Features

By Andrew Evans 

AQABA, Jordan — On Day 38, the temperature hit 41°C.

Like a slow animal, I slid into a narrow crescent of purple shade, napping beneath a rocky overhang until the sun softened in the late afternoon. The song of a shepherd’s flute echoed off the canyon wall, and the sky glowed an almost digital blue.

By dusk I was hiking once again, shoes in sand, sifting through a kilometre of empty desert as a full white moon rose from behind a broken wall of mountains. The rippled dunes went on forever. Camels hovered on the horizon. The silence was tremendous. Night came with a spread of stars and a cooling breeze that gently ruffled my tent until I was lost in sleep.

Nowhere on Earth have I felt the unbelievable calm that I experienced on the Jordan Trail. This newly mapped 645-kilometre route leads walkers across the up-and-down landscapes and through the staggering history of this impressive little kingdom.

I began my hike in the northern village of Umm Qais, a cobblestone village mentioned in the New Testament — the place where Jesus cast demonic spirits into a herd of swine and sent them tumbling over a cliff.

For the first two weeks of hiking, I could feel my legs getting stronger as I tackled small hills painted green with springtime wheat. Olive groves and lemon trees shaded the path, along with the ancient Corinthian columns of many a Greek ruin. The epic past sits on the surface of Jordan. There were moments on the trail when I found myself sifting through shards of Roman pottery or the Stone Age tools of an even older civilisation, before trudging up the well-worn steps of a crusader castle.

About half the time on the trail, I camped in my own tent, enjoying the quiet wilderness and the pastoral view that I unzipped each morning. In larger towns, I checked into hotels for a hot, soapy shower and a fluffy bed. The rest of the time, I stayed with locals as part of the Jordan Trail’s home-stay programme. The complete trail network includes 52 smaller communities, where participating families host passing hikers for the night. Nothing beats breaking (fresh-baked) bread with a Jordanian family in their own home, all of us gathered together on the floor and dipping into plates of homemade hummus or aromatic rice and chicken roasted over a fire. In time, I found myself speaking more Arabic than I ever thought I could learn, while even the youngest children on the street know enough English to shout out, “Welcome to Jordan!”

The Jordan Trail is not exclusively for the young and athletic. Before this trip, i would never hiked more than five days in a row. I did not undergo any special training for my long-distance trek; I simply started walking, pushing through the first days and feeling my body getting stronger and leaner as the weeks flew past.

Hiking the Jordan Trail

What it is like to hike the newly mapped 645-km Jordan Trail, where walkers can explore the up-and-down landscapes and staggering history of this impressive little kingdom.

Rather than some intense physical feat, the Jordan Trail offers a slow-motion endurance test. The biggest struggle is coping with the daytime heat and taking care of your body by drinking plenty of water, eating good food, resting well and keeping your feet clean, dry and blister-free. (A support van transporting the bulk of our gear met our group each night and provided our tents, if necessary, fresh water refills and food. Licensed tour operators and local hiking companies can be found on the Jordan Trail Association’s website at jordantrail.org/join-a-group.)

The reward is an unforgettable journey through the heart of the Middle East, exploring lesser-known sites such as Mount Nebo, where some say Moses is buried, and Little Petra, an ancient metropolis carved from stone — minus the buses and crowds of nearby Petra. The final stretch leads hikers through whistling sandstone canyons and the cinematic red deserts of Wadi Rum, a recognisable backdrop from movies such as “The Martian” and “Rogue One”.

That last stretch of desert may be the hottest part of the journey, but it also might be the most beautiful section of the trail, where the rocky landscape is splashed with surreal colours, and Bedouin nomads wave you into their woolen tents for tea.

On Day 45, my once-in-a-lifetime journey finished on the glistening shores of the Red Sea, just a few kilometres from the Saudi border, where I stepped over the white waves and collapsed into the warm, shallow saltwater. My elation had less to do with actually completing the full trek — or the fact that I had lost just over 11 kilogrammes along the way — and far more to do with the incomparable joy of truly knowing a country in a way that few tourists ever experience.

As a lifelong traveller who has been to over 100 countries, I know that there is no better way to see a destination than on foot, living among the people who call the place home. That is the allure of the Jordan Trail: to be fully immersed in a timeless culture, forget all about the outside world and follow the sun all the way to the sea.

If you go

Running the length of the country, the Jordan Trail is divided into eight distinct parts, with each section taking four to six days to trek. Our group split up some of the longer daily distances into two-day hikes and added rest days at the end of each section, so that our total thru-hike took 45 days. Since the official opening of the trail earlier this year, a few adventurous solo hikers have completed the journey in fewer than 25 days. 

For shorter trips, visitors might consider tackling one or two of the more dramatic sections, such as Umm Qais to Ajloun Castle, Dana to Petra, or Petra to Wadi Rum. Whether travelling as a supported group — highly recommended for inexperienced hikers — or as a go-it-alone solo hiker, a strict “leave no trace” policy is encouraged. 

The route is not well marked in places, so a GPS device is essential to stay on course. From a weather and scenery standpoint, February through April is an ideal time to do the hike. For more information on arranging home stays, hiking guides and other support services, contact the Jordan Trail Association at jordantrail.org.

Meditation may help reduce the risk of heart disease when it is added to proven approaches like lifestyle changes or drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, US doctors say.

In its first guidelines dedicated to meditation, the American Heart Association (AHA) stresses that the benefits haven’t been clearly established because studies have generally been too small, brief or poorly designed to draw broad conclusions. But the AHA research review concludes that meditation may have some benefits beyond just reducing stress, said Dr Glenn Levine, chair of the AHA task force on clinical practice guidelines. 

“Meditation can be considered as an adjunctive lifestyle intervention in those interested in this practice,” Levine, a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said by e-mail. “We do not believe meditation should be undertaken as a substitute for well-established and recommended lifestyle and medicinal interventions.” 

The practice of meditation dates back as far as 5000BC. While meditation is associated with certain philosophies and religions, today it is practiced by people from many walks of life as a way to improve focus and relaxation, Levine and colleagues note in the Journal of the American Heart Association. 

The guidelines do not address mind-body practices such as yoga and Tai Chi because the physical activity in these pursuits has been proven to help lower the risk of heart disease. 

Instead, the AHA focused on sitting meditation, including a variety of common forms such as: Samatha; Vipassana (Insight Meditation); Mindful Meditation; Zen Meditation (Zazen); Raja Yoga; Loving-Kindness (Metta); Transcendental Meditation; and Relaxation Response. 

Among other things, these inactive forms of meditation may be associated with decreased levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and improved sleep and overall well-being, the AHA guidelines note. 

Meditation might also help lower blood pressure, but there is not enough evidence yet to show whether or how much blood pressure might decline for individuals. 

Some studies have also suggested that meditation might help people quit smoking, the guidelines conclude. 

Meditation may help lower the risk of heart disease by countering the impact of stress on the body, said Dr James Stahl, a researcher at the Geisel Medical School at Dartmouth College and at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre in Lebanon, New Hampshire. 

When people are under stress, their fight or flight response can kick in, leading to a release of stress hormones as well as spikes in blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen consumption and a release of inflammatory chemicals in the body, Stahl, who wasn’t involved in the guidelines, said by e-mail. 

“This is perfectly appropriate when confronted by a tiger but not so much if ordinary things like traffic trigger this response,” Stahl said. 

Meditation can trigger the opposite of a fight or flight response, encouraging the body to slow down and improving risk factors for heart disease like metabolic problems or inflammation. 

Some patients may even be able to try meditation along with diet and lifestyle changes before they move on to drugs, Stahl said. Meditation will work best, however, if people practice with the help of a trained professional. 

With regular practice, meditation may also help improve quality of life, especially emotional and spiritual aspects, said Bei-Hung Chang, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester who was not involved in the guidelines. 

“Meditation generally has low risks, and low costs,” Chang said by e-mail. “Once learned, the technique can be practiced anytime and in any place, and integrated into one’s way of life.” 

LONDON — Fish have complex individual personalities, a British university study found in recently published research.

Scientists from Exeter University in southwest England studied how individual Trinidadian guppy fish behaved in various stressful situations and discovered wide differences in how they responded.

The researchers studied their coping strategies in situations designed to trigger various levels of stress.

They found their modes of behaviour could not simply be explained as risk-taking or risk-averse.

“When placed into an unfamiliar environment, we found guppies have various strategies for coping with this stressful situation — many attempt to hide, others try to escape, some explore cautiously,” said Tom Houslay, of the university’s Centre for Ecology and Conservation (CEC).

“The differences between them were consistent over time and in different situations.

“So, while the behaviour of all the guppies changed depending on the situation — for example, all becoming more cautious in more stressful situations — the relative differences between individuals remained intact.”

The tiny guppies were individually transferred to an unfamiliar tank, to create a mild level of stress, while a higher level of stress was caused by adding models of predatory birds or fish.

The study found that while introducing predators made the guppies overall more cautious, individuals still retained their distinct personalities.

“We are interested in why these various personalities exist, and the next phase of our research will look at the genetics underlying personality and associated traits,” said Alastair Wilson, from the CEC.

“We want to know how personality relates to other facets of life, and to what extent this is driven by genetic — rather than environmental — influences.

“The goal is really gaining insight into evolutionary processes, how different behavioural strategies might persist as species evolve.”

The paper, entitled “Testing the stability of behavioural coping style across stress contexts in the Trinidadian guppy”, was published in the journal Functional Ecology.

As Cat Stevens used to sing in his famous song: “Baby, baby, it’s a wild world… a lot of things turn bad out there.”

Searching for information on the web probably is the one single action that most people in the world take every day, countless times each day. Apparently very simple, it often leads to deception, and the result can be real bad.

The variety of information you make look for is infinite. It could be simple and straightforward, like for example the name of the capital city of Montenegro, or that of the 35th president of the USA, or the time of day now in Ushuaia, Argentina, in which cases there is little room for deception of course.

At the other end, it could be a more elaborate search if you are looking for solutions to problems, for medical advice, for free software, or how to remove a given virus from your computer. There is a huge number of web sites that are only waiting for you to fall into their trap, and whose intention is to lead you to something totally different from what you came there for in the first place.

These hunters are smart. They are aware of the most common types of web searches you may initiate and therefore they “act” as if they have the information. “Act” here means that their web site has fake information that seems to correspond to what you are looking for. This is what you see when Google, for example, returns the search result. It is only when you click on one of the suggested results that you enter the “false result site”.

What they would do to you then varies from harmless but annoying advertising to downright hacking and the possibility to introduce in your computer a Trojan horse, one of the oldest but nastiest forms of viruses, with the aim of stealing from your machine data, passwords and so forth.

One of the worst forms of such deception is when you look for free software and the treacherous site shamelessly tells you “here it is, click to download it for free”. And of course, it is all designed to make it look good, attractive, genuine, with some very convincing brands logos displayed and all the usual hype that goes with great web site design.

Another kind of search that often leads to deception is when you look for the user manual of a device, an instrument, a machine or a house appliance. Countless sites will invite you to download the manual, until you do so and discover that this simply is not it.

It is surprising to see that after all these years of mass, global computing, of Internet and technology awareness, there is still a huge number of people who do fall into the trap. The temptation to download the miracle solution, and for free what is more, is hard to resist apparently.

Avoiding these misleading results and the ensuing consequences is not so difficult. First of all one has to keep in mind that there is absolutely nothing completely free on the web. There are always strings attached. So whenever a site proposes such a deal, stop and think what could be hidden, read more, take the time to check. When in doubt just refrain.

Double checking is also part of the game. Whenever I find a suspicious result, I copy the link that is proposed and I proceed with another, parallel search where I type “is this link legitimate?”. It always provides interesting feedback and warning. Eventually I repeat it two or three times, until I am convinced of the comments I read. It may be time consuming but it is the price to pay for safety.

Whenever you find a button inviting you to click on it to download a software product or a pdf document, just hover the mouse over the button, without clicking yet, and look at the bottom of the screen where the link that the button represents is displayed. By reading it you can have an idea of the contents and if it is real or not.

For instance if the link reads http://www.catalogs.com/dishwasher-usermanual.pdf then there are good chances that this is really what you came here for. You can go ahead and click to download. Otherwise avoid, at any cost.

Yes, it is a wild world out there.

People with heart disease are at risk of dying sooner when they suffer from chronic depression and anxiety, a recent study suggests. 

