Does it matter if your doctor worries about your blood pressure by age when you’re young and healthy?
You are not too young to be impacted by high blood pressure, even as a young adult. Even those who seem healthy, about half of persons over 20 have raised or high blood pressure. Even while high blood pressure has no overt symptoms, it shouldn’t be disregarded.
According to Dr. Nasir, Chief of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness at Houston Methodist, “High blood pressure quietly damages your body over time, increasing your risk of developing serious medical conditions, even though it might not feel like it at the time.” This explains why high blood pressure is known as a silent killer.
Also, high blood pressure may raise your chance of developing a severe COVID-19 illness.
What the numbers in your blood pressure signify
The force that blood exerts on artery walls as it is circulated throughout the body is known as blood pressure.
According to Dr. Nasir, “Your arteries are engineered to bear certain pressure, but there is a limit to what they can take.
Because of this, blood pressure is measured and divided into groups according to how it impacts our health. The four types of blood pressure are as follows:
- Less than 120/80 mmHg is considered normal blood pressure.
- higher-than-average blood pressure: 120 to 129/80 mmHg
- Stage 1 high blood pressure: 130–139/80–90 mmHg
- Stage 2 hypertension is defined as 140/90 mmHg or more significant.
Only normal blood pressure is regarded as healthy. Your heart and arteries are harmed by high blood pressure via:
- You are making your heart beat more vigorously. As a result, the heart’s muscle thickens with time, filling it with blood and pumping it more difficult.
- Your arteries becoming more narrow and rigid. This could reduce blood’s natural flow.
How does my health relate to blood pressure?
Long-term studies have shown that having high blood pressure by age considerably raises your chance of getting major health disorders later in life, even if you’re just in your 20s or 30s.
According to Dr. Nasir, uncontrolled high blood pressure is a significant risk factor for middle-aged heart disease, the country’s top cause of death. Additionally, it raises the chance of renal disease, stroke, and various eye diseases.
Additionally, high blood pressure has financial repercussions in addition to physical effects. An individual with high blood pressure pays over $2,000 yearly in medical expenses and medicines. If high blood pressure is not treated and significant medical diseases, like heart disease, develop the expenses increase.
How can my blood pressure be lowered?
Your perception of the blood pressure-lowering procedures may need to be revised. You should quit smoking if you do. If not, decreasing your blood pressure is as simple as following the “more of this, less of that” strategy you’re accustomed to hearing about, such as:
- The maintenance of a healthy weight. Even a 10-pound weight drop may reduce your blood pressure if you are overweight.
- Consumption of little salt. Limit your daily salt consumption to 1,500 mg.
- We are putting forth a lot of effort. Try to work out for 90 minutes or more each week.
- Alcohol restriction. Limit your daily alcohol consumption to two for men and one for women.
- Healthful eating. Aim for a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains low in saturated and trans fats.
In addition to being inclined to ignore their raised or high blood pressure by age, young individuals are also less likely to have their condition assessed by a doctor during an office visit, according to Dr. Nasir. It’s vital to talk with your doctor if your blood pressure is continuously high, in addition to taking action right now to lower risk factors in the future.