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What Is High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?
How Is Blood Pressure Measured?
What Are The Risk Factors of High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?
How Does Blood Pressure Increase?
How Is High Blood Pressure Controlled?
How Can I Get More Information?
What Is High Blood Pressure Or
Hypertension?
Sometimes referred to as "high blood" or "pressure".
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls.
Each time the heart beats, it is pumping blood into these arteries and
what we get is the highest blood pressure when the heart contracts and
is pumping the blood.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, increases your chances
for developing heart disease or (heart attack) and stroke or (brain attack).
How Is Blood Pressure Measured?
High Blood Pressure or Hypertension, in an adult is a blood pressure
higher than or equal to 140 mm Hg systolic pressure (Systolic pressure
is when the pressure in the artery is at its highest when the heart contracts
and is pumping the blood, This is the top number of your pressure.)
and the bottom number of your pressure is greater than or equal to 90
mm Hg diastolic pressure ( diastolic pressure is the pressure in the artery
when the heart is at rest, in-between beats, your blood pressure falls).
or
140 - Top number or systolic pressure when the heart contracts
90 - Bottom number or diastolic pressure when the heart relaxes
What Are The Risk Factors For
High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?
High blood pressure can occur in anyone, but occurs more frequently in:
- persons with diabetes mellitus, gout, or kidney disease
- African-Americans (especially those who live in the southeast United
States)
- People in their early to middle adult years, men have high blood pressure
more often than women
- Peoples in their middle to later adult years, women have high blood
pressure more often than men (more women have high blood pressure after
menopause than men of the same age)
- People middle-aged and elderly people - as more than half of all Americans
age 65 and older have high blood pressure
- People whose parents or grandparents have/had high blood pressure
- People that are overweight or obese
- People that are heavy drinkers of alcohol
- Women who are taking birth contol or oral contraceptives
How Does Blood Pressure Increase?
- Being overweight is likely to be associated with high-normal or mild-high
blood pressure
- Excessive sodium intake increases blood pressure in some people
- A lack and exercise and physical activity is likely to be associated
with high-normal or mild-high blood pressure
How Is High Blood Pressure
Controlled?
Many people can control high blood pressure by what they eat and exercise:
- choosing foods that are sodium (salt)
- choosing foods low in calories and fat
- choosing foods high in starch and fiber
- maintaining a healthy weight, or losing weight if you are overweight
- limiting serving sizes
- increasing physical activity
- practicing moderation of alcoholic beverages
However, there are people who must take daily medication to control hypertension.
People with hypertension should routinely have their blood pressure checked
and be under the care of a physician. It is further important to never
stop taking your blood pressure medicine unless your doctor tells you
to do so.
How Can I Find Out More About
High Blood Pressure And Hypertension?
Ask Your Doctor
www.amhrt.org
www.nih.gov/health
www.HealthAtoZ.com
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