Subscribe Feed (RSS)Understanding Your Blood Pressure Reading
December 25th, 2009 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.For some people diagnosed with high blood pressure, treatment may consist of something as
minor as a change in diet and exercise, or may require medications to get those numbers under
control. Your doctor will prescribe the proper course of action to take depending on what your
blood pressure reading says. Knowing what a normal blood pressure reading is, and how you can
get it will make things clearer to those diagnosed with borderline hypertension, or high blood
pressure, as well as those in more severe stages of the disease.
Everyone knows the heart is the engine that makes the body run. The heart usually beats
anywhere from 70 to 110 beats a minute, every minute, every hour and every day of your life. It
carries vital oxygen to every living cell, tissue and organ throughout your body day in and day
out. If the heart muscle, or the arteries that transport oxygen enriched blood are damaged or
narrowed, the efficiency of that pump decreases, and can result in high blood pressure. While
millions of people these days are walking around with high blood pressure and don’t even realize
it, they will soon enough. Left untreated, high blood pressure can causes aneurysms, or bulges, in
blood vessels. If left alone, high blood pressure may also cause kidney damage as well as strokes
and heart attacks. Knowing what your blood pressure reading is can literally make the difference
between life and death.
Blood pressure is measured in two parts. Your heart usually makes a “lub-dub” sound with each
heartbeat. The first sound, the “lub”, is the sound of the heart valves opening to help the flow of
blood from the heart into the aorta and from there to arteries that supply blood to the entire body.
That pressure, known as systolic pressure, is measured as the force needed by your heart to push
that blood into the aorta. The second sound, the “dub”, is the sound of those valves closing. The
exact moment the heart rests between beats. A normal blood pressure reading is around 120/80.
The top number shows the systolic pressure, the bottom the diastolic. These numbers may vary
up or down by 4 to 6 numbers and you can still them consider them within the normal range.
Though the lower the better, which means your heart is strong and is able to pump efficiently
with fewer beats.
If the blood pressure ranges from around 126 to 140, your doctor may tell you that you are
“prehypertensive”, or that you are heading into high blood pressure territory. Your lower numbers
may read anywhere from 80 to 90, and again, may vary because of various circumstances. If you
have a reading over140/90, you have high blood pressure, and your doctor will try to lower it to
prevent future complications. The best way you can deal with and either prevent or lower blood
pressure is to get it regularly checked, either by your doctor or nurse, or by tracking it yourself.
Your blood pressure is what keeps you going every day, so make sure that you take it on yourself
to know what it is.
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Tags: diet, Heart
