Blood pressure (BP) is a vital measure of the heart’s force to pump blood through its four chambers and out to the rest of the body. It is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle to prevent or delay high blood pressure or other health problems. An ideal reading is about 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Hypotension, when BP is too low or below normal, can cause fainting, dizziness, and fatigue.
Healthy lifestyle habits, such as regular exercise and a healthy diet, can help prevent and control high blood pressure. Uncontrolled, elevated blood pressure can be increased by eating unhealthy foods, especially those high in salt and low in potassium. Excess sodium leads to excess fluid and volume in blood vessels, causing blood pressure to rise. A high-sodium diet can also increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Several factors can contribute to high blood pressure, including diet and exercise, having a family history of high blood pressure, and body position, breathing, emotional state, exercise, and sleep. High blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and congestive heart failure, which can be debilitating or fatal. Measuring blood pressure is the only way to know if it’s normal. Individuals may be at an increased risk for high blood pressure if they smoke, are overweight, consume a diet low in produce and fiber, or high in fat and salt.
📹 How High Is Too High For Blood Pressure? Cardiologist Explains
They discuss what is blood pressure. They discuss what is systolic pressure and what is diastolic pressure. They discuss the ideal …
What does blood pressure tell us about our health?
Hypertension represents a substantial global risk factor for mortality and morbidity, with elevated blood pressure increasing the likelihood of myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and renal disease. Hypertension affects approximately two-thirds of the population by the age of 60 and can be developed by anyone, including children. Additionally, an elevated body mass index or a family history of hypertension serve to augment the risk.
Is blood pressure a good indicator of overall health?
Blood pressure is a crucial health indicator that can reveal one’s current and future health. It is often overlooked by men, as it is one of the easiest and simplest measurements. Dr. Randall Zusman, director of the division of hypertension for Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital’s Corrigan Minehan Heart Center, states that most people don’t know their blood pressure or check it regularly, leading to insufficient measures to lower their risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Is blood pressure related to lifestyle?
Hypertension can develop due to various factors, including lifestyle, medication, underlying health conditions, genetic history, and a combination of these. Nonmodifiable risk factors include advancing age, race, family history of hypertension or premature heart disease, and other concurrent health conditions. Hypertension is more common in African Americans and develops at an earlier age in this race.
Medications that may cause hypertension include caffeine, chronic steroid therapy, oral contraceptives, NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, amphetamines, cocaine, decongestants, weight loss drugs, cyclosporine, immunosuppressants, erythropoietin, and OTC supplements. Cigarette smoking is the single most common avoidable cause of cardiovascular death in the world, with 21 of adults in the U. S. currently smoking cigarettes.
Smoking increases sympathetic nerve activity and myocardial oxygen consumption, damaging the lining of the heart’s arterial walls, resulting in artery stiffness and narrowing that can last for 10 years after smoking cessation.
Obesity is estimated to be the leading cause of preventable illness in the U. S., with over two-thirds of hypertension prevalence attributed to obesity. Obesity is most pronounced in the southeast region of the country, and overweight prevalence among children and adolescents remains high. Abdominal adiposity is linked to congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, and stroke.
What is the lifestyle disease associated with high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is a common health issue that increases with age, race, family history, obesity, lack of exercise, tobacco use, low potassium levels, excessive alcohol consumption, stress, chronic conditions like kidney disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea, and sometimes during pregnancy.
Age is the most common risk factor for high blood pressure, with men more likely to develop it until around age 64, while women are more likely to develop it after age 65. Obesity or being overweight can cause changes in blood vessels, kidneys, and other body parts, increasing blood pressure. Lack of exercise can also lead to weight gain, which can increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Tobacco use or vaping can raise blood pressure temporarily, but it can damage blood vessel walls and accelerate the hardening of arteries. Low potassium levels may be due to a lack of potassium in the diet or certain health conditions, such as dehydration. Alcohol use has been linked with increased blood pressure, particularly in men.
High stress levels can lead to temporary increases in blood pressure, and stress-related habits such as eating more, using tobacco, or drinking alcohol can further increase blood pressure. Certain chronic conditions, such as kidney disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea, can also contribute to high blood pressure.
In conclusion, high blood pressure is a serious health issue that can be caused by various factors, including age, race, family history, obesity, lack of exercise, stress, chronic conditions, and pregnancy.
Is high blood pressure genetic or from lifestyle choices?
