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High blood pressure: who are at risk? |
| Date Added: December 08, 2009 12:52:39 PM |
| Author: Theodore |
| Category: Shopping |
| High blood pressure is very often called the "silent killer", because you can have it without being aware that you do. This is because most males and females with hypertension have no symptoms. Blood is carried around your body by the arteries. When the heart beats, it pushes blood through the arteries. In people who have healthy arteries, the blood streams through the arteries with insignificant resistance. But in a person whose arteries have constricted, the arteries prevent the blood from flowing through them. The heart has to work a lot harder to direct the blood to the organs, and this is how high blood pressure occurs. Hypertension places a huge strain on your heart and causes damage to the arteries. This increases your risk for coronary problems and kidney failure. Two measurements make up blood pressure. The first number is known as systolic, and refers to the peak blood pressure when your heart is directing blood into the arteries. The second figure is called diastolic, which is the pressure when your heart is resting between beats. Your blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The systolic pressure is measured first, and the diastolic pressure is read second. In healthy grownups blood pressure is 120/80 or lower. Hypertension is a reading 140/90 or higher. Physicians recommend that all grownups aged 18 and older be screened for hypertension. If you have hypertension, below are some recommendations to help you decrease it. - Give up smoking. Nicotine makes your blood vessels constrict and your heart beat quicker, which raises your blood pressure. - Lose extra pounds if you are corpulent. - Be more active. Exercise at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 5 or more days a week. - Eat a healthy well-balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and is low fats. - Consume less sodium and alcohol. If lifestyle improvements alone do not decrease your blood pressure, your general practitioner may moreover prescribe antihypertensive medicines to treat your hypertension. The goal is to decrease blood pressure to normal levels with medicines that are easy to administer and have fewer side effects. |
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