Article Details
All you should know about high blood pressure |
| Date Added: December 04, 2009 03:31:21 AM |
| Author: Theodore |
| Category: |
| Blood from your heat to the rest of your body is carried by the arteries. When the heart beats, it thrusts blood through the arteries. In a person who has healthy arteries, the blood is able to run through the arteries with insignificant resistance. But in a person whose arteries have constricted, the arteries resist the blood flowing through them. The heart has to work harder to direct the blood to the organs, and this is how hypertension occurs. Hypertension puts a huge strain on your heart and damages the arteries. This raises your risk for coronary problems and kidney failure. High blood pressure is frequently called the "silent killer", as a lot of males and females are not even aware they have it. This is because most men and women with hypertension have no symptoms. In healthy adults blood pressure is 120/80 or lower. Hypertension is a reading 140/90 or higher. If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90, you have something called prehypertension. This indicates you are on your way to having high blood pressure. Some factors increase your risk of high blood pressure. Some you can be in control of, and some you cannot. The factors you cannot be in control of are: - Race. African Americans develop hypertension more often and at an earlier age. Also, hypertension in African Americans tends to be more severe. - Age. Risk of hypertension increases with age. - Heredity. If some of your close family members have high blood pressure, you are at risk. Other factors that place you at risk for high blood pressure are • being corpulent • not being active enough • heavy smoking • consuming too much salt. General practitioners recommend that all grownups aged 18 and older be examined for hypertension. If you have high blood pressure, here are some recommendations to help you reduce it. - Quit smoking. Nicotine brings on your blood vessels to narrower and your heart to beat faster, which increases 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. - Consume a well-balanced diet rich in vitamins and low in saturated fat. - Limit your sodium and alcohol intake. If lifestyle changes alone do not reduce your blood pressure, your general practitioner may also prescribe antihypertensive medications to treat your high blood pressure. But note: even if are on medication, changing your life-style can help lower the amount of medicines you take. |