High Blood Pressure Is A Dangerous Problem For Which There Is Frequently A Quite Simple Answer
In recent years changes in diet and lifestyle in most western countries have produced a growth in the number of people with high blood pressure.
High blood pressure (otherwise called hypertension, or more properly arterial hypertension) can be a serious condition that rarely carries any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can cause stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which is a life-threatening condition.
So precisely what is high blood pressure and just what causes it?
The arteries within your body are continuously filled with blood that produces a normal 'background' pressure against the artery walls. As the heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries during every beat of the heart. These two pressures are referred to as the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart is pumping) and the diastolic pressure (the lower normal or 'background' pressure).
Normal levels of blood pressure vary from individual to individual but, in general, systolic pressure should be in the region of 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ought to be approximately 80 mm Hg. This is usually expressed as a pressure of 120/80.
When your blood pressure starts to rise and stays at a level above 120/80 then you are described as being 'prehypertensive' and, while this is not in itself serious, it is an indication that you could be at risk of developing hypertension and all of the problems which are linked with it. As soon as your blood pressure rises to, and stays at, a level of 140/90 or above you are suffering from hypertension and steps should be taken to reduce your blood pressure.
So what makes you blood pressure rise and remain at a high level?
Well, there are numerous factors involved here and to begin there is a group over which you have little, or no, control. This group includes a low birth weight, various genetic factors, some types of diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age the arteries have a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, creating a reduced cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).
The second group of factors is much more controllable and includes a sedentary lifestyle, large quantities of salt and saturated fats in your diet, excess weight, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and employment in certain occupations such as motorway maintenance or flying.
The majority of these factors are treatable and, in many cases, a quite simple adjustment to your eating habits and the addition of some exercise into your daily plan is all that is necessary to resolve the problem. However, the difficulty is that, with few, if any, symptoms, most people are not aware that they have high blood pressure to start with.
So how can you solve the problem?
Thankfully the answer to this particular question is very simple. All you need to do is to pop into your physician's office regularly (about twice a year should do the trick) and ask him or her to check your blood pressure. The whole process is pain free, simple and fast and will provide you with peace of mind and can save your doctor a lot of time, work and expense down the road when you are forced to visit his office once hypertension sets in.
If you are not too keen on calling in to see your doctor then an excellent alternative today is to check your own blood pressure. A number of easy to operate and relatively inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available now, allowing you to maintain a check on your own health, as well as the health of of your whole family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
