If you’ve been diagnosed with diastolic high blood pressure then you already know that you’re diastolic blood pressure reading is greater than the normal 80 mm. If it is above 80mm but no greater than 100 mm you are pre-hypertensive and odds are your doctor advised you to make changes in your lifestyle to control or reduce the pressure. If your pressure was in excess of 100 mm then you are hypertensive and probably on blood pressure medication.
But do you really understand what diastolic pressure is and why it can be an predictor of some very serious heart issues?
Diastolic pressure is that amount of force that the blood places on the walls of the blood pressure when the heart is at rest. How can the blood be placing much of any force when the heart is not pumping you ask? The answer has much to do with the volume of blood within the vessels.
When the heart beats it pumps the blood that is in the chamber into the blood vessels increasing the total volume of blood. This increased volume puts more pressure on the vessel walls and that’s why systolic pressure is normally greater than diastolic pressure.
But what happens if the heart muscle is simply not strong enough to pump all the blood out of the chamber? After the heart beats the valve opens to allow new blood into the chamber but the chamber is already partially full and cannot take the normal amount. This means that the volume in the blood vessels is not reduced as it normally would be causing greater pressure on the walls
High diastolic pressure then could be a precursor to congestive heart failure or a heart attack.
This is a condition that obviously can’t be ignored. If you’re on medication be certain to take it as prescribed. If you suffer from side effects be sure to tell your doctor so he can adjust the dosage or try another drug.
But is there anything else you can do?
Of course there is. The reasons you have high blood pressure in the first place, bad diet, obesity, lack of exercise or bad stress management, can be the very solutions to your condition.
Positive changes in lifestyle can have very significant and fast impact on your BP reading. In fact the American Heart Association endorses life style changes over medication.
The first thing you want to do is address the heart muscle and how to strengthen it. You can do this in two ways. Exercise it to get better tone, just like any other muscle, and feed it the nutrients that it needs. A starving muscle is not a healthy muscle.
Check with your doctor first but thirty minutes a day of mild aerobic exercise like walking or biking can have an immediate impact on both your systolic and diastolic pressure.
Getting away from processed foods and avoiding salt are two good starts in feeding your heart. Get the vitamins and minerals that the heart needs by eating fresh or quick frozen fruits and vegetables. Stay away from red meat and substitute lean white meat, cold water fish and poultry.
There’s a way to quickly get this diastolic pressure issue under control if you are willing to commit to some changes. Given the risk, how hard can it be to make a decision to take charge of your health.
By: Rachel Willson