Researchers examined data on 950 people in Australia and New Zealand with stable coronary artery disease, which happens when plaque accumulates in the arteries supplying the heart and causes them to harden and narrow. Also called atherosclerosis, this process can weaken the heart muscle, cause an irregular heartbeat and lead to heart attacks. 

About 4 per cent of participants reported regularly suffering from moderate or severe psychological distress over the first four years of the study, and they were roughly four times more likely to die of heart disease and almost three times more likely to die from any cause during the next 12 years compared to people with no distress.

The heart patients who reported only occasional or mild distress, however, did not appear to have an increased risk of premature death, researchers report in the journal Heart.

“This really indicates that over the longer term it is the amount of distress that matters,” said lead author Dr Ralph Stewart, a cardiologist at Auckland City Hospital and the University of Auckland.

“We do not yet know whether treatments for anxiety and distress reduce mortality, but there is enough evidence to recommend that people should look for ways to reduce high levels of persistent distress,” Stewart said by e-mail. 

At the start of the study, all of the participants had experienced a heart attack or hospitalisation for unstable angina, when the heart does not get enough blood flow or receive enough oxygen, in the previous three to 36 months. 

They completed a psychological questionnaire when they joined the study, and again after six months and at one year, two years and four years. 

Questions to assess depression and anxiety asked, among other things, if participants felt constantly under strain, found life a struggle all the time, got scared or panicky for no good reason, or thought they played a useful part in things. 

Overall, 587 people, or 62 per cent, were not distressed at any of the psychological assessments. Another 255 individuals, or 27 per cent, reported at least mild distress during two or more assessments and 35 people, or about 4 per cent, regularly suffered from moderate or severe psychological distress. 

Researchers followed half of the participants for at least 12 years. During this monitoring period, 398 people died from all causes and 199 died from cardiovascular disease.

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove that depression or anxiety causes premature death for people with heart disease. 

Another limitation of the study is that the psychological assessments stopped after four years, so it is possible the findings might underestimate the impact of persistent distress, the authors note. 

The psychological assessment used in the study also does not do a good job of pinpointing the exact nature of stress and is no longer used for assessing it, Dr Gjin Ndrepepa, a researcher with the German Heart Centre Munich at the Technical University of Munich, writes in an accompanying editorial. 

But mental distress can activate the body’s so-called flight or fight response, the sympathetic nervous system, and boost levels of stress hormones, Ndrepepa told Reuters Health by e-mail. This might contribute to elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes and prompt unhealthy behaviours like smoking or drinking or being inactive. 

“These stress-related internal and external adverse reactions aggravate the progression of the disease and predispose people to poor outcomes including increased odds of death,” Ndrepepa said. “My belief is that depressed patients with coronary heart disease, particularly severely depressed ones, should be treated for depression.”

When I messaged a Jordanian friend of mine to tell her that I might be going to Mauritius, she asked me to wait while she Googled the place. After sometime, she replied back excitedly, with many happy emoticons accompanying her response. She informed me that the island was a tropical paradise, a favoured honeymoon destination for all newly weds and I must jump into the first plane and get there at once! 

The last time I visited a place that was frequented by honeymooners, things were different. I had just got married, my spouse and I had more hair on our heads and both of us were roughly half our respective sizes. Also, neither of us had ever stayed in a plush five- star hotel before, so we were easily intimidated by the staff in their sleek uniforms and foreign accents. We spoke to one another in hushed whispers, ostensibly cooing sweet endearments, but actually checking out the price of each edible item, before ordering it. Everything was atrociously expensive and I felt guilty eating a meal that cost half of our monthly salary. 

But we were young and fearless so decided to try out all the freebees the resort had to offer, from cycling and boating to mountain climbing and jungle trail walking. I took lots of photos to record this. On our flight back, I came across a newspaper clipping advertising a “made for each other” contest that was being held by a leading tobacco company in India, and impulsively, I filled in the form and posted it to the given address. 

A month later we got selected, along with ten other couples, for a full expense paid vacation to another luxury resort. We did not make the final cut eventually, because as one of the judges explained, all newly wedded folks seem made for each other. The real test is to win the compatibility challenge after twenty or so years of marriage.

