What Is High Blood Pressure?

 

High Blood Pressure

When you have high blood pressure, it can make it difficult to move throughout your day. However, a little practice can go a long way toward keeping the systolic blood pressure steady or less. These tips provide valuable guidance on how to lower your own blood pressure, keep it at a healthy level, and prevent hypertension as well as other health conditions that might develop if blood pressure is not controlled.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

High (or very high) blood pressure (also called hypertension) is defined as the force of all blood vessels pushing against each other, resulting in an abnormally high blood pressure reading. It affects about 30 percent of adults over age 40. If your blood pressure readings are above 140/90, they are considered "hypertension." Some causes of high blood pressure include being overweight or obese, taking certain medicines, having kidney problems, or even having family members with high blood pressure in your family. The risk for developing hypertension increases with age for both men and women. People who have never smoked or have had no significant family history of cardiovascular disease are more vulnerable to developing high blood pressure.

Causes of High Blood Pressure:

Many factors can contribute to hypertension, including genetics, smoking, too much alcohol intake, kidney disease, obesity, and low levels of B12 in your blood. Smoking cigarettes, excessive consumption of alcohol, excess sodium intake, kidney function declines, and not enough exercise are just some of the known causes of high blood pressure. In addition to your genes, other lifestyle factors that increase the potential risks of getting high blood pressure include stress, stress related to a recent job change, pregnancy, and taking a kidney transplant. Several key signs can help identify the cause of high blood pressure. Check out our list to learn more and watch this video for additional information.

When you're suffering from high blood pressure, symptoms such as indigestion, frequent urination, blurred vision, headaches, heart palpitations, nausea, loss of appetite, back pain, rapid breathing, and lightheadedness are very common. Your doctor can determine which type of hypertension might be occurring and if there is any underlying medical condition that can contribute to the elevated blood pressure readings. Certain medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, diuretics, and beta-blockers can also cause hypertension. This may occur because this medicine can impact the flow of blood that is carrying your electrolytes. These are three major causes of high blood pressure. Watch this video to learn more about what causes and types of hypertension.

How We Measure High Blood Pressure:

When measuring blood pressure to check for high blood pressure, your physician uses two measurements: the systolic blood pressure or "systolic" and the diastolic blood pressure or "diastolic." To determine when it's time to call for advice, check our list of helpful tests for blood pressure to see which one to measure first. Then visit our blog for further tips.

How We Maintain Our Hypertension Levels

To reduce the chance of developing high blood pressure and other heart issues, it's beneficial to maintain a healthy weight, manage sugar intake, limit sodium intake, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, get regular exercise, avoid tobacco and alcohol, and maintain a positive outlook. Many people with hypertension need extra help to reach their current level of blood pressure. Taking steps to control your sugar, sodium, and protein intake is part of that process. Here are some things you can do to lower your chances of developing high blood pressure.

Add Sugar and Sodium Limit Your Water Intake

You know drinking lots of water helps remove waste products in your urine. But did you know that more than 200 milliliters of water each hour are needed every day? Because we need so much water, many Americans don’t realize how much water is really needed to stay hydrated. According to the American Institute of Hypertension (AIH), about eight glasses of 8-ounce, 125 mL-ounce water daily are needed to support the brain, kidney, and heart. That means your goal should be 1,200 milliliters every day. Even then, water isn't always readily available. For example, some cities still only supply 649 milliliters per week. So unless someone has a water filtration system installed, you need an extra six to eight ounces of liquid for every pound of total body mass as a minimum. It doesn't hurt to carry around a bottle of flavored sparkling water, but your best bet is to start a reusable water bottle.