Blood pressure is the force of your blood against the artery walls. Blood is transported from your heart to different regions of your body through arteries. Throughout the day, your systolic and diastolic blood pressure typically increases and decreases.
Why Do Blood Pressure Readings Matter?
Two numbers are used to determine blood pressure:
- Systolic blood pressure, which is the first number, gauges the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.
- Diastolic blood pressure, or the second number, gauges the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats.
- You would say “120 over 80” or write “120/80 mmHg” if the reading was 120 systolic and 80 diastolic.
What Are The Usual Readings For Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure?
A blood pressure of less than 120/80 mmHg is considered normal.
No matter your age, you may make a daily effort to maintain a healthy systolic and diastolic blood pressure range.
What Is Hypertension, Or High Blood Pressure?
Hypertension, another name for high blood pressure, is elevated blood pressure. Depending on your activity, your blood pressure varies throughout the day. A diagnosis of high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) may be made if blood pressure readings are often above normal.
Your chance of developing additional health issues, such as heart disease, a heart attack, and stroke, increases as your blood pressure levels rise.
By examining your systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings and comparing them to values contained in certain recommendations, your medical team may diagnose high blood pressure and decide on a course of therapy.
The criteria used to diagnose high blood pressure may vary from one medical specialist to another:
When a patient’s blood pressure is continuously 140/90 mm Hg or greater, some medical experts diagnose them as having high blood pressure.2 This restriction is based on a 2003 recommendation, as shown in the table below.
When a patient’s blood pressure is continuously 130/80 mm Hg or greater, other medical experts identify them as having high blood pressure.1 This restriction is based on a 2017 policy, as shown in the table below.
What Symptoms And Indicators Are Associated With Systolic and Diastolic High Blood Pressure?
Most often, high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning indications, and many individuals are unaware they have it. The only method to determine if you have high blood pressure is to measure it.
Why Does Blood Pressure Rise?
Usually, high blood pressure comes on gradually. Unhealthy lifestyle decisions, such as not engaging in adequate regular physical exercise, might contribute to it. Obesity and certain medical problems like diabetes might raise one’s chance of acquiring high blood pressure. Pregnancy may also cause high blood pressure.
What Issues Does Hypertension Bring About?
Your health may be harmed by high blood pressure in a number of ways. Important organs including your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes might suffer severe damage.
The good news is that you can typically control your blood pressure to reduce your chance of developing significant health issues.
Heart Disease and Heart Attack
By making your arteries less elastic, high blood pressure may damage them, which reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and increases the risk of heart disease. Insufficient cardiac blood flow may also result in:
Angina, A Term For Chest Discomfort
Heart attack, which occurs when your heart’s blood supply is cut off and the heart muscle starts to die from a lack of oxygen. The more time the blood flow is restricted, the more harm the heart sustains.
Heart failure is a disorder when the heart is unable to adequately pump blood and oxygen to the body’s other organs.
Stroke and Cognitive Issues
High blood pressure may rupture or get clogged in the arteries that carry blood and oxygen to the brain, which can result in a stroke. During a stroke, brain cells perish because they do not get enough oxygen. Serious impairments in speech, mobility, and other everyday tasks may result after stroke. Additionally fatal is a stroke.
High blood pressure is associated with dementia and decreased cognitive function later in life, particularly in midlife. Learn more from the National Institutes of Health’s Mind Your Risks campaign on the connection between hypertension and dementia.
Renal Disease
Adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or both are more likely than healthy adults to develop chronic renal disease.
How Can I Tell If My Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure Is High?
Only a doctor or other qualified healthcare provider can determine whether you have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure may be quickly and painlessly measured.
SMBP monitoring, also known as self-measured blood pressure (SMP) monitoring, is something you should discuss with your medical team.
The reason why high blood pressure is known as the “silent killer” is because it often has no symptoms or warning indications and many individuals are unaware they have it.
What Can I Do To Lower My Blood Pressure Or Control It?
Making lifestyle modifications may help many individuals with high blood pressure get their levels into a healthy range or maintain them there. Consult your medical staff about it
- Getting at least 150 minutes (or 30 minutes per day, five days a week) of exercise per week
- Not smoking
- Maintaining a balanced diet and abstaining from alcohol and sodium (salt)
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
- Controlling stress
- Study up on methods for controlling and preventing high blood pressure.
Some persons with high blood pressure need to take medication to regulate their blood pressure in addition to adopting beneficial lifestyle changes. Find out more about blood pressure medications.
If you believe you have high blood pressure or if you have been informed you have high blood pressure but it is not under control, speak with your medical team straight away.
You may help defend yourself against heart disease and stroke, generally referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD), by taking steps to decrease your blood pressure.