Understanding Your Blood Pressure
Understanding your blood pressure is incredibly important.
So first we should start with what exactly is blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of the blood coursing through your body against the artery walls. When a doctor or medical professional checks your blood pressure they will tell you two number. “X over X”. Or one number on top and another on the bottom.
The first number (the number on top) is your systolic blood pressure. This is known as the force of your blood in your arteries when the heart pumps or beats. The second number (or the bottom number) is your diastolic blood pressure. This is the force of the blood in your arteries when your heart relaxes. Or the pressure of the blood when your heart is in between beats.
A healthy blood pressure would be look like 120/80 or lower. You may have high blood pressure if you have a reading of 140/90 or higher. A high blood pressure makes it a higher risk to experience a stroke or heart and kidney disease. It is your best interest to keep your blood pressure in the healthy levels.
People often wonder what can cause an elevated blood pressure. Your blood pressure can increase from several events including not being physically active, the use tobacco and/or alcohol. Stress is a major contributor to high blood pressure. And of course your diet is going to have an effect on your blood pressure. These are only a few things. There are many things that can negatively effect your BP including medication conditions and medications.
Experiencing High BP can cause your body to have specific negative responses. For example it can be the major cause stroke. The elevated blood pressure can cause a weakened blood vessel to burst making it bleed into the brain; thereby causing a stroke.
High blood pressure has been know to burst blood vessels in your eyes. If this happens your vision will be blurred & impaired. Extreme cases may even exhibit blindness. This is why it’s important in understanding your blood pressure.
Other than these diseases we’ve already mentioned high blood pressure can also cause a myocardial infarction (AKA a heart attack) . The arteries are what bring blood heart muscle and supply it with oxygen. What happens if your blood pressure it too high, your heart will not get enough oxygen you will experience subtle to extreme chest pain. If the blood flow is blocked this is the cause of a heart attack.
There is never a wrong time to start taking control of your health beginning with your blood pressure.
Anyone can develop high blood pressure, even children. It is more common for African Americans to develop it. Many Americans will develop high blood pressure as they age but that doesn’t mean it is healthy.
Obesity is a gigantic cause of high blood pressure in America. If you are over weight or obese you a significantly enhanced risk of of having high blood pressure and as an effect stroke or heart disease. Even losing a small amount of weight (just 10 pounds to start) will drastically release some pressure, and relieve your heart making you a healthier person.
Finally, Eating healthy is one of the best ways to conquer high blood pressure. Limit your intake of salt and sodium, and fatty foods. Begin eating MORE fresh fruits and vegis daily. This will significantly improve your blood pressure if you are not already doing it.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
[...] people eat far too much salt in their eating habits. Too much salt can lead to water retention, high blood pressure and other [...]