More about blood pressure

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is like water pressure in a pipe. Because you’re at an advanced age, or you’ve abused your body by an unhealthy lifestyle and/or diet, and your arteries are starting to accumulate debris called plaque, and the flow of blood from your heart to the rest of your body is restricted, your heart has to work harder to deliver blood to every part of your body and pressure builds up inside your arteries.

Blood pressure is expressed as the amount of pressure that causes mercury (chemical symbol Hg) to rise in a glass tube to a certain number of millimeters of height. When the heart forces blood out of the heart, this amount of pressure is referred to as "Systolic" and is the first number in a blood pressure reading. The second number called "Diastolic", is the amount of pressure that it takes to push the mercury up the glass tube when the heart contracts before the next push.

A normal blood pressure reading is then considered to be less than 120/80.

High blood pressure would be a reading of 160/90 or higher.

Here’s a link to an excellent article with a long list of professional references obtained from the Walgreens website on the subject of blood pressure which would be a great place for you to start if you’re interested in learning more about this subject:

http://www.walgreens.com/marketing/library/contents.html?docid=000014&doctype=10&prn=t&langCd=0

How can you find out if you have high blood pressure?

A company of many very bright individuals in San Jose, California called A&D Medical has developed an advanced line of blood pressure monitors that sell for under $70.

Here’s a link to one of the best that they offer:

http://www.andonline.com/medical/products/purchase_options.php?catname=Blood_Pressure&product_num=UA-767PAC

It would be advisable for you to consider purchasing your own blood pressure monitor or, if you can’t afford it, places like CVS Pharmacy with stores all over the country have installed a late generation blood pressure machine near their prescriptions counter where you can sit down and get an accurate reading of your blood pressure for free.

If you decide to go there it’s advisable to wait a few minutes before you start the machine. Blood pressure varies with physical activity and state of mind, so relax for awhile before you start. Then, take three or four readings until you’re satisfied that you’ve gotten as accurate a reading as you can.

If you have high blood pressure, what are the dangers to your health?

High blood pressure can wreak havoc on the human body over time. Referred to as the "silent killer" high blood pressure doesn’t result in and of itself in any symptoms, except possibly severe headaches, but it could lead to a heart attack, stroke, or damage to the kidneys or liver.

So if you find out you have high blood pressure, your first step is to talk to your doctor. Depending upon your age and your health history, he’ll advise you as best he can.  Hopefully he’ll recommend life style and dietary changes as a first step.

For many of the 65 million Americans with high blood pressure and 59 million who have blood pressure that’s above normal, referred to as "pre-hypertension", it’s been proven that it’s possible to lower your blood pressure without taking pills.

A study by the National Institute of Health called PREMIER which started in 1998  concluded that life style and dietary changes supplemented with the DASH diet resulted in significant lowering of weight and blood pressure. 

What is the DASH diet?

The DASH diet, developed by scientists as a "Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension", simply consists of eating fruits, vegetables, grains, fish and low-fat dairy products, and very few red meats, sweets and other foods that are rich in fats.

Other things you can do to lower your blood pressure are:

First and foremost, avoid using salt.  Also, avoid caffeine, or at least limit the amount of coffee you use to brew a pot.  Stop smoking.  Lose weight. Carrying extra weight around that you don’t need is a big load on your heart.  Avoid drugs and alcohol. Excessive use of these substances can damage internal organs in the body, including the liver and kidneys.  Lower the amount of stress in your life. Relax. Adjust your attitude. "Go with the flow". Go to church. Seek God’s will for your life.

Lastly, develop a regular habit of daily exercise. Many experts recommend 30 minutes to one hour of cardiovascular exertion daily. If you choose walking every day, for most people it takes about twenty minutes to walk one mile, so a two mile walk would take about forty minutes. A three mile walk would take about one hour.

But talk to your doctor before you start. Start out slowly and don’t overdo it at first. After a week or two, increase your exertion, either walking, jogging, playing basketball, swimming, or whatever "floats your boat".

But whatever exercise regimen you choose – get out and do it, and start right now!