What is High Blood Pressure?
According to recent studies done by the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute, high blood pressure is a serious condition; which can lead to coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease), heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems. For this reason, it is important to constantly check your blood pressure and understand what the results mean. Very often people know how to check their blood pressure, but don’t understand what the numbers mean and visa versa. So let’s start from the beginning: what is blood pressure? "Blood pressure" is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways (NHLBI).
Blood pressure is measured in two ways: systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic is the blood pressure when the heart is pumping, this is usually the number that you see above or in front of the diastolic number. Diastolic is the blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats, the number that you would see behind or below the systolic number. For example, if your blood pressure monitor reads 125/85 the systolic number is 125 and the diastolic number is 85.
Now that we have a breakdown of what the numbers represent, let’s move on to the actual meaning of the numbers. You need to be able to identify what is high blood pressure for you and what is too low. In general, for adults ages 18 and over, a normal blood pressure would be less than 120 (systolic) and less than 80 (diastolic). It is also important to note that blood pressure doesn’t stay the same all the time. When you are sleeping it is lower than when you wake up in the morning. Things that excite you too much or alter your nerves can also cause your blood pressure to rise. If your blood pressure numbers stay above the norm most of the time, then you are at risk for health problems. You should seek medical attention immediately and start making changes in your daily diet.
First Care of New York provides the proper care for our clients affected by high blood pressure and other medical issues by utilizing our Certified Home Health Aides or Personal Care Aides to help our clients with their activities of daily living such as: visit their doctors regularly, assisting with medication reminders and also preparing meals with the dietary necessity to help lower blood pressure. If you or a loved one can no longer manage on your own or are having health issues due to medical conditions, do not hesitate to give us a call to find out how we may be able to help. Our number is 718-364-7251
One of the most dangerous aspects of hypertension is that you may not know that you have it. In fact, nearly one-third of people who have high blood pressure don't know it. The only way to know if your blood pressure is high is through regular checkups. This is especially important if you have a close relative who has high blood pressure.
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We appreciate your feedback. You've made a great point, this is why we should encourage regular check up and screenings.
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To take a blood pressure reading, you need to be relaxed and comfortably seated, with your arm well supported. Alternatively, you can lie on an examination couch.
ReplyDeleteFor young people it should be 120/80 mmHg and for old people it should be 140/90 mmHg.If your elderly loved one have a problem of high blood pressure then you can take the help of home care services.