershops in African-American communities are social gathering places as well as places of business, they present a perfect opportunity to spread the word about high blood pressure in a population where nearly 40% of the men suffer from hypertension.

Sleep apnea is a big problem all by itself, but when you start complicating things by combining it with a pregnancy the health risks only compound. In a recent study that looked at 4 million women sleep apnea was tied to an increased risk for both gestational diabetes and pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.

This is one of those situations where prevention really is the best medicine. Maintaining a healthy weight (obesity is one of the greatest risk factors) and actively managing sleep apnea if you have it is key.

Global warming is not the only adverse effect to hit worldwide these days. High blood pressure is also on the rise around our blue ball. Millions of people from the United States to Africa are dying from heart disease. High blood pressure does not just lead to heart disease; now strokes, kidney failure and dementia are being attributed to the global problem.

One of the concerns surrounding high blood pressure is that it does not command the sort of media attention that cancer or AIDS might. High blood pressure is a fairly old-school problem and does not carry the sort of glamour that the recent bird flu outbreaks can garner. Another concern is that many people are just not willing to discuss the issue. Some cultures even take it as an insult to have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a relatively easy and inexpensive condition to treat. With a significant amount of media coverage and some simple educational campaigns, many people could benefit from this silent but deadly disease. The next time you are in the grocery store, stop by a self-checking blood pressure machine. Get a read. If it is at all high, go see your doctor and take the first step toward diminishing this global problem.

Back in 1999 when the government issued diet recommendations for people with high blood pressure they inadvertently triggered the exact opposite of the effect they were going for: the number of people eating the right heart-healthy foods actually went down, instead of going up. A recent study found that only 22% of people with high blood pressure are bothering to make efforts towards following the right diet.

This seems to point out yet another major flaw in our health care system, but experts aren't exactly sure where the problem lies. It seems to be in several places, probably starting with doctors who don't emphasize and teach enough and ending with the patient dealing with possible availability and convenience issues.

When I first came across a recent study about the brain's impact on blood pressure, I admittedly thought that it was going to point to stress. Thinking about work, thinking about mounting bills, thinking about thinking. To much thinking can sometimes result in too much stress. In turn, too much stress will effect your overall health. So, stupid me, I thought I had this whole study figured out.

But, this study was much different than I had anticipated. Leaving stress out of the picture completely, the researchers from the University of Bristol, UK found a much more direct link between the brain and hypertension. Known as junctional adhesion molecule-1 (or JAM-1 to super-cool research types), this protein -- which is located in the walls of the blood vessels in the brain -- traps white blood cells called leukocytes. Once these white blood cells are trapped, inflammation may occur and blood flow can be obstructed, resulting in poor oxygen supply to the brain. It is this JAM-1 trapping of leukocytes that has led the researchers to suggest that hypertension is an inflammatory vascular disease of the brain.

This discovery may open up new avenues for further research and potential treatment. Considering that nearly 60 percent of patients remain hypersensitive, even while taking the appropriate medication, the urgency for this problem to be addressed is great.

RLS, better known as Restless Leg Syndrome, is a neurological disorder that causes people to have a strong urge to move their legs. Though it seems like just about every kid on the planet suffers from this disorder, it's typically a problem faced by older adults. And, researchers from the University of Montreal's Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Canada may have discovered that RLS may increase a person's chance of developing cardiovascular disease.

To study a small number of people with untreated RLS in a sleep laboratory, researchers kept them overnight, allowing the researchers to monitor periodic leg movement and blood pressure changes in the test subjects. The study revealed that systolic blood pressure rates during these frequent leg movements rose by an average of 20 points, with diastolic blood pressure also rising by an average of 11 points.

Because drastic blood pressure surges during sleep have been associated with a higher rate of stroke in the elderly, the researchers made the RLS connection. However, there is still a great deal more investigation into this RLS/blood pressure link that needs to be completed at this time. Also, the researchers themselves suggest that their findings be interpreted with caution since the study was limited by its small sample size.