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01/05/03, 02 :29 02:29:41 AM
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is a common medical condition. People from every walk of life are at risk because of this silent killer. Because you cannot feel high blood pressure or know how hard your heart is working, perhaps you do not fully understand your doctor's concern and what you should do. Luckily, there are long-term treatments for your problem, including modern medicines like the one your doctor has prescribed for you. But before you can be comfortable with your medication, you probably need to know more about it -- what your medication does and how it works. Some medicines, like the one your doctor prescribed for you, are effective for more than one condition.
What is blood pressure ?
Each time the heart beats; it pushes blood carrying oxygen and nutrients through the body's miles of arteries and veins. Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries. Everyone has to have some blood pressure so that blood can get to the body's organs and muscles.
How is blood pressure measured ?
Blood pressure is expressed as a pair of values: 140/90 or "140 over 90." This is because the pressure that blood exerts on your arteries is not always the same. The highest pressure is reached when your heart is pumping. In between beats, when your heart is resting, the pressure falls to its lowest level.
Both the highest and the lowest pressures in your arteries are important, so a blood pressure always has two components. Doctors call the larger number the "systolic (sis-TAHL-ic) pressure" and the smaller number, the "diastolic (DIA-stahl-ic) pressure." Normal, healthy blood pressure is below 140/90.
What's so bad about high blood pressure ?
When blood pressure becomes too high and stays that way, over time it can damage the arteries and the body's delicate internal organs, such as the kidneys, heart, brain, or parts of the eye. High blood pressure also makes the heart work harder and may eventually change it.
Hypertension = high blood pressure
High blood pressure (the medical term is "hypertension") does some of its damage by causing roughness in the usually glass-smooth lining of the arteries. When this happens, it is easier for fats and cholesterol to enter the artery walls, ultimately blocking them.
Does this mean that I am sick ?
Having high blood pressure, or hypertension, does not mean that you are sick. But it does mean you have a condition that can make you sick if you do not take charge of it. Untreated high blood pressure means extra risk for a heart attack or stroke.
Getting control-diet and exercise
To control unnecessary risks, think about the overall health of your heart; reduce the workload on your heart and keep your heart healthy.Your heart is a muscle. Like any other muscle, it needs to stay active. That is one reason why exercise is such an important part of keeping healthy. You should ask your doctor what exercise program is right for you. The most commonly stated goal for heart-healthy exercise is moderate exercise for 20 minutes three times a week. Many people find that they are very good about exercising at first, but that after a while they find reasons to stop. You will find that it is easier to stay with an exercise program that includes an activity that you like to do -- and one that fits into your daily routine. Variety will also help you stick with it -perhaps taking a long walk once or twice a week and playing tennis with a friend on weekends.
Avoiding excess salt
As anyone who has eaten a bag of salted pretzels knows, salt makes your body want water. When the sodium in salt gets into your bloodstream, it pulls water in. This extra fluid can raise blood pressure and make your heart work harder -- harder than it has to. The trick is to "watch the sodium."
Watching for hidden salt
Check labels on processed foods like canned soups, sauces and gravies, and frozen dinners. Look for low-sodium or low-salt alternatives. Some people can eat huge amounts of salt and still have normal blood pressure; others, who eat very little salt, have high blood pressure. There is no way to know whose blood pressure is sensitive to salt or sodium without giving a salt-restricted diets an adequate try. If your high blood pressure is sensitive to sodium, then you should continue to cut down on salt. Seasonings other than salt can keep food flavorful. The key is to watch out for salt that is in prepared foods that you use in cooking, like canned soups. You do not have to give up eating well in order to live well.
High blood pressure is a common medical condition. People from every walk of life are at risk because of this silent killer. Because you cannot feel high blood pressure or know how hard your heart is working, perhaps you do not fully understand your doctor's concern and what you should do. Luckily, there are long-term treatments for your problem, including modern medicines like the one your doctor has prescribed for you. But before you can be comfortable with your medication, you probably need to know more about it -- what your medication does and how it works. Some medicines, like the one your doctor prescribed for you, are effective for more than one condition.
What is blood pressure ?
Each time the heart beats; it pushes blood carrying oxygen and nutrients through the body's miles of arteries and veins. Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries. Everyone has to have some blood pressure so that blood can get to the body's organs and muscles.
How is blood pressure measured ?
Blood pressure is expressed as a pair of values: 140/90 or "140 over 90." This is because the pressure that blood exerts on your arteries is not always the same. The highest pressure is reached when your heart is pumping. In between beats, when your heart is resting, the pressure falls to its lowest level.
Both the highest and the lowest pressures in your arteries are important, so a blood pressure always has two components. Doctors call the larger number the "systolic (sis-TAHL-ic) pressure" and the smaller number, the "diastolic (DIA-stahl-ic) pressure." Normal, healthy blood pressure is below 140/90.
What's so bad about high blood pressure ?
When blood pressure becomes too high and stays that way, over time it can damage the arteries and the body's delicate internal organs, such as the kidneys, heart, brain, or parts of the eye. High blood pressure also makes the heart work harder and may eventually change it.
Hypertension = high blood pressure
High blood pressure (the medical term is "hypertension") does some of its damage by causing roughness in the usually glass-smooth lining of the arteries. When this happens, it is easier for fats and cholesterol to enter the artery walls, ultimately blocking them.
Does this mean that I am sick ?
Having high blood pressure, or hypertension, does not mean that you are sick. But it does mean you have a condition that can make you sick if you do not take charge of it. Untreated high blood pressure means extra risk for a heart attack or stroke.
Getting control-diet and exercise
To control unnecessary risks, think about the overall health of your heart; reduce the workload on your heart and keep your heart healthy.Your heart is a muscle. Like any other muscle, it needs to stay active. That is one reason why exercise is such an important part of keeping healthy. You should ask your doctor what exercise program is right for you. The most commonly stated goal for heart-healthy exercise is moderate exercise for 20 minutes three times a week. Many people find that they are very good about exercising at first, but that after a while they find reasons to stop. You will find that it is easier to stay with an exercise program that includes an activity that you like to do -- and one that fits into your daily routine. Variety will also help you stick with it -perhaps taking a long walk once or twice a week and playing tennis with a friend on weekends.
Avoiding excess salt
As anyone who has eaten a bag of salted pretzels knows, salt makes your body want water. When the sodium in salt gets into your bloodstream, it pulls water in. This extra fluid can raise blood pressure and make your heart work harder -- harder than it has to. The trick is to "watch the sodium."
Watching for hidden salt
Check labels on processed foods like canned soups, sauces and gravies, and frozen dinners. Look for low-sodium or low-salt alternatives. Some people can eat huge amounts of salt and still have normal blood pressure; others, who eat very little salt, have high blood pressure. There is no way to know whose blood pressure is sensitive to salt or sodium without giving a salt-restricted diets an adequate try. If your high blood pressure is sensitive to sodium, then you should continue to cut down on salt. Seasonings other than salt can keep food flavorful. The key is to watch out for salt that is in prepared foods that you use in cooking, like canned soups. You do not have to give up eating well in order to live well.