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Getting a grip on high blood pressure |
| Date Added: February 18, 2010 08:54:32 AM |
| Author: jupliana788 |
| Category: SHOPPING |
| Hypertension is sometimes called the "silent killer", as you can have it without being aware that you do. This is because most males and females with high blood pressure have no symptoms. Blood from your heart to the organs is carried by the arteries. When the heart beats, it thrusts blood through the arteries. In a person who has healthy arteries, the blood flows through the arteries with insignificant resistance. But in people whose arteries have constricted, the arteries resist the blood flowing through them. The heart has to work far harder to get the blood to the organs, and that is how high blood pressure occurs. Hypertension places a strain on your heart and leads to damage to the blood vessels. This raises your risk for cardiac problems and kidney failure. Blood pressure in healthy grownups is 120/80 or lower. Hypertension is a reading 140/90 or higher. If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90, you have something called prehypertension. This signals you are gradually developing high blood pressure. Some factors increase your risk of high blood pressure. Some you can control, and some you cannot. The factors you cannot be in control of are: - Race. African Americans are reported to develop high blood pressure more often and at an earlier age. Furthermore, severe cases of high blood pressure are more often observed in African Americans. - Age. Risk of high blood pressure increases with age. - A hereditary factor. If you have got close family members who have hypertension, you are at higher risk. Other factors that place you at risk for high blood pressure are • being overweight • lack of regular exercise • heavy smoking • eating too much salt. General practitioners strictly recommend that all grownups aged 18 and older be screened for hypertension. If you have high blood pressure, the following are some tips to help you lower it. • Give up smoking. Nicotine makes your blood vessels narrower and your heart beat quicker, which increases your blood pressure. • Lose extra pounds if you are corpulent. • Do physical exercises regularly for half an hour 5 or days a week. • Choose a healthy diet that includes a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and is low fats. • Limit your sodium and alcohol intake. If life-style improvements alone do not decrease your blood pressure, your general practitioner may moreover prescribe antihypertensive medications to treat your hypertension. But note: even if you must take medications, changing your life-style can help lower the amount of medicines you take. |
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