Do you know what blood pressure is? Blood pressure is the force of your blood against your artery walls. Your blood pressure readout consists of a top number and a bottom number.
The top figure indicates how much pressure is produced every moment your heart beats - this is called systolic pressure. Diastolic pressure is given by the bottom number and is the arterial blood pressure felt in-in-between heart beats.
"I think I may have high blood pressure". Get it checked out by your doctor - a measurement of 120/80 or less is normal but high blood pressure is classified as 140/90 or above. If you have high blood pressure you are at a greater possibility of a stroke or heart and kidney disease.
An overweight person puts an extra load on his or her heart to pump blood and this in turn will raise his or her blood pressure.
High blood pressure can result in certain health issues some of which can shorten your life. For instance you may have a stroke. This is when high pressure can cause a weakened blood vessel to burst resulting in a bleed into the brain; thus leaving you with a stroke.
As well as causing blood loss into your brain, high blood pressure occasionally makes blood vessels in your eyes to break or burst and you can end up with fuzzy or degraded eyesight or even blindness.
The effort of pumping out blood at high pressure places your heart under stress. Over time, in order to deal with with the strain, the heart enlarges. Ultimately it starts to fail and the blood supply to the rest of the body decreases. This is known as congestive heart failure.
Now you appreciate that high blood pressure is a condition not to be taken lightly, you should also take symptoms such as chest pains seriously and see your medical doctor. On the other hand, don't be defeatist about high blood pressure - if it is monitored and regulated you will not become ill because of it.
Regular blood pressure checks can ensure you get treatment to prevent serious problems developing. You could also get a home blood pressure monitoring device and do your own checks, particularly if you have fear of doctors, but seek advice from your doctor before you do and make certain you can use it correctly. Do not worry about a single high blood pressure reading - this can happen for all sorts of reasons.
Bear in mind that regardless of how severe your high blood pressure is, if it is controlled by treatment and/or lifestyle measures, you have an excellent chance of living a long and health life.
Author Resource:
Robert likes to write on health issues using a concise and straighforward style to inform readers on important matters regarding their health and wellbeing. He is also webmaster of several websites such as www.castironbaths.org
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")