Blood Pressure – FAQs

One in three adults has high blood pressure and you could be one of them. While the cause of 90-95 percent of high blood pressure cases is unidentified, it is frequently controllable and easily detected. I always encourage patients to be educated about blood pressure, know their numbers and work to manage it. 

What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pushing of blood against the walls of your blood vessels. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart muscle work overtime to pump blood to the body, which can lead to the hardening of your arteries and eventually heart failure, heart attack, kidney disease and stroke.

Who is at risk?
Several factors that may play a role in the development of high blood pressure include:

• Smoking
• Being overweight
• Genetics
• High levels of alcohol consumption
• Lack of exercise
• Too much salt in your diet.

How do I know if I have it?
Blood pressure is broken down into four categories: normal, prehypertension, stage 1 high blood pressure and stage 2 high blood pressure. They are determined as follows:

• Normal: Less than 120/80
• Prehypertension: 120-139/80-89
• Stage 1 high blood pressure: 140-159/90-99
• Stage 2 high blood pressure: 160 and above/100 and above.

Anyone with blood pressure higher than the normal level should consult their doctor.

How is it treated?
As an alternative to medicine, there are a lot of lifestyle changes that you can implement to lower your blood pressure. Regular aerobic exercise, reducing sodium intake, losing extra weight and quitting smoking are few of these changes. In addition to helping lower blood pressure, these measures enhance the effectiveness of high blood pressure medicine.            

Medications are also used and there are several types available, many which are only taken once daily. The medications usually require monitoring and continued evaluation.

Monitoring and improving high blood pressure is an important step in maintaining your health. It is not always restricted by age and family history, so consult with your physician to determine your risk and design a plan for better health.