What is High Blood Pressure - the Risks
Basically, blood pressure is a measurement of the force that occurs in the arteries while the heart makes a beat (systolic pressure) and another measurement while the heart is resting (diastolic pressure). What is high blood pressure? If your blood pressure has been measured at 140/90 mm Hg or higher you are considered to have high blood pressure. The top number is the systolic level while the bottom one is the diastolic number. If your blood pressure has a reading between 120 and 139 for the systolic pressure and the diastolic number is between 80 and 89 you have prehypertension.
Your blood pressure numbers will likely change during a typical day and is usually at its lowest during sleep and can significantly rise due to being nervous or excited or very active. When you are sitting or inactive your blood pressure is at a healthy level if it is lower than 120/80 mm Hg.
What is causing High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is most common with adults over the age of thirty five and is more widespread with African Americans, people in their middle ages, seniors, overweight people, women who are using birth control pills as well as people who drink alcohol excessively. Heredity can be a factor regarding what is causing your high blood pressure. Some studies have indicated that about one in three of American adults have a high blood pressure condition.
Unfortunately, when a person acquires high blood pressure they typically have to deal with it for the rest of their life. You might not know what is causing your high blood pressure; however, it can be properly controlled with medication, a sufficient amount of exercise and other factors. A lot of people are not aware that they have high blood pressure and their high blood pressure problem can go untreated for years.
High Blood Pressure - Health Problems
High blood pressure should be taken seriously since it significantly increases the chances of acquiring coronary heart disease, having a heart attack as well as suffering a stroke. It can produce very small bulges in the blood vessels which can lead to aneurysms. These typically are produced in the aorta, the legs, in the brain, the intestines as well as the artery that leads to the spleen. High blood pressure can also cause kidney failure due to the blood vessels in the kidney becoming narrower.
High blood pressure can also lead to hardening of the arteries. If hardening of the arteries occurs in the brain it can cause a stroke, in the heart it can cause a heart attack and if you have hardening of the arteries in a leg it can in some cases lead to amputation. High blood pressure can also cause blood vessels located in your eyes to break or bleed which can cause vision problems and sometimes it can lead to blindness. Your doctor might not know exactly what is causing your high blood pressure but he can offer a program to help reduce your high blood pressure.
