Hypertension is regarded as America’s most prevalent chronic illness today; this requires a team effort and a lifelong treatment plan. As an important part of the team, you play a role that is vital in maintaining overall success that will prevent problems in the future. Having a complete understanding of your condition, appropriate lifestyle changes, proper medication if deemed necessary, a regular blood pressure checkup and visit to the doctor will enable you to come up with a successful fight against hypertension.
Hypertension doesn’t actually mean that one is overly tense, although anxiety can raise blood pressure. Strain is created on your heart as blood is pushed through the circulatory system because of an increase in blood pressure. A certain amount of force or pressure is needed in order for blood to circulate. Every heartbeat provides blood that is pumped to all parts of the body. As the blood flows through the arteries, it exerts a force we commonly refer to as blood pressure. There are two numbers that are used to measure blood pressure. The higher number or what we call the systolic pressure and the lower number, called the diastolic pressure. As the heart squeezes to pump blood through the body, a pressure is created inside the artery and this pressure is the systolic pressure. Diastolic pressure on the other hand is the pressure inside the artery when the heart is in a relaxed stage and filling with blood. A person is considered to have a high blood pressure when there is a consistent reading of 140 mmHg(millimeters of mercury) or greater systolic and 90 mmHg or greater diastolic.
Most often high blood pressure doesn’t show obvious symptoms and there have been many reported cases that a person only discovers his hypertension during a medical emergency. This is the reason why high blood pressure is commonly referred to as the “silent killer”. It is therefore life saving to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Pressure readings from two or more visits to the doctor are necessary in order to confirm the diagnosis of hypertension.
Blood pressure is affected by a number of factors. These include the strength of your heart, blood vessels’ condition and the kidneys’ health. A person who exercises regularly, most often has a healthy heart that can push more blood with each pump and will not need to beat as often in order to maintain a normal blood pressure. Blood pressure also depends upon the arteries. Hardened and narrowed arteries caused by old age or a high fat diet can make it harder for the blood to flow, causing the blood pressure to rise. When the arteries begin to clog, the heart is then subjected to harder work. The kidneys’ health also affects blood pressure. Because the kidneys functions to maintain water and salt volume in the body, if the kidney retains too much water and salt then the blood pressure will also increase.
The heart and the arteries are usually at the losing end when there is long term uncontrolled hypertension. Uncontrolled hypertension can damage the body by increasing the heart and arteries’ workload.
Controlling blood pressure can lessen a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke and other life threatening illnesses.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Blood Pressure