Family members’ genetics, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments can significantly influence their health and risk for diseases like high blood pressure. This risk can be influenced by factors such as age, race, or ethnicity. Heredity, the process of passing traits from one generation to another, is a key factor in the development of these conditions. However, individuals with a family history of high blood pressure may also have common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.
Is blood pressure an indicator of fitness?
Regular exercise has been demonstrated to reduce resting blood pressure, typically below 120/80 mm Hg, by enhancing cardiac strength and efficiency, enabling the heart to pump a greater volume of blood with minimal exertion. This is attributable to the fact that an individual in optimal physical condition engages in regular exercise.
What is the #1 lifestyle factor related to hypertension?
A study conducted by Dr. L. J. Beilin at the University of Western Australia’s Department of Medicine revealed that excess body fat is the primary factor contributing to elevated blood pressure in both cross-sectional and longitudinal population studies.
Why do I have high blood pressure if I’m healthy?
High blood pressure is a common chronic illness that can be influenced by various factors, including diet, stress, physical activity, and genetics. It is often linked to other medical issues or as a side effect of certain drugs. Secondary hypertension, a form of the disease, occurs secondary to other medical conditions. The test for high blood pressure involves a cuff wrapped around the upper arm, inflated, and sensors measuring the pressure of blood against the arteries. This test helps identify the risk factors and helps in managing the condition.
Can a healthy fit person have high blood pressure?
Researchers at Stanford Sports Cardiology Clinic found that one-third of high school, college, and professional players have high blood pressure. These individuals are young, healthy, and have extensive fitness routines. The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released new blood pressure recommendations in November 2017, with the cut-off for high blood pressure being 140/90 mmHg.
Most athletes in the study had elevated blood pressure readings between the current US and European guidelines. Causes of high blood pressure in physically fit people include obesity, diabetes, and smoking.
What does high blood pressure reveal?
High blood pressure is a condition where the force of blood against artery walls is consistently high, causing damage to arteries over time and potentially leading to heart attack and stroke. It is often referred to as “silent killer” by healthcare providers, as it often doesn’t show symptoms. Blood pressure (BP) is the measurement of the pressure or force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls.
Can you have high blood pressure and be healthy?
A study by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany suggests that high blood pressure may not cause other health problems in older people, and some in their 80s may even experience some benefits. The study, published in the European Heart Journal, involved 1, 628 participants aged 70 or older, who were all following antihypertensive treatments. The researchers collected data through the Berlin Initiative Study, a Charité research project, and surveyed participants every two years to assess their health status.
📹 What is High Blood Pressure? (HealthSketch)
Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:17 What is blood pressure? 1:22 Causes of high blood pressure 2:02 Consequences of high blood pressure …
Thank you for this article. I have just come across your website and I am very pleased to have done so. I am a fellow Canadian and there are some things that differ between both Canada and the US, not to mention the rest of the world. So thank you for taking the time to make this website. Very interesting topics.🙏😷🩺💉🙏
My best? effort was 239/157 with a bpm of 144. I’m 185cm tall and just under 100kg. I used to be incredibly fit. I’m 47. My doctor prescribed medications but I was told that my blood pressure will never be able to get down to the nominal 120/80… Within a week of the new medications it measured at 117/79. My heart does very strange things and a cardiologist said he has never seen a heart doing what mine was doing. He has 20 years experience.
Dr. Ken Berry says the reference ranges were initially calculated for people who’d been sitting for an extended period of time to equilibrate, with environmental stressors minimized, and a blood pressure reading over 140/90 with stress and recent exercise isn’t cause for concern. I’ve never had a doctor measure my blood pressure when I wasn’t noticeably stressed, and I’ve frequently had it done with recent exercise.
I am 66 years old and am a virtual BP EXPERT–especially my own as I have been measuring it at home for decades. I have several cuffs and I know they are accurate (only use manual ones). My BP can vary at home tremendously. I have a health anxiety problem with some OCD thrown in and I can get obsessive about my BP. When I have gotten “worked up” with fear over anticipated high readings. it will be high, VERY high sometimes, guaranteed. A doctor told me 40 years ago that I was “one of those people” whose brain-body connection is too acute and I have a huge BP response to anxiety. I have gotten systolic readings of 220 at home when at max stress. Believe it or not, other than at stressful times like that, it runs very low–typically say 82/70 or so. Very low pulse pressure of about 12, sometimes less. Strange I guess, but I’m still here and still very fit so I carry on. My BP also shoots through the roof when being measured out in public, including at doctor’s offices of course. It is very embarrassing having this nutty reaction. It is not the doctor or nurse making me nervous, but just the fact that it is being measured and the anticipation of their reaction when they see the high reading. I don’t go see doctors very often.
