High Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is the measurement of how much blood can pass through your arteries as your heart pumps blood and takes into account the level of resistance that your blood is met with. The narrower your arteries are, the more resistance the blood flow has as it passes through those arteries.

High blood pressure is caused by the force of blood flow against the large blood vessels from the heart being too high. This means that the heart of an individual with high blood pressure is working harder than it should have to in order to circulate blood throughout the body.

High blood pressure is commonly referred to as the silent killer for good reason. You could have high blood pressure and not even know it. This is because often high blood pressure has no symptoms. Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure if left untreated could result in serious life-threatening health problems such as kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke. In fact, hypertension is the single greatest risk factor for heart disease. Therefore, it is important to recognize any risk factors you or your loved ones may have and what steps to take after diagnosis. 

When measuring blood pressure there are two numbers you need to consider. The top number, which measures systolic pressure and the bottom number, which measures diastolic pressure.

Systolic pressure refers to the pressure caused when the heart beats. A normal reading for this is below 120. Hypertension happens when this number is 130 or higher.

Diastolic pressure refers to the remaining pressure between heart beats, when the heart relaxes. A normal reading for this is less than 80. Hypertension happens when this number is 80 or higher. 

Blood pressure when measured is typically put into four categories, these being: normal, elevated, stage 1 hypertension and stage 2 hypertension.

• Normal blood pressure occurs when the systolic pressure (or top number) is less than 120 or the diastolic pressure (or bottom number) is less than 80.
• Elevated blood pressure occurs when the systolic pressure (or top number) is between 120 and 129 or the diastolic pressure (or bottom number) is less than 80.
• Stage 1 hypertension occurs when the systolic pressure (or top number) is between 130 and 139 or the diastolic pressure (or bottom number) is between 80 to 89.
• Stage 2 hypertension occurs when the systolic pressure (or top number) is 140 or higher or the diastolic pressure (or bottom number) is 90 or higher.

Risk factors for high blood pressure can be put into two different categories—risk factors that you can control and risk factors that you can’t. With this knowledge, you can recognize if you are at risk, what controllable risk factors you may have, and what changes you can make in your life to reduce your risk. 

Risk factors you can’t control:

• Family history of high blood pressure
• Ancestry (African American, especially if you live in the southeastern U.S)
• Age (middle-aged or older)

Risk factors you can control:

• High weight
• High dietary salt intake
• High stress
• Inadequate physical activity
• Inadequate sleep
• Alcohol consumption
• Smoking
• Use of oral birth control pills
• Use of stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine

You can have your blood pressure measured by a nurse or doctor during healthcare visits or at most pharmacies in between visits. Blood pressure can also be measured at home with the use of an electric blood pressure monitor.

Although high blood pressure often shows no symptoms, symptoms can arise in severe cases at which point immediate medical attention is required. Therefore, waiting for symptoms to arise could become fatal. These symptoms include headache, changes in vision and chest pain.

After a diagnosis, be sure to pay your doctor a visit, as treatments differ person to person. Different people may have different risk factors that affect an individual’s treatment. Hypertension can often be controlled with a healthy lifestyle and medication. Quitting smoking, limiting dietary salt intake, and exercise are great steps to take towards a healthier lifestyle.