Most people are aware of what blood pressure is in theory and they know that they have to monitor it but they do not really understand why. Because of this, it is common to see this important sign that the body tells us being overlooked. Ian Weisberg states that blood pressure is simply a measurement of force created by your heart as blood is sent all throughout the body. Blood vessels (arteries) send blood to every single one of your body’s organs. As a heart pumps, blood is pushed right into arteries. This type of pressure, as your heart contracts, is systolic pressure.
The heart will then relax after a contraction. Heart pressure falls and your valves open in order for blood to reach ventricles, which are the main pumping chambers of the body. The pressure noticed here is known as diastolic pressure.
Regular pressure can be 120/80. In this case, 10 is systolic pressure and 80 is diastolic pressure. The measurement of the pressures is in mmHg (millimeters of mercury).
Why Should We Care About Blood Pressure?
It is important that we care about blood pressure because hypertension (having high blood pressure) will lead to blood vessels being damaged. This is possible for all of them, ranging from the large ones, like the aorta, to the really, really small ones.
High blood pressure will damage all arteries. However, particularly noticeable damage appears in arteries found in your brain, heart, kidneys and eyes. If blood pressure is too high, blood force directly causes vessel damage. This can lead to problems like kidney failure, blood vessel rupture, blindness, stroke and heart attack. Basically, we all need to be interested in cases of high blood pressure as a lack to prevent this can lead to death.
When we control blood pressure and we fix related risk factors like excess weight or smoking too much, arteries are no longer damaged. Patients end up feeling so much better.
Blood Pressure Misconceptions
There are 2 common misconceptions that are associated with high blood pressure:
- Thinking that the term hypertension means someone is way too anxious – While it is normal for a person to experience raised blood pressure due to stress and anxiety, you can be perfectly calm and still suffer from hypertension.
- Thinking that it is possible to feel your own blood – Unfortunately, high blood pressure is rarely easily diagnosable and can be considered a clear silent killer. In specific cases, those that think that they have a simple headache can believe that they have hypertension when the truth is that they have nothing to worry about in terms of heart health. High pain, stress or pressure can be associated with numerous conditions but blood pressure will not cause the appearance of headaches.
Conclusions
High blood pressure can be deadly. This is why you have to be informed. The best thing that you can do to protect your heart and your body is to get checked out at least one or two times per year. When the doctor identifies high blood pressure, you will be told what to do. Respect those indications as they can save your life.
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