Thanks for the article. I wish that people really understood this more. Especially doctors. My first experience was an absolute nightmare of vomiting in the ER parking lot and a doctor that simply medicated me to sleep for 24 hours for my accompanying headache. The next time I was prescribed antipsychotic meds. Each time I was over 200 over 10something. Finally on a fourth visit to the ER the doctor gave me an IV that I considered an absolute miracle, to bring my BP down. I felt the tension and pressure release like 1-2-3 in behind my head and neck. He sent me to another Doc who gave some BP meds and finally after a few years I got a doctor to actually treat the problem. It should NOT take so long to figure out. I literally would have to go to Walmart and measure my BP and ask for headache meds which eventually also quit working. Doctors advertise for everything BUT high BP when that’s exactly what they’re trying to communicate. Until you encounter it and have to face this issue head on, it’s like hitting a brick wall over and over again. If you live through it.
This article was a year old when I watched it, but I’m throwing my 2 cents in anyway. I started BP medication a couple of years ago when I was in my mid-60s as my readings were getting higher. I’m on a 50mg tablet twice a day. It is my understanding that as one ages, it is common for BP to increase. I monitor it just about every day. One other online doc said that to get a true idea of one’s BP, take 4 readings per day for about a week. Morning, noon, evening, and before bedtime. Then average them to get a reading of one’s correct BP. Also, I have taken two readings at each time period. The first one is always higher. My doc said this is not unusual. I found that the lowest BP was the one before bedtime and the highest was around noon. Keeping sufficiently hydrated helps to lower BP slightly as well.
On February 2nd my blood pressure at the ER was 155/110. It has been slightly higher a few times. Plus I had tachycardia. Normally my bp is low and pulse high, because I have Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. My bp has been as low as 96/88, 98/60 & pulse 149 to 150 & as low as 39 to 44. The ER wasn’t concerned. I had pneumonia. Only one ER doctor was concerned and told me to get to a cardiologist, bc my ECG was abnormal. He’s the only one that had been honest with me. At that time just last year toward the end of the year, he put me in observation. I didn’t have pneumonia then. I’ve been getting pneumonia quite often.
I went to the ER back in January because my blood pressure was 272/165. So far I found out that I have slightly leaky valves in my heart. One side of my heart is larger than the other from pumping against that pressure. I have some kidney damage too. But after doing a heart catheter they still don’t know why it’s elevated so much.
I’m a 49 year old female and weigh 58 kg so I’m not really overweight, don’t drink alcohol or smoke and doesn’t eat to much salt or unhealthy food . Yet i do have occasional high B/p it really makes me feel terrible thick pounding head and a general feeling of being unwell, hope excercise can stabilise it
I discovered I have inverse white coat syndrome – my pressure tends to be lower in the doctor’s office. I figure it’s because I’m away from my kids. Keeping those records is important! I got a letter from my insurance company because the doctor reported how thorough my records are, which makes it much easier to see the effects of treatment changes and shows that I am compliant. The insurer appreciated knowing I wasn’t pissing away their money.
I have started taking real magnesium (not an inorganic oxide with 4% absorption, but magchel with 80%) and it seems to have helped, I have lowered it from 170/130 to 140/105, but since I have a heart condition (cardiomegaly), a low blood pressure makes me dizzy, just like blood pressure meds, so I try to keep it balanced and I even drink energy drinks to boost it up a bit.
So, how do you control blood pressure that reads all over the map? Sometimes mine is as low as 117/78 and then it’s jumped up to 176/115. I never have any idea what it’ll look like the next day. Meds are tough to figure out, especially since my resting heart rate is only 60. Meds for the top end, I’m in the floor!
I’m 42 and have had high blood pressure right before I turned 40 my doctor ended up sending me to a cardiologist because he could not manage it tried several medications and was still high my bottom number is always the bad number for me never lower then 95 my pressure is usually about 172/115 I was adopted so not sure if it’s hereditary
these tablets they put you on the amloipine any one have any side effects, they want me to go on them for ever and ever, just a bit sceptical, after a stressful time at work found out I had high blood pressure, to me it was probably just down to the episode at work, had all bloods done, an ecg and all fine, been taking blood pressure at home and the last BP reading was down to 135/79, from 180/95, surely the tablets can wait can’t they
I have a battery powered BP monitor I bought at Target. It always makes my pressure very high and is extremely uncomfortable. I know how to take my own BP with a stethoscope, and cuff. I always get a better reading that way rather than the Target battery powered one. Is it ok for me to use the manual one instead of the battery powered one?
