High Blood Pressure

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What is high blood pressure   

Effects of high blood pressure    

High blood pressure and normal blood pressure ranges

High Blood Pressure Causes     

High blood pressure management

High blood pressure statistics

High blood pressure affects about 50 million individuals in the U.S. 23% of Americans ages 20-74 have hypertension or high blood pressure. Among people with high blood pressure, 31.6% don't even know they have it.

What is blood pressure and how is it measured?

Blood pressure can be defined as the force that is applied against the artery walls as blood passes through the arteries. (Interesting fact: did you know that our blood flows through 60,000 miles of arteries and capillaries to bring vital nourishment to all our cells). It is recorded as a measurement of force to pumping activity of the heart and is measured in mm Hg ie millimeters of mercury. There are two types of blood pressures: systolic & diastolic 1) Systolic - is the pressure measured during the contraction of the heart. Normal range is 120-130mm hg. 2) Diastolic - is the pressure measured between heartbeats while the heart is at rest. Normal range is 80-85 mm hg. So, blood pressure measurement < 130/ 85 is considered normal while 130-139/85-89 is considered high normal. The journal "Circulation" indicates that even borderline blood pressure readings can become a risk factor for atherosclerosis and stroke.

Effects of high blood pressure

Blood pressure is considered to be elevated when repeated measurement shows

systolic pressure >= 140 mm hg and diastolic pressure >= 90 mm hg or both. Elevated blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, aneurysm, kidney failure, heart attack and atherosclerosis. High blood pressure causes scarred, hardened and less elastic arteries. When the arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle become blocked, the heart cannot get enough oxygen and this reduced blood flow can cause chest pain (angina). The flow may be stopped completely, causing a heart attack and permanent damage. A stroke may occur if a blood clot blocks one of the narrowed arteries. A stroke may also occur when very high blood pressure causes a break in a weakened blood vessel in the brain causing a hemorrhagic stroke. (Interesting fact: vegetarians usually have lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians because a vegetarian diet for the most part consists of fruits and veggies which are healthy foods for the body whereas certain meats are high in cholesterol). Below is a table for your convenience with the normal and high blood pressure ranges displayed.

Blood pressure range

Category	Systolic BP (mmHg)	Diastolic BP (mmHg)
Optimal	less than 120	less than 80
Pre-Hypertension	120-139	80-89
High	130-139	85-89
Stage 1 Hypertension	140-159	90-99
Stage 2 Hypertension	160-179	100-109
Stage 3 Hypertension	180-209	110-119
Stage 4 Hypertension	210 or above	120 or above

The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) recommends that adults have their blood pressure checked at least every 2 years provided that previous blood pressure readings have been normal. Discuss your options with your Physician or healthcare provider.

High Blood Pressure Causes

1) Family history 2) stress 3) exposure to lead from environmental sources including drinking water 4) type-A personality - easily excitable and hyperactive 5) high intake of salt 6) unhealthy lifestyle 7) medications and disease states that cause water retention will also increase blood pressure. Some health problems or conditions that may cause high blood pressure are kidney disease, cushings syndrome, pregnancy, oral contraceptives & chronic alcohol intake. Men are generally at greater risk than women and certain ethnic groups are more prone to high blood pressure than others (eg., African-Americans).

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