If my memory serves me right, the gentleman who gave us these pearls of wisdom was none other than Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the erstwhile captain of the Indian cricket team, and the husband of our renowned Bollywood star, Sharmila Tagore. They were married for eighteen years then, and when he was asked why his wife had not accompanied him, he said she kept away from functions that celebrated togetherness because according to her, he was made only for himself! At the time his statement had sounded very strange, but three decades into holy matrimony, it makes perfect sense.

I was thinking about this when the guest relations manager of the opulent hotel we were staying in Mauritius, told me that he had organised a surprise for us. On the shores of the ocean, with waves lapping at our feet, there was a table set perfectly for two people. Tall glasses of pink champagne greeted us and there was fresh seafood being prepared right there as well.

“Champagne and lobster, a perfect combination,” the manager announced.

“Made for each other, like sir and madam,” he gushed. 

“But she does not drink champagne,” my spouse stated. 

“And he does not eat lobster,” I added.

“Oh!”, exclaimed the manager disappointedly.

“I will have it, don’t worry,” I consoled. 

“And sir will try crabs?” he brightened up.

“No way!” said my horrified husband. 

“He is made only for himself,” echoed the voice in my head. 

“What?” the manager asked. 

“He means, not today,” I answered.

LOS ANGELES/ WASHINGTON — Espionage comedy “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” snuck away with the weekend box office crown for the second week running, industry figures showed Monday, narrowly edging out freaky horror sensation “It”.

With takings of $16.93 million, “Kingsman” sees a British spy organisation join forces with its American counterpart to take on a new global threat.

But despite a star-studded cast featuring Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and even Elton John, it took less than half of last week’s $39 million earnings.

A sequel to the 2015 hit “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, the $104 million film debuted to a slightly less-than-expected $39 million in the US and Canada and has taken in $66.7 million so far, despite a 56 per cent drop from last week.

Meanwhile, “It” — starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorises a sleepy Maine town — was a close second with earnings of $16.9 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

That is some $12.8 million less than last week’s $29.7 million takings — but having stormed the box office over the last month, “It” is highest-grossing horror movie of all time with colossal total earnings of $291.1 million.

Slipping into third place in the tight race for number one was Universal’s newly released “American Made”, which raked in $16.7 million, above analysts’ expectations of $12 million to $15 million.

Universal Pictures’ $54 million film starring Tom Cruise, “American Made” tells the story of a commercial airline pilot recruited to carry out reconnaissance missions over South America for the CIA.

Another high-octane collaboration from Cruise and director Doug Liman (2014’s “Edge of Tomorrow”), the film is the latest test of Cruise’s draw as an action star in the US beyond the “Mission: Impossible” films. “The Mummy” flopped in June at the box office and was panned by critics.

Sitting comfortably in fourth place, having rung up $11.6 million, was animation “The Lego Ninjago Movie” — the third instalment of Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Movie” franchise.

Sony Screen Gems’ sci-fi horror “Flatliners”, in fifth place, earned $6.5 million in its first week, under analysts’ projections of $8 million. The PG-13 thriller, a remake of the 1990 film of the same name, follows five medical students obsessed with instigating their own near-death experiences to glimpse the afterlife. Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Kiersey Clemons, Nina Dobrev and Kiefer Sutherland star.

After expanding to 1,213 locations, Fox Searchlight’s “Battle of the Sexes” came in at No. 6 in its second week, earning $3.4 million over the weekend (under analysts’ projections of $6 million). Emma Stone and Steve Carell star in the film about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and ex-champ Bobby Riggs.

Rounding out the top 10 were “American Assassin” ($3.3 million), “Home Again” ($1.7 million), “Til Death Do Us Part” ($1.5 million) and “Mother!” ($1.4 million).

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions’ “Stronger” added 645 theatres and brought in just $986,560 (a 39 per cent drop in earnings despite an added 71 theatres) for a to-date total of $3.2 million. The Jake Gyllenhaal-led drama is based on the true story of Jeff Bauman, a man who lost both of his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

In limited release, the Taye Diggs-led thriller “Til Death Do Us Part” opened with $1.5 million from distributor Novus Content, under analysts’ expectations of $4 million or less. The PG-13 drama tells the story of a woman who believes she is in a perfect marriage until her husband becomes abusive and controlling. Malik Yoba, Stephen Bishop and Robinne Lee also star.

