High and Low Blood pressure
High blood pressure (Hypertension), rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
More than 1 in 4 adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not realise it. So best thing to do is to have your blood pressure checked. Most surgeries have a blood pressure monitor in the waiting room and will print out a reading.
Reading the new blood pressure guidelines
Blood pressure is recorded with 2 numbers. The systolic pressure (higher number) is the force at which your heart pumps around your body. The diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels.
If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs, such as brain, kidneys and eyes.
An ideal blood pressure is 120.80mmHg. It’s considered to be high if it is over 140/90mmHg on three consecutive readings. The higher the blood pressure is, the more load is on your heart and circulatory system.
Predisposing factors of high blood pressure
If a case of high blood is detected early and is not yet sever, lifestyle changes may be the main course of treatment. Simple lifestyle changes such as:
- cutting back on salt,
- eating a well balanced diet – including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables – get tips on healthy eating
- be active
- cut down on alcohol – drink more water
- drink less caffeine
- stop smoking
These are all things we know, but will we compromise or change lifestyle?
