Wearing body-sculpting underwear and compression sportswear poses risks for people with high blood pressure, Taipei-based cardiologist Chiu Chiung-zuan (邱俊仁) said.
Chiu, head of Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital’s department of cardiology, said that compression pants and body-sculpting underwear have a negative effect on blood circulation and cardiovascular health, especially for people who have high blood pressure.
A Ministry of Health and Welfare study estimated that as many as 240,000 people in Taiwan’s 18 to 39 age group are unaware that they have high blood pressure.
Chiu said that people with high blood pressure who wear body-sculpting clothing for prolonged periods might experience hypoxia due to excessive compression of the body, which can impede normal breathing and circulation, with symptoms including chest tightness, nausea and vertigo.
A 50-year-old female patient surnamed Liu (劉) developed headaches, neck stiffness, blurred vision, a tight chest, poor sleep, vertigo and dizzy spells as a result of wearing body-sculpting underwear combined with undiagnosed high blood pressure, Chiu said.
Liu one day fainted and her systolic blood pressure reading was 220 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). She was sent to the hospital’s emergency room, Chiu said.
Compression pants also pose a health risk to people with high blood pressure, Chiu said.
“Even for people with normal blood pressure, if they often wear the type of clothing that compresses the chest, stomach, hips and thighs, it can elevate their blood pressure,” he said.
Many people mistake symptoms of hypertension — headache, panting, stiff neck and shoulders, blurred vision — as only temporary reactions from mental stress or tiredness, Chiu said.
Smoking, eating a high-sodium diet, obesity and a lack of exercise are likely causes of high blood pressure, and people should actively monitor their health and seek treatment when necessary, Chiu said.
Chiu said that instead of wearing tight clothing to appear thinner, the healthier method is to reduce body weight by changing lifestyles, such as eating a balanced diet and food low in sodium, quitting smoking and exercising regularly.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS