There are many different kinds of heart disease, but hypertension, or more commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is one of the most common heart issues. According to the American Heart Association, one out of every three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, and 20% of those adults don’t even know they have it. High blood pressure is also known as a silent killer, as it has no obvious symptoms.
So, what is high blood pressure? High blood pressure is the measurement of the force at which blood pushes against your blood vessel walls. There are two numbers for your blood pressure. The top number is called systolic pressure. This number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number is called diastolic pressure, which is the measure of the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats. A normal blood pressure is below 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
Pre-hypertension is a condition of slightly elevated blood pressure. This condition will usually turn into high blood pressure unless you decide to make some changes to your lifestyle, including more exercise and a healthier diet. Pre-hypertension has a systolic pressure (top number) between 120 to 139 mm Hg, or a diastolic pressure (bottom number) from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
Stage 1 hypertension is referred to as mild high blood pressure.At this stage, you would most likely be prescribed medication. Even though you have been prescribed medication, it is still important to make the same lifestyle changes of exercise and diet to help control your blood pressure. Stage 1 hypertension has a systolic pressure (top number) of 140 to 159 mm Hg, or a diastolic pressure (bottom number) from 90 to 99 mm Hg.
Stage 2 hypertension is severe high blood pressure and requires more frequent blood pressure checks, as well as a lot of monitoring. Stage 2 hypertension has a systolic reading (top number) of 160 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic reading (bottom number) of 100 mm Hg or higher.
While both numbers of your blood pressure are important, adults who are 60 years of age and over, need to pay more attention the systolic number. A normal diastolic number and high systolic number is a common form of high blood pressure for those over 60.
There are some risk factors that you cannot change such as your age, race, and family history, but you can do something about your lifestyle risk factors. Some factors that put you more at risk to develop high blood pressure include being overweight, not being physically active, using tobacco, drinking too much alcohol, and having too much salt in your diet. All of these risk factors are something that you can change. Start small if you need to. Maybe park a little farther away in parking lots, or go for a walk on your lunch break. Small steps can prove to be big strides to keep the “silent killer” at bay.
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