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TruckingTruth was founded by Brett Aquila (that's me!), a 15 year truck driving veteran, in January 2007. After 15 years on the road I wanted to help people understand the trucking industry and everything that came with the career and lifestyle of an over the road trucker. We'll help you make the right choices and prepare for a great start to your trucking career.
Becoming A Truck Driver is a dream we've all pondered at some point in our lives. We've all wondered if the adventure and challenges of life on the open road would suit us better than the ordinary day to day lives we've always known. At TruckingTruth we'll help you decide if trucking is right for you and help you get your career off to a great start.
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Hypertension Explained Clearly by MedCram.com
Understand Hypertension and the medications used to treat it with this clear explanation from Dr. Seheult of http://www.medcram.com.
Getting your medical certification as a CDL holder requires keeping your blood pressure at or below 140/90, controlled with or without medication. Anything higher is considered hypertension, and will result in either a being issued a medical card with a shortened valid time frame, or in extreme cases, being denied a card altogether until it is brought under control.
The lifestyle of the truck driver requires sitting for long periods of time, and following haphazard schedules which sometimes don't allow for regular sustained exercise, leading to various health conditions common to drivers like obesity, heart disease, and, very frequently, high blood pressure, or hypertension.
Ways That High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Can Harm Your Health:
So we all know that it's a major concern and a prevalent problem. Now what can you do about it?
Outside of doctor-prescribed medication, there is plenty in the way of lifestyle changes that will help lower your BP, starting with regular exercise, quitting smoking, and eating or avoiding certain foods.
We have a ton of information on the DOT blood pressure requirements, and what you can do to help lower yours:
Other Resources:
American Heart Association: Health Threats From High Blood Pressure
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Hypertension:
Abnormally high blood pressure.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated