When your heart beats, it pumps blood round your body to give it the energy and oxygen it needs. As the blood moves, it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your arteries and your heart and this may lead to heart attacks and strokes.
How you can tell if you have high blood pressure
Having high blood pressure hypertension is not usually something that you feel or notice. It does not tend to produce obvious signs or symptoms. The only way to know what your blood pressure is is to have it measured. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury mmHg and is written as two numbers. For example, if your reading is 120/80mmHg, your blood pressure is 120 over 80.
What do the numbers mean?
Every blood pressure reading consists of two numbers or levels. They are shown as one number on top of the other. The first number is your systolic blood pressure. It is the highest level your blood pressure reaches when your heart beats. The second number is your diastolic blood pressure. It is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats.
Keep your blood pressure low
Even if you do not have high blood pressure now, it is important to keep your blood pressure as low as you can. The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of health problems.
For example, a blood pressure of 135 over 85 may be normal but someone with this reading is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as someone with a reading of 115 over 75.
What high blood pressure can do?
High blood pressure or hypertension puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. This can cause them to become weaker or damaged. The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of serious health problems in the future. High blood pressure can affect your body in a number of ways:
Your heart: high blood pressure can cause you to have a heart attack. It can also cause heart failure.
Your brain: high blood pressure is a leading cause of strokes. It has also been closely linked to some forms of dementia.
Your kidneys: high blood pressure can cause kidney disease.
Your limbs: high blood pressure can cause peripheral arterial disease, which can affect your legs.
If you have other health conditions, such as diabetes or high cholesterol, this increases your risk of health problems even more. It is then even more important to lower your high blood pressure. [source: NHLBI]
Please check this Video - how high blood pressure damages your body
Saturday, January 4, 2014
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