Article DetailsGetting a grip on high blood pressure |
| Date Added: September 13, 2010 02:25:47 PM |
| Author: Theodore |
| Category: Health: Medicine |
| Your arteries are pipes that carry blood from your heart to the organs. When the heart beats, it thrusts blood through the arteries. In people who have healthy arteries, the blood is able to flow through the arteries with little resistance. But in a person whose arteries have become narrow, the arteries prevent the blood from streaming through them. The heart has to work much harder to get the blood where it needs to go, and that is how high blood pressure occurs. High blood pressure places a strain on your heart and leads to damage to the arteries, which increases your risk for cardiac problems and kidney failure. High blood pressure is sometimes called the "silent killer", as you can have it without being aware that you do. This is because the majority of people with high blood pressure have no symptoms.Blood pressure in healthy grownups is 120/80 or lower. High blood pressure is a reading 140/90 or higher.Some factors raise your risk of high blood pressure. Some you can control, and some you cannot. The factors you cannot be in control of include: • Race: African Americans are said to develop high blood pressure more often and at an earlier age. Also, severe cases of high blood pressure are more often observed in African Americans. • Age: Risk of hypertension raises as you become older. • Genetically determined hypertension. If you have got close family members who have hypertension, you are at risk. Other factors that put you at risk for high blood pressure include: • Being corpulent • Not being active enough • Smoking • Consuming too much salt Doctors strictly recommend that all adults aged 18 and older be examined for high blood pressure. If you have hypertension, here are some recommendations to help you decrease it.: • Quit smoking. Nicotine makes your blood vessels constrict and your heart beat faster, which raises your blood pressure. • Lose extra weight if you are corpulent & Be more active. Exercise at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 5 or more days a week. • Consume a healthy well-balanced diet rich in vitamins and low in fat. • Limit your sodium and alcohol intake. If lifestyle alterations alone do not lower your blood pressure, your physician may moreover prescribe antihypertensive medications to treat your hypertension. But remember: even if you must take medicines, making some of the recommended lifestyle improvements can help reduce the amount of medications you take. |
|
|