PARIS — Messing with your body’s clock is dangerous business, in fact it could make you sick — or worse.

The inner timekeeper dubbed the “circadian clock”, governs the day-night cycle that guides sleep and eating patterns, hormones and even body temperature.

It is important enough that the Nobel Medicine Prize was awarded on Monday to three US scientists whose work illuminated the fundamentals of how it ticks.

The trio identified genes that regulate the clock, and the mechanism by which light can synchronise it.

Yet, humans have a long history of overriding the circadian-driven need for sleep, Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford University told AFP — the most obvious example being night work.

Such tinkering with Mother Nature can have serious consequences ranging from impulsive behaviour to life-threatening conditions such as obesity and cancer, the experts say.

Just look at the poor health records of shift workers such as nurses or factory labourers.

The World Health Organisation has already raised the red flag, with a 2007 report noting that “circadian disruption” is “probably carcinogenic” — which means cancer-causing.

The trouble is that the human body never really adapts to operating outside the normal cycle of working by day and sleeping at night. 

Like everyone else, shift workers’ biological clocks are set by the rising and setting of the Sun — not their work schedule.

“There is no medicine in the world that allows you to... speed up or slow down your body clock,” said Claude Gronfier, a neurobiologist at France’s Inserm research institute.

When workers force themselves to stay awake, it triggers the release of stress hormones such as cortisol — the same one that rushes into your blood in a life-or-death situation.

The chemicals may keep you on your feet, but they are a bargain with the devil.

For example, cortisol works to suppress the immune system and in the long run can make you more susceptible to a range of illnesses, including cancer.

Such a lifestyle also opens one up to eating outside of normal times, when the body’s metabolism might be lower and the calories are more likely to be converted into fat instead of being burnt up.

“You’re raising your heart rate, raising your blood pressure and insulin levels at a time that you would not ordinarily do that,” Hugh Piggins, a neuroscience professor at the University of Manchester, told AFP. 

“You’re body is basically not ready for it and you’re giving it a bit of an insult.”

Even short-term disruptions of the circadian clock can wreak havoc with your body. Just think jet lag.

Flying from Paris to Los Angeles deposits travellers nine hours earlier in time, upending eating and sleeping patterns.

The results can be blunted interaction with the world and a lack of empathy, complex thinking, or even clear memories.

In such a state, people can do “overly impulsive things — jump the red traffic light and fail to see the consequences of actions”, explained Foster.

Better understanding of the workings of the body clock has opened up a fascinating field of scientific quest.

Circadian dysfunction has been linked to depression, bipolar disorder, cognitive function, memory formation and even some neurological diseases.

Over the past two decades, scientists have been studying how the timing of administering a medicine can impact how well it works. 

Already they have found that changing the timing can reduce the toxicity of some compounds.

“Now we are moving to the exciting stage where we can start translating some of this knowledge into understanding what happens when these systems go wrong and more importantly to develop new therapeutic interventions,” Foster said.

People who monitor their own blood pressure at home may get better results if they also have extra support like counselling and lifestyle coaching, a research review suggests. 

To see how blood pressure control is influenced by patients checking it themselves at home, researchers examined data from 25 previously published studies that randomly assigned a total of more than 10,000 people to either monitor themselves regularly or just stick with usual care including periodic checkups at the doctor. 

Overall, for people who did not get extra support to go along with their home testing, there was not much difference between self-monitoring and sticking with blood pressure checks only at the doctor’s office, the study found. 

But when home monitoring was paired with extra support or medication adjustments managed by patients based on test results, people achieved significantly lower blood pressure compared to usual care. 

“If self-monitoring is combined with ongoing tailored interaction with the patient, then this can enable important improvements in blood pressure control, over and above self-monitoring on its own,” said lead study author Dr Katherine Tucker of the University of Oxford in the UK. 

“Our research shows that increased collaboration between a patient and either their general practitioner, a nurse or a pharmacist in the treatment of hypertension can result in important decreases in blood pressure and improved control necessary to improve a patient’s health,” Tucker said by e-mail.

Home blood pressure monitoring is currently recommended for many patients because it can help get more accurate readings than are obtained at the doctor’s office, and it can also assist clinicians in adjusting medication between checkups. 

