Why is blood pressure so important?
Blood pressure is the force of the blood on the artery walls as the heart pumps blood through the body. Hypertension is the term for blood pressure that is consistently higher than normal. According to data published by Public Health For England, they have estimated that up to 30% of the population have hypertension and 15% of those are undiagnosed and untreated.
Normal blood pressure ranges up to 120/80 but blood pressure can rise and fall with exercise, rest, or emotions. The pressures are measured in millimetres of mercury. The upper number (systolic) is the pressure when the heart pushes blood out to the rest of the body. The bottom number (Diastolic) is the pressure when the heart rests between beats.
Healthy blood pressure is less than 120/80.
Pre-high blood pressure (prehypertension) is from 120/80 to 139/90.
Stage I high blood pressure ranges from 140/90 to 159/99.
Stage II high blood pressure is over 160/100.
If repeated checks of your blood pressure show that it is higher than 140/90, you have hypertension.
Why is high blood pressure a problem?
When your blood pressure is high, your heart has to work harder just to pump a normal amount of blood through your body. The higher pressure in your arteries may cause them to weaken and bleed, this can put you at higher risk of a stroke. 50% of heart attacks and strokes are associated with hypertension. Over time, blood vessels may become hardened, this can happen naturally with age but high blood pressure speeds up this process. Hardened or narrowed arteries may be unable to supply the amount of blood the body's organs increasing the risk of suffering from a heart attack. The higher artery pressure may lead to atherosclerosis, in which deposits of cholesterol, fatty substances, and blood cells clog up an artery. This is the highest primary cause of heart attacks and strokes in the UK according to the British Heart Foundation.
How does it occur?
There are no clear causes of essential hypertension. However, many different factors can increase blood pressure, such as:
Being overweight
Smoking
Eating a diet high in salt
Drinking a lot of alcohol
Genetic Factors
Some medicines increase blood pressure, but one of the leading causes of high blood pressure in the UK of younger people is stress and poor stress management.
What are the symptoms?
One of the sneaky things about high blood pressure is that you can have it for a long time without symptoms. That's why it is important for us to check your blood pressure in your health consultation, as if you are well this may be the only time you get your blood pressure checked.
If you do have symptoms, they may be:
Headaches
Getting tired easily
Dizziness
How is it treated?
If your blood pressure is above normal (prehypertension), we can help you to bring it down to a normal level without medicine. Weight loss, changes in your diet, and exercise may be the only treatment you need and we can support you with a personalised plan to help you do this.
There are medicines to treat high blood pressure including diuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and vasodilators. These medicines work in different ways and have benefits and side effects associated with them, but reducing blood pressure naturally is always preferable to commencing medication.
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