What Is Blood Pressure?
When we say blood pressure, it means arterial blood pressure, which depends on the strength of the heart muscle that injects blood into the arteries under high pressure and on the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries.
Our heartbeat differently depending on the needs of our body that’s why the blood pressure is constantly changing during the day. The pressure goes up and down relative to how active you are at that particular moment; For example, if you sit, rest, or watch TV your blood pressure will have lower values, that is, if you run or exercise your blood pressure will be higher. Also, sometimes when you wake up and get out of the bed instantly, gravity can cause a sudden drop in your blood pressure, resulting in dizziness or even fainting.
Arterial hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure values are elevated; in case of hypertension they are equal to or higher than 140/90 mm Hg.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic disease that has slowly progress over the years. Often, there are no symptoms and it is usually discovered accidentally on a systematic examination. Headaches, tinnitus and a feeling of pressure in the head can be warning signs that you may have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, sometimes hypertension goes on for so long without symptoms, that it is detected only when it leads to angina, heart infarction or stroke. Typically, hypertension is diagnosed when a patient is found to have high blood pressure for an extended period of time.
The risk of hypertension increases with age. High blood pressure occurs more frequently in men over 45 and women over 55 years of age. Also, hormone estrogen “protects” women from the onset of this health problem until menopause, but women who take oral contraception increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. A history of high blood pressure in the family doubles the chances that offspring will have this health problem as well.
The occurrence of high blood pressure can be influenced by your lifestyle too. For example, it is dependent on factors such as what you eat, whether you are physically active, are you a smoker or not and to what extent you consume alcohol, etc.
Important Facts:
– If your diet is high in fat and low in fiber and minerals, there is a potential for an increased risk of hypertension. People suffering from hypertension must have a specially designed diet plan.
– Regular exercise lowers both systolic and diastolic pressure.
– Obese people are more likely to have hypertension. That why people if they lose weight by only 10 percent, will have a substantial improvement in arterial blood pressure values.
– Persons under chronic stress usually have high blood pressure, which can be controlled by regular relaxation, meditation or yoga.
– People who drink more than 1 to 2 alcoholic beverages per day increase their blood pressure and various health complications are possible.
– Tobacco narrows the arteries and leads to various problems related to the heart and blood vessels.
What to do?
The best way to prevent and slow down the progression of the blood pressure disease is to have a healthy lifestyle. Proper nutrition, physical activity, regular therapy and regular checkups with primary physician and cardiologists are necessary.