Living

It’s worth checking in on some basic health care issues from time to time because expert guidance changes and new developments are always worth considering. When it comes to blood pressure experts have long recommended that a person’s blood pressure should be at or below 140/90, but in recent years recommendations are for that to be 130/80.

According to a recent article on the Medscape web site, “The target blood pressure level for adults remains below 130/80 mm Hg, but drug therapy should be initiated sooner, according to new guidelines published Thursday by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC). Eleven other medical organizations endorsed the new guidelines, which replace those issued in 2017. “We’re trying to get started earlier in the process of preventing cardiovascular disease,” said Daniel W. Jones, MD, dean and professor emeritus of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, who chaired the guidelines committee. Almost half of American adults have hypertension, according to the AHA.”

Digging deeper into the 2025 budget bill reveals that Medicaid is not the only insurance that will be in jeopardy. Premiums for people insured under the Affordable Care Act, (ACA or Obamacare) will see steep rises in insurance premiums and the Medicare program will see cuts that will indirectly harm the senior population.

According to a recent article in “The American Prospect”, “The combination of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) cuts to Medicaid (and, unless Congress does something about it, to Medicare) and the failure to extend enhanced ACA tax credits for exchange participants will cause roughly 15 million Americans to lose their health insurance, according to the latest estimates. Those who hang on to pay the higher rates are disproportionately likely to really need insurance due to medical conditions. This will tend to create sicker insurance pools, meaning more claims payouts by insurers.”

There has been a movement in the psychiatric world to recognize a new medical specialty. The name has evolved from psychoneuroimmunology to immunopsychiatry. What it boils down to is recognizing a link between immune system dysfunction and psychiatric conditions.

This is not a revelation but more of a renewed recognition that there may be strong links between some autoimmune diseases, immune system dysfunction and mental health diseases. In particular, researchers have found links between psychotic disorders and autoimmune diseases. Links have been established between celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus and the development of schizophrenia.