Controlling Blood Pressure

Oxygen is the body’s fuel. Your body needs oxygen to thrive and survive. Supplied by the blood and pumped by the heart, oxygen reaches every cell of the body. As the heart pushes the blood, the blood creates a force against the artery walls. This is blood pressure and it indicates how hard the heart is working to maintain efficient blood flow through the body’s circulatory system. Two numbers are used to measure blood pressure with an average healthy reading of 120/80. The top number is called systolic; the bottom number is called diastolic.

Your heart beats in two phases, it contacts and then relaxes. The systolic reading is the measure of force created as the blood presses against the arterial walls when the heart is contracting. The diastolic reading is the measure of force created as the blood presses against the arterial walls when the heart is relaxed. This is why the systolic reading (top number) is higher; there is a greater force when the heart contracts then when it is relaxed.A blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher is consider high. Over 65 million American adults now have high blood pressure and about two-thirds of people over age 65 have high blood pressure. As a result, the heart works harder to deliver blood to the body elevating the risk of heart disease and stroke, the first and third-leading causes of death among Americans. It can also lead to other conditions, such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and blindness.

By keeping blood pressure in a healthy range, you can help prevent or reduce your risk of these serious health conditions. Lifestyle factors that affect your blood pressure include: maintaining a healthy weight, maintaining a healthy diet, limiting your sodium or salt intake, limiting your alcohol consumption, and getting regular physical activity.

There are factors that we can not change such as age, gender and ethnicity. But there is so much we can do to help prevent the onset of high blood pressure and the health consequences that come along with it. Living a healthy lifestyle is in everyone’s best interest, not so you can live longer, but so you can live free.