High
Blood Pressure / Hypertension
What
is blood pressure?
Blood pressure, measured with a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope
by a nurse or other healthcare provider, is the force of the blood
pushing against the artery walls. Each time the heart beats, it pumps
blood into the arteries, resulting in the highest blood pressure as
the heart contracts. One cannot take his own blood pressure unless
an electronic blood pressure monitoring device is used. Electronic
blood pressure monitors may also measure the heart rate, or pulse.
Two numbers are recorded when measuring blood pressure.
The higher number, or systolic
pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart
contracts and pumps blood through the body. The lower number, or diastolic
pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart
is at rest and is filling with blood. Both the systolic and diastolic
pressures are recorded as "mm Hg" (millimeters of mercury).
This recording represents how high the mercury column is raised by
the pressure of the blood.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, directly increases
the risk of coronary heart disease (heart attack) and stroke (brain
attack). With high blood pressure, the arteries may have an increased
resistance against the flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder
to circulate the blood. According to the American Heart Association,
high blood pressure for adults is defined as:
and/or
These numbers should be used as a guide
only. A single elevated blood pressure measurement is not necessarily
an indication of a problem. Your physician will want to see multiple
blood pressure measurements over several days or weeks before making
a diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure) and initiating treatment. A
person who normally runs a lower-than-usual blood pressure may be
considered hypertensive with lower blood pressure measurements than
140/90.
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What
is a risk factor?
A risk factor
is anything that may increase a person’s chance of developing
a disease. It may be an activity such as smoking, diet, family
history, or many other things. Different diseases, including
cancers, have different risk factors.
Although
these factors can increase a person’s risk, they do not
necessarily cause the disease. Some people with one or more
risk factors never develop the disease, while others who do
develop the disease may have no known risk factors.
But, knowing
your risk factors to any disease can help to guide you into
the appropriate actions, including changing behaviors and
being clinically monitored for the disease.
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What are
the risk factors for high blood pressure?
High blood pressure can occur in anyone, but is particularly
prevalent in:
- persons with diabetes mellitus, gout, or kidney
disease.
- African-Americans (particularly those who live
in the southeastern United States).
- persons in their early to middle adult years; men
in this age group have higher blood pressure more often than women
in this age group.
- persons in their middle to later adult years; women
in this age group have higher blood pressure more often than men
in this age group (more women have high blood pressure after menopause
than men of the same age).
- middle-aged and elderly people - more than half
of all Americans age 65 and older have high blood pressure.
- persons whose parents or grandparents have/had
high blood pressure.
- heavy drinkers of alcohol.
- women who are taking oral contraceptives.
How does blood pressure
increase?
The following may contribute to an
increase in blood pressure:
- being overweight
- excessive sodium intake
- a lack of exercise and physical activity
How is high blood pressure
controlled?
Many people can control high blood pressure by:
- choosing foods that are low in sodium (salt).
- choosing foods low in calories and fat.
- choosing foods high in starch and fiber.
- maintaining a healthy weight, or losing weight
if overweight.
- limiting serving sizes.
- increasing physical activity.
- practicing moderation if consuming alcoholic beverages.
However, other people must take daily medication to
control hypertension. People with hypertension should routinely
have their blood pressure checked and be under the care of a physician.
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