While some research suggests home monitoring can help achieve better results than testing only in the exam room, it is not yet clear who benefits most from this approach or how to make it most effective, researchers note in PLoS Medicine. 

In adults, a blood pressure reading of 120/80 mmHg (millimetres of mercury) or lower is considered normal or healthy. Pressure readings that are consistently 140/90 mmHg or greater are considered high blood pressure. 

When researchers looked at the “top number” known as systolic blood pressure (the pressure blood exerts against artery walls when the heart beats), they found home blood pressure checks were associated with average reductions that were 3.2 mmHg larger than with usual care over 12 months. 

When self-monitoring was not paired with any additional support, however, it was only linked to an extra 1-mmHg drop in blood pressure compared to usual care — a difference too small to rule out the possibility that it was due to chance. 

With plenty of extra help tailored to patients’ individual needs, self-monitoring was associated with a blood pressure reduction 6.1 mmHg larger than with usual care, the study found. 

One limitation of the analysis is that the smaller studies included had different methods and varying criteria for selecting participants, which made it difficult to draw broad conclusions from examining the combined results, the authors note. 

Still, the findings suggest that self-monitoring can play an important role in helping patients get blood pressure under control, said Dr Costantino Iadecola, director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. 

For one thing, home testing can help spot variation in blood pressure between checkups, Iadecola, who was not involved in the study, said by e-mail. Readings outside an exam room may also be more accurate for some people who get what’s known as “white coat hypertension”, or stress-related blood pressure spikes during checkups, Iadecola added. 

Even though a 3-mmHg reduction in blood pressure might not seem that large, if it is sustained over time for a broad population of people it can translate into a significant decrease in heart disease and deaths, said Dr Ian Kronish, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York who wasn’t involved in the study. 

“Taking action at the time of elevated readings provides opportunities for teachable moments in which education and counselling may be more likely to lead to behaviour change on the part of the patients,” Kronish said.

The sportier performance version of Audi’s second generation follow-up to the Ingolstadt automaker’s highly popular premium mid-size Q5 SUV, the new SQ5 is a cautiously evolutionary all-new model. A more eager drive than its predecessor, the new SQ5 makes significant efficiency gains and features extensive high tech driving aids and infotainment systems.

Launched globally earlier in the year and in the Middle East just last week, the SQ5 primarily competes with the likes of the Mercedes-AMG GLC43, Volvo XC60 T6 and Jaguar F-Pace, but also old hands such as the Infiniti QX50 in terms of size and sporty driving characteristics.

A more sure-footed and car-like character than its predecessor, the SQ5 shares the same turbocharged 3-litre V6 engine and latest incarnation MLB platform as the Audi S5 and S4. Though riding higher than its sporty performance coupe, saloon and estate siblings, the SQ5 also shares the same and more sophisticated five-link front suspension design and lighted suspension components for a lower un-sprung weight and tidier, more precise driving character. 

Only slightly bigger in most directions than the car it replaces, the new SQ5 nonetheless feels smaller and more agile, and with more body and construction aluminium, achieves significant weight loss.

Designed with emphasis on the horizontal plane, the new SQ5’s broader grille, multi-slat side intakes, more scalloped bonned edges and squintier, more heavily browed headlights with aggressive outward double check LED signature all lend a wider, fuller and more road-hugging appearance. 

Snoutier and with a thick metallic outline, the new SQ5’s grille and seemingly more rakish roofline lend a greater sense of momentum, while sharper character lines and ridges combine with more muscular wheels-arches and shoulders for a more assertive presence. Meanwhile, waistline-mounted side mirror stalks are slimmer and downwards-tilted dual exhaust tips hide behind faux rear fascia-integrated quad exhaust exits.

More go and growl

Powered by a reworked 3-litre V6 engine, the new SQ5 trades its predecessor’s supercharged induction for a twin-scroll turbocharger, and retains almost unchanged performance, with 0-100km/h dispatched in 5.4-seconds and an electronically-capped 250km/h top speed.

Developing the same 349BHP, the new SQ5, however, serves this over a broader and slightly lower 5400-6400rpm band, while torque output is significantly improved from 347lb/ft at 4000-4500rpm to a brawnier 368lb/ft over a wider and more flexibly accessible 1370-4500rpm. With new turbo induction, free-wheeling auto gearbox ability, improved thermal management, lower 1870kg weight and lower CD0.34 aerodynamics, the new SQ5 makes considerable fuel efficiency improvements.

