Dear Lake County Residents:

Have you checked your blood pressure lately? Now is the perfect time. May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month. 

I encourage you to take the time to know your numbers. Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers, written as a ratio. The top number, which is also the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts). This is known as systolic blood pressure. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The bottom number, which is also the lower of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats (when the heart muscle is resting between beats and refilling with blood). This is known as diastolic blood pressure.

Your blood pressure rises with each heartbeat and falls when your heart relaxes between beats. While blood pressure can change from minute to minute with changes in posture, exercise, stress or sleep, it should normally be less than 120/80 mm Hg (less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic) for an adult age 20 or over.

About one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure. If your blood pressure reading is higher than normal, your doctor may take several readings over time and/or have you monitor your blood pressure at home before diagnosing you with high blood pressure.

A single high reading does not necessarily mean that you have high blood pressure. However, if readings stay at 140/90 mm Hg or above (systolic 140 or above or diastolic 90 or above) over time, your doctor will likely want you to begin a treatment program. Such a program almost always includes lifestyle changes and often prescription medication for those with readings of 140/90 or higher.

Even if your blood pressure is normal, you should consider making lifestyle modifications to prevent the development of high blood pressure and improve your heart health.

Sincerely,

Tony Beltran
Executive Director
Lake County Health Department/
Community Health Center 

Did you know the Health Department's Lakes Management Unit tests Lake Michigan and inland beaches for E coli bacteria on a routine basis during the summer? Before you head out to soak up fun in the sun, check out the beach advisory web page to see the latest test results for beaches. Click here to learn more.

Are you looking for a convenient and affordable way to keep your pets up to date with their shots and rabies tag? Does you pet need a microchip? The Health Department's Animal Care and Control Program is offering a low-cost pet vaccination clinic on Saturday, May 14, in Lindenhurst. Click here to read more.

The Health Department is encouraging residents to take precautions against ticks, which can carry diseases such as Lyme disease. By all means enjoy the outdoors, but remember to take precautions against ticks like applying insect repellent with DEET to your clothes and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Several kinds of ticks can be found in Lake County, but it is the deer tick that carries Lyme disease. Click here to learn more about ticks. Click here to view a tick identification card. 

The Health Department conducts a multi-faceted approach to monitoring mosquitoes in Lake County, including testing pools of water for mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus. This year, the department is also keeping an eye out for the Aedes aegypti, which carries Zika virus, but so far that mosquito has not been found in Lake or surrounding counties. Click here to learn more about West Nile virus and how you can protect yourself from mosquitoes. Click here to read the latest about the Zika virus.

Warmer temperatures beckon Lake County residents outdoors, but before you go, watch this video about how you can protect yourself from ticks and mosquitoes, as well as how to swim safely at the inland and Lake Michigan beaches throughout the county. Click here to watch.

Through the coordinated work of Friends for Health and the Lake County Health Department (LCHD), the North Shore Health Center opened its doors at 1840 Green Bay Road in downtown Highland Park during June 2006. As part of the Health Department's network of community health centers, the center has provided quality, accessible and affordable medical and dental care to roughly 19,000 people. Friends for Health continues to provide volunteers and funds to augment basic primary care with such programs as diabetes prevention and treatment, comprehensive women’s health focused on the uninsured,  funds to cover testing, consultations with specialists, and much more.

Please join us for an open house at the North Shore Health Center, 1840 Green Bay Road in Highland Park, from 4 to 6 p.m. on June 26 to learn more about how the Center is helping communities to be healthier.  Please R.S.V.P. to Roni Weiss at: roniswffh@gmail.com. 

The Lake County Forest Preserves, the Lake County Health Department, NorthShore University Health System and other partners have organized “Rx for Health - Walking in Nature," a program that brings together naturalists and health providers for guided tours of Lake County’s forest preserves. Click here for the schedule of free walks open to the public.

In observance of National Hepatitis Testing Day, the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center will host a free hepatitis health fair in conjunction with Walgreens, GlenLake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and other community partners. The event will take place on Thursday, May 19, in the lobby of the County Building, 18 N. County Street in Waukegan, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Click here to learn more.