High blood pressure is diagnosed even if only one number is high

High blood pressure is causing damage to the heart, kidney, and brain, even though there are no visual signs observed nor the patient feels no symptoms.

The force exerted on the walls of the blood vessel has to remain in acceptable normal range to prevent any damage to the vessel and not to cause the irreversible damage to the organs in the body.

When the heart is forced to work too hard this can contribute to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and this medical condition is known as significantly increasing the risk of blood vessel damage.

After that being said, it seems like the biggest problem with the treatment of high blood pressure is not the lack of knowledge, but the lack of applying our current knowledge.

…And our knowledge is consistently changing thanks to thorough research and study.

When the blood pressure reading is taken the two numbers of the reading present the pressure imparted to the blood by the pumping action of the heart (the high number, systolic) and the pressure that remains in the blood between heartbeats (the lower number diastolic). Both of this readings show how well your blood vessels perform during the blood circulation.

In the not-so-distant past, greater attention was given to the lower number (diastolic) and it was thought that a high first number (systolic) wasn’t such a big deal, especially at older age.

However, the recent studies indicated serious findings about the damage that the systolic blood pressure causes in the body. And as a result the thinking has changed and now it’s believed that systolic blood pressure might even be a greater threat in older patients than an elevation of the diastolic pressure.

Normal blood pressure readings should be numbers less than 120/80.

When the first number is greater than 140 (systolic pressure) or the second number is higher than 90 or both are elevated the condition is considered as High blood pressure.

When the first number is the only high number, the condition is called isolated systolic hypertension, and its requiring treatment in time to prevent further deterioration.

The key for any high blood pressure treatment is to bring the condition under proper control and start taking anti-hypertensive medicines. It’s of interest that isolated systolic hypertension is treated with the same medications as regular hypertension when both numbers are elevated.

However, the treatment depends on overall health condition, additional health problems such as diabetes, and whether any organs have already been damaged or not. When high blood pressure is diagnosed in time the treatment is usually small adjustments in one’s lifestyle and diet can lead to lowering blood pressure and reduce the risk of coronary (heart) disease.

There are some things that everyone can do to reduce blood pressure and take control of his/her life.

Adopting a diet consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, lean meats limited to 6 ounces a day and increased potassium-rich food such as baked potatoes with their skins, sweet potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, lima beans, soy beans, prunes, squash, spinach, cantaloupe, orange juice and almonds intake, combined with regular daily exercise, can do wonders and help lose extra weight and reduce further health complications.