What Does High Blood Pressure Means?
High blood pressure also known as hypertension, can be detrimental if not treated. It can lead to the risk of having stroke, heart attack, heart failure, aneurysm, and other cardiovascular diseases.
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| Pavel Danilyuk | pexel |
An individual is said to have high blood pressure if the force of the blood pushing against his/her artery wall is consistently too high.
In general, a normal reading blood pressure should be 120/80 mmHg or lower, but not too low, however, if it increases up to 139/80mmHg or more, it's considered as an high blood pressure.
What are the things that can cause high blood pressure?
In most adults, the cause of high blood pressure is not known, but in children, the cause may be associated with heart or kidney problem, also unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.
Blood Pressure is determined by two factors;
- The amount of blood the heart pumps
- How hard it is for the blood to move through the arteries
Some high blood pressure are caused by underlying health conditions such as;
- Kidney diseases
- Thyroid problems
- Blood vessel problems
- Sleep apnea
What are the risk of having high blood pressure?
These following factors can put you at risk of having high blood pressure;
- Making use of tobacco products
- Drinking alcohol in an unhealthy way
- Having high level of stress
- Increase in age (usually at age 64 in men, and 65 in women
- Family history of high blood pressure
- Obesity
- Having certain diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease
Can high blood pressure affect pregnancy?
About 10% of all pregnancies is affected by high blood pressure. The high blood pressure may have been present before, in the latter part, or after the pregnancy.
If you're pregnant, It's advisable to check your blood pressure regularly at every prenatal appointment.
How do I know if I have high blood pressure?
Most people with high blood pressure do not usually have any symptoms, even at an high reading level. Headache, bleeding of the nose, shortness of breath are the few signs people with high blood pressure may develop.
However these above signs does not specifically means you have high blood pressure, they are just signs to look out for, having these signs may be tied to another disease.
What should I do if I am diagnosed with high blood pressure?
Having high blood pressure does not automatically means death, there are several ways to manage, treat and go about it
- Eating healthy diet : As much as possible, abstain from high fatty foods, consume more fruit and vegetables. High fatty foods tends to block blood vessels, which can prevent the free flow of blood through the blood vessels.
- Regular physical exercise: it's highly recommended that we should all exercise our bodies at least 150 minutes every week whether or not we have any disease at all, this tends to relax the muscles, blood vessels, and blood arteries.
- Stress reduction: As much as possible, stay away from chores that can cause stress of any form. You can also manage stress by taking a warm bath, doing yoga, and also meditation.
- Reducing your alcohol intake: unhealthy consumption of alcohol causes a temporal high blood pressure. The American heart associations recommends that per day men should take a maximum of two alcoholic drink, and women should not consume more than a drink per day.
- Taking your prescribed medications at when due
"High blood pressure can be dangerous if not treated, if you are having an unusual symptom, and the symptom won't go away, check in with a certified doctor "