Understanding Your Blood Pressure
Blood Pressure, What Can It Do To You?
What do you know about blood pressure? Blood pressure is
the force of your blood against the walls of your arteries.
Blood pressure has two numbers, which is a top and bottom
number. The top number is the systolic pressure where the
bottom number is the diastolic pressure.
Systolic blood pressure means the force of blood in your
arteries when your heart beats. If your systolic number is
more than 140, then you have high blood pressure. Even if
your diastolic number is not high, it could mean that you
have 'isolated systolic hypertension.' This means only your
systolic number is high.
High blood pressure is more commonly seen in older Americans.
Blood pressure usually increases with age whereas diastolic
pressure decreases after fifty-five. You might have isolated
systolic hypertension without you knowing so ask your doctor
if you are concerned.
Diastolic blood pressure is the force of blood in your arteries
when your heart relaxes between beats. This is a very important
number for younger people. The higher the number is, the more
you are at risk. As you get older, your blood pressure lowers
while your systolic increases. Therefore diastolic is more
important in younger people and systolic in older.
Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. If your pressure
is between the normal numbers and 139/89, you have what is
called prehypertension. This number puts you at risk to develop
high blood pressure in the future but it easily preventable.
Hypertension is a medical name for high blood pressure, with
high blood pressure, it puts you at risk for heart disease
or even strokes. High blood pressure forces your heart work
harder than it should and can lead to blindness, kidney disease
and even congestive heart failure.
According to statistics, high blood pressure has killed more
than 54,000 people in 2004. Statistics also show that 28%
of people have high blood pressure and aren't even aware of
it. Are you one of them?
You should be aware of the risks of high blood pressure so
you can take preventive measures to avoid stroke and heart
disease. While some risks can be altered or fixed, some cannot.
For example, if you are a smoker and or are overweight you
are at risk for high blood pressure.
This is easier to get around as you can quit using tobacco
and watching your diet to help lose weight. If you can’t
do this on your own, you can consult your physician. They
may be able to prescribe you something or give you useful
information to help.
In some cases, impaired vision or blindness can occur from
high blood pressure. It might eventually cause your blood
vessels in your eye to bleed or burst hence leaving you with
blurred or impaired vision.
Your arteries harden as you age, even more so for those in
your heart, brain and kidneys. These harder arteries are related
with high blood pressure. Your kidneys and heart are forced
to work harder when this happens.
Always consult your doctor if you have any doubts, it is
never too late to take care of your own health!
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