Blood Pressure

Support for healthcare organisations and charities can be made in many forms – here we take a look at the various ways some of the leading healthcare charities are being helped to fund their work and promote awareness.

Charity Gifts

Charity shops have for a long time been seen as “cheap second hand” shops often attracting donations of unwanted goods that are not really fit for re-sale but some members of the public believe they are doing good and not just avoiding time consuming trips to the local dump by dropping off black sack of mixed “stuff” that they are convinced somebody will want to buy.

The good stuff is often picked up for a song and immediately re-sold on e-bay types sites by folk with dubious morals – at the very least a donation of some of the profits  should be returned as a thank you gift to the charity.

More savvy charities are now encouraging and training their volunteers to idnetify the true potential of doanted goods and where appropriate include them in their online shops.  Online charity shops are being bookmarked by online shoppers that hope they will find specialist clothing, rare books and curiosities without the waiting and gambling of auction sites.

The benefit of attracting regular shoppers to charity sites is the potential to  spread the word of unusual charity gifts – to help those in most need.  The shop pages can carry important messages about disasters and relief , promotions about charity giving.

Charity Donation

The mainstay of many charities is the receipt of donations – either direct money or unwanted books and clothes that can be sold in charity shops to raise money to support the organisation’s work.

Some charity donations can be huge – corporate sponsorship of events such as the Flora London Marathon.  Medical equipement manufacturers and drup companies are increasingly looking to associate with healthcare organisations and their support ranges from financial support, donation of equipment or collaboration to produce literature and information that raises awareness.

Charity Volunteers

Perhaps one of the most important resources for many organisations is the dedication of volunteers – who offer their time and skills free of charge.

Volunteers are often deployed to fulfil mailings, complete administrative tasks and even promote awareness of the work of the charity to the public – a good example of this is the splendid efforts of medical professionals who took part in the hugely successful testing week.

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Over a year ago the BBC reported a link between high blood pressure and dementia – suggesting that it can starve the brain of bloodflow and the oxygen it carries – often described as “vascular dementia”, and account for one in four dementia cases.

Recently a new study revealed that people with higher diastolic blood pressure reading are more likely to have cognitive impairment and go on to encourage getting your blood pressure under control as that just might help reduce thinking problems prevent memory loss.

The research study reported finding a link between memory problems and with high diastolic blood pressure – the measurement of the pressure in your blood vessels in between heartbeats, and is the second number in a blood pressure measurement.

The study from the University of Alabama sampled almost twenty thousand people aged 45 and above.

The results held even when scientists considered other things that affect thinking ability and memory skills such as education and even whether or not they smoked.

For every 10 point increase in the diastolic reading, the chances of a person suffering from cognitive problems was increased by 7 per cent, according to the findings, published in the journal Neurology.

Dr Georgio Tsivgoulis, from the University of Alabama, who led the study, said:

It is of course possible that by preventing or treating high blood pressure, we could potentially prevent cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia.

More studies of blood pressure and memory loss

Researchers say they need to do more studies to confirm these findings but other research has shown high diastolic blood pressure leads to weakening of the small arteries in the brain.

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