Blood Pressure Chart: What Your Blood Pressure Numbers Really Mean, Knowing Can Save Your Life
High blood pressure (BP) also known as hypertension or the silent killer, has crept into the lives of 1/3 of American adults.
This works out to approximately 74.
5 million Americans according to the American Heart Association.
Its main cause is still unknown, and it usually has no warning signs or symptoms.
High BP can have deadly health consequences if left untreated.
It can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney damage.
However, with proper awareness, monitoring and life style changes, high BP can be easily detected and usually controlled.
Awareness, Do you know and understand what your numbers mean? Hypertension is a chronic disease where the force of blood along the artery walls surpasses a systolic range of 139 and diastolic of 89 mm Hg.
Systolic BP (SBP) is the BP in vessels during a heart beat while diastolic BP (DBP) is the BP when the heart is at rest.
It is astonishing that many of us are still of the impression that normal BP is the magic number 120/80 mm Hg.
That has no longer been the case since the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High BP (JNC 7) in 2003.
It stated that from an observational study they saw an increase in damage to arteries from BP levels as low as 115 (SBP) mm Hg over 75 (DBP) mm Hg.
Normal blood pressure is now 119/79 mm Hg and lower.
The bottom line is, know and understand what your BP numbers mean to your health.
Monitoring your blood pressure regularly Although 90-95 percent of the cases of high BP are unknown, there are several contributors that influence BP levels.
Some of which are diet, stress, alcohol, smoking, over weight and physical inactivity to name a few.
Monitoring your BP regularly, either at home, at the store, fire station or even at work, can be of great benefit in identifying contributing factors influencing your BP levels.
BP rises and falls throughout the day, and identifying the time of day when your BP is elevated may give you an insight as to the underlying cause of your high BP and getting it under control.
Regular monitoring can also help your physician make an early diagnosis of high blood pressure for those with prehypertension or other conditions that could contribute to high BP, such as diabetes or kidney problems.
Lifestyle Changes Adoption of healthy lifestyles is critical for the prevention of high BP and is essential in keeping hypertension under control.
Here are a number of recommended life style modifications.
Click on the following link for more detailed information on lifestyle modification.
This works out to approximately 74.
5 million Americans according to the American Heart Association.
Its main cause is still unknown, and it usually has no warning signs or symptoms.
High BP can have deadly health consequences if left untreated.
It can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney damage.
However, with proper awareness, monitoring and life style changes, high BP can be easily detected and usually controlled.
Awareness, Do you know and understand what your numbers mean? Hypertension is a chronic disease where the force of blood along the artery walls surpasses a systolic range of 139 and diastolic of 89 mm Hg.
Systolic BP (SBP) is the BP in vessels during a heart beat while diastolic BP (DBP) is the BP when the heart is at rest.
It is astonishing that many of us are still of the impression that normal BP is the magic number 120/80 mm Hg.
That has no longer been the case since the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High BP (JNC 7) in 2003.
It stated that from an observational study they saw an increase in damage to arteries from BP levels as low as 115 (SBP) mm Hg over 75 (DBP) mm Hg.
Normal blood pressure is now 119/79 mm Hg and lower.
The bottom line is, know and understand what your BP numbers mean to your health.
Monitoring your blood pressure regularly Although 90-95 percent of the cases of high BP are unknown, there are several contributors that influence BP levels.
Some of which are diet, stress, alcohol, smoking, over weight and physical inactivity to name a few.
Monitoring your BP regularly, either at home, at the store, fire station or even at work, can be of great benefit in identifying contributing factors influencing your BP levels.
BP rises and falls throughout the day, and identifying the time of day when your BP is elevated may give you an insight as to the underlying cause of your high BP and getting it under control.
Regular monitoring can also help your physician make an early diagnosis of high blood pressure for those with prehypertension or other conditions that could contribute to high BP, such as diabetes or kidney problems.
Lifestyle Changes Adoption of healthy lifestyles is critical for the prevention of high BP and is essential in keeping hypertension under control.
Here are a number of recommended life style modifications.
Click on the following link for more detailed information on lifestyle modification.
- Eat a healthy diet.
(Adopt the DASH Diet) - Maintain a healthy body weight.
(Body mass index 18.
5-24.
9 kg/m2). - Be physically active.
(Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day) - Limit alcohol use.
(No more than 1 oz (30 mL) of ethanol for men and 0.
5 oz per day for in women) - Don't smoke.
- Prevent or treat diabetes.