I am a 65 year old male in good health, (250# and I like my beer) by my own sheer will, without any medication (never been on it and wont), was able to drive my blood pressure down into the 110/70 area sometimes in the 120/80 range. SIMPLY, be sure to follow correct procedure for taking your blood pressure at home, use a cuff type monitor (I am not sure of those wrist ones). MOST IMPORTANTLY, practice good breathing technique by taking slow deeper type breaths inhaling through your nose and exhaling with parsed lips for 15 minutes prior to testing. Keep still in a quiet environment while testing too. Lastly, I have used a isometric device for years which also seems to help. The breathing aspect of things, it is like meditation, and it is something you can do even when you’re not testing your BP. Technique being important with something as simple as emptying your bladder before the test or keeping your feet on the ground and your arm elevated to equal height with your heart. Prior to myself practicing all of this, my BP was more toward the 140/90 which some say, for a male of my age, isn’t all that horrible. I wanted to do better ! Good luck, it does work, it just takes some time for results but in reality, not very long at all. PS. I haven’t the need to see Doctor’s at all, but when I had to, the first thing I used to say to them was I have white coat syndrome. Hated the fact that the first thing they do is put that machine on you and normally don’t even do it correctly.
Mine got up to 204/118 or something like that. I was at home using one of the wrist bands to take my BP. When I went to the hospital a few weeks earlier for an operation it was 187. What if I don’t go to a doctor? I’ve had a really bad experience when I was put on BP medicine before. (I live in the USA if that changes the measurements any.)
I have anxiety so badly that I my heart starts racing when I take it at home also. I have gotten readings at home in the 130s over 80s and as high as 170/105. Lately the higher readings have been giving me worse anxiety. Its like I simply can’t get a handle on it to determine if I really have high BP or just too anxious. Decided to do some lifestyle changes to tackle it and lay off checking for a bit. It makes me too anxious. I can do deep breathing and it lowers but havent seen a reading in the 120s in over a year.
Sys 120 dia 53 pulse/min 55 Been out of it for about a week now with the same feeling been to hospital 7 times but they say im fine my left arm has been this numb tingling feeling ive had stomach pain chest pain body cold hot sweets eye sight sucks they did tons of test to say im fine how ever my body still feels exactly the same i have no idea why i feel like my body is slowing dieing ive lost alot of weight i was 179 now im 159 in about a week ive been eating drinking alot of food and drinks so any ideas?
i can’t measure my own blood pressure. just the act of measuring my pressure drives it up then i measure again and it’s even higher because i stress out. when i get it done at the doctor lately its 110 / 60 or less. usually the first one goes up but not the second one. so i think my arteries are lacking elasticity therbey not pushing the second reading.
So having both numbers in triple digits isn’t normal? Because the nurse at the hospital told me to shut up when I went there in acute pain from my cancer I was in agony.. I have uterine cancer and it had gone into the muscle. They made me stay in a room for over two hours hooked up to the machines l No medicine or anything. My son and daughter in law arrived and were shocked by the numbers. My daughter in law said I could have a stroke with the numbers I had. They finally started giving me morphine. Ended up having four shots before my blood pressure went down.
My entire family is in medicine. Dad retired a surgeon, mother a cute nurse. I worked in dental surgery decades. I have hashimotos hypothyroid and my bp is usual very low but has been creeping up. Long story short, last time the nurse tried to say I must have white coat syndrome and my bp is probably fine 😮 It was caught by a specialist later and I’m having a work up. I’ll be fine but….
I think someone should discuss a CPAP machine and the impact on blood pressure if the CPAP machine is not functioning well. After 25 years with a CPAP I am now using a chin strap and a tape over my mouth which means are you sleep through most of the night and by sleeping with my mouth, closed the machine actually functions correctly. Until recently, I had no emotion there is a direct correlation between a fully functioning, CPAP machine, my very elevated blood pressure, and my visit to the ER. 0:06
I had been diagnosed 5weeks ago with DVT and bilateral segmental PEs. Initial echo was normal. I’ve been sent to ER twice recently with tachycardia upwards of 167bpm and pulmonary hypertension, BP 140-150/90-100s when I’m consistently 112/74 before the clots. Been discharged inappropriately twice by the same physician without a repeat echo even though there’s now evidence of right side atrial and ventricular enlargement. DC reason “no medical necessity for emergent echo(which would require admission” Despite best advocating efforts I was discharged and PCP, pulmonology and cardiology were shocked