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High Blood Pressure Can Be A Very Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Normally A Quite Simple Answer
In the last few years alterations to the diet and lifestyle in most western countries have caused an increase in the number of people with high blood pressure.
High blood pressure (otherwise referred to as hypertension, or more correctly arterial hypertension) is a dangerous condition that seldom shows any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can result in stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which is a life-threatening condition.
So exactly what is high blood pressure and precisely what causes it?
The arteries within your body are constantly filled with blood which exerts a normal 'background' pressure on the artery walls. As your heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around your body it pushes this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure on the artery walls during each heartbeat. These two pressures are known as the systolic pressure (the higher pumping pressure of the heart) and the diastolic pressure (the reduced 'background' pressure).
Normal levels of blood pressure differ from one individual to the next but, on average, systolic pressure should be approximately 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure should be about 80 mm Hg. This is normally expressed as a blood pressure of 120/80.
If your blood pressure begins to rise and stays at a level above 120/80 then you are described as being 'prehypertensive' and, while this is not serious in itself, it is a sign that you might be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems associated with it. As soon as your blood pressure rises to, and stays at, a level of 140/90 or above then you are said to be suffering from hypertension and steps ought to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.
But just what causes your blood pressure to rise and then stay elevated?
Well, there are numerous factors involved here and to begin there is a group over which you have little, if any, control. This group includes low birth weight, various genetic factors, certain forms of diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age the arteries tend to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, creating a reduced cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).
The second group of factors is much more within your control and includes leading a sedentary lifestyle, high levels of salt and saturated fats in your diet, being overweight, smoking tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and working in certain occupations such as motorway maintenance or flying.
The vast majority of these factors are treatable and, in a lot of cases, a simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of some exercise into your daily plan is all that is necessary to cure the problem. The difficulty however is that, with few, if any, symptoms, the majority of people do not know that they are suffering from high blood pressure in the first place.
So how can you go about curing the problem?
Luckily the answer to this question is quite simple. All you need to do is to drop by your physician's office regularly (for most of us a couple of times a year will be sufficient) and ask him/her to check your blood pressure for you. The process is pain free, easy and fast and will provide you with peace of mind and possibly save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense later on when you are forced to call in at his office once hypertension rears its ugly head.
If you are not too keen on calling in to see your doctor then one excellent alternative today is to check your own blood pressure. A wide range of easy to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available nowadays, allowing you to keep an eye on your health, as well as the health of of your entire family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
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