Returning 8.5l/100km combined compared to 12.3l/100km, the new SQ5’s performance is an evolutionary improvement, with increased torque and reduced weight translating into better mid-range response and muscle. Slightly different in delivery, the turbocharged SQ5 is quick off the mark with virtually no turbo lag owing to optimised gas flow paths and valve timing. 

Almost as immediate from idling engine speed and high-revving as the outgoing supercharged SQ5, the new model is, however, much improved throughout, with excellent low-end responses, high-end urge and considerably more capable mid-range. Subtly growling, the new SQ5’s power builds progressively and is effortlessly underwritten by a wave of near constant torque.

Tidy and grippy

Reflected its shorter front and rear overhangs and a sportier, slightly more rearwards design aesthetic, the new SQ5 also drives with more car-like finesse, eagerness and control. With new sophisticated five-link suspension and lighter mass, the SQ5 seems tidier and more eager into corners, with its permanent Quattro for wheel drive dividing power with a default 60 per cent rear bias for a sportier more agile drive.

With its engine slung low and just ahead of the front axle, the SQ5’s body roll is minimised, and when pushed hard and tight into a corner, its threshold to understeer seemed much improved during a test drive on lush green mountain routes in Salalah, Oman.

With quick, meaty and direct steering and legendry Quattro road-holding, the SQ5’s longer wheelbase further improves stability and space. Power can be diverted by up to 85 per cent rearwards and 70 per cent frontwards as necessary and torque vectoring selectively brakes inside wheels into corners, while agility can be further improved by an optional limited-slip differential, which allocates power along the rear axle for better cornering finesse, traction and grip.

A more buttoned down and tidier drive than its predecessor, the SQ5’s optional adaptive air suspension delivers good body control through corners and settled vertical control over imperfections in “dynamic” mode. “Comfort” mode provides a smooth, refined and more forgiving ride that takes the edge off optional sporty low-profile 255/40R21 tyres.

Smooth and centred

Driving all wheels through a slick and quick-shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox, the SQ5 has a broad range of ratios including shorter lower gears for responsive performance and taller upper ratios for smooth refinement and efficiency. 

Well equipped with driver assistance safety systems, the SQ5 is available with lane, rear cross-path and parking assistance. Also available are adaptive control with traffic jam assistance that can handle some steering duties and collision avoidance and turn assistance systems, while Audi’s pre-sense city system is standard, and can warn the driver about pedestrians and vehicles, and even initiate emergency braking, within its operational parameters. 

Sporty and classy inside, the SQ5’s uncluttered cabin features clear instrumentation and an emphasis on horizontal design. Brimming with high tech infotainment features including smartphone integration and wifi hotspot capability, the SQ5 also features a slim tablet-style infotainment screen and configurable 12.3-inch configurable Virtual cockpit instrument panel.

Decked out with quality materials and textures, the SQ5 features contrast stitched leather steering and quilted leather seats, while driving position is supportive and adjustable, with good visibility and seating, steering, pedals and instrument display alignment is perfectly centred for the driver. Mostly spacious inside, the SQ5 handily features sliding rear seats that allow an additional 10mm legroom for tall passengers.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, turbocharged, in-line V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 84.5 x 89mm

Compression ratio: 11.2:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 4.714; 2nd 3.143; 3rd 2.106; 4th 1.667; 5th 1.285; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.839; 8th 0.667

Reverse/final drive: 3.317/2.848

Drive-line: self-locking centre differential

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 349 (354) [260] @5400-6400rpm

Specific power: 116.5BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 179.4BHP/tonne (kerb)

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 368 (500) @1370-4500rpm

Specific torque: 167Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 257Nm/tonne (kerb)

0-100km/h: 5.4-seconds

Top speed: 250km/h

Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined:

11-/7.1-/8.5-litres/100km 

CO2 emissions, combined: 195g/km

Fuel capacity: 70-litres

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.34

Unladen/kerb weight: 1870kg/1945kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Suspension: Multi-link, anti-roll bars, adaptive air suspension

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres: 255/40R21

Price, starting at: JD83,881