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What Is Hypertension?
Hypertension is a term for high blood pressure. Our body has blood vessels like arteries and veins that carry blood from the heart to every organ of the body and body to the heart. Blood pressure is the measurement of the pressure of blood pushing against blood vessels walls. Blood pressure measures the amount of blood passing through your arteries and the resistance the blood meets while the heart is pumping blood in your arteries. High blood pressure is caused by narrow blood vessels. The narrower your blood vessels are, the higher your blood pressure will be. When blood pressure is increased to unhealthy levels, it is called hypertension or high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is often a result of obesity and a stressful mind. Everyone experiences some situations in life that make them stressed, and when it happens frequently, it will affect a person’s overall health. You may have noticed that whenever we are scared or worried about something our heart starts pumping blood fastly. That is because our blood pressure rises.
Hypertension is more commonly found in older adults. But it may happen to anybody, including children and teens.
In hypertension, the blood pressure is consistently too high. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a condition that develops slowly over the years. This condition could be dangerous for you because it initially does not show any signs of anything wrong, but it is a silent killer as the damage keeps occurring within your body, and you are completely unaware of it.
Is Hypertension Dangerous?
High blood pressure does not harm us directly. But if high blood pressure remains undiagnosed and untreated over a longer period, it damages the blood vessels. It can cause serious health problems, like Cardiovascular diseases including heart stroke, aneurysm, and heart attack. It can also damage your internal organs like kidneys, brain, and eyes. Early diagnosis of high blood pressure is important to avoid such conditions. You can get your blood pressure checked while visiting your doctor for any minor or major health conditions. You can diagnose your blood pressure even at home with the help of a blood pressure monitor, called a Sphygmomanometer. It has a cuff wrapped around your arm, roughly at a level with your heart, and a monitoring device that measures the cuff’s pressure.
What Is Normal Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is represented by a reading of two numbers separated by a line. The top number represents the systolic pressure, which is the force in the arteries when the heart contracts pushing the blood into arteries. The bottom number represents the diastolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between heartbeats.
For example- BP= 120/80.
120 is the systolic pressure.
80 is the diastolic pressure.
How To Read Blood Pressure Readings?
Normal blood pressure in a healthy adult is below 120/80 mmHg. Some studies consider blood pressure as elevated between the reading of 120/80 and 129/80.
And if your blood pressure is or more than 130/85. It is considered high blood pressure.
Hypertension is defined in 2 stages. If the blood pressure range is 130-139/80-89, it is called stage 1 hypertension. But if blood pressure is 140/90 or more, it is called stage 2 hypertension.
For example- A reading of 110/70 is within the normal range for blood pressure, a reading of 126/72 is elevated blood pressure and a reading of 135/85 indicates hypertension.
And if your blood pressure is 180/120 or higher, then it is an emergency, seek medical attention right away.
Blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day. It shows a daily pattern and is usually low at night. Like when you perform activities throughout the day, it keeps fluctuating.
However, blood pressure rises when you perform some activities like running or being in an emotional state. So if you find your blood pressure high right after giving a speech or doing some heavy exercises, then there is nothing to worry about. It is natural to see a rise or fall in blood pressure after certain activities. It is also natural to see a varied range of blood pressure from person to person or even from one area of the body to another. But if the blood pressure is high constantly then it may be hypertension. For example, people diagnosed with 130/80 blood pressure reading at least twice are considered to have high blood pressure.
What is Pre-hypertension?
You should also know about prehypertension. It is a condition when your blood pressure increases a bit more than 120/a bit less than 80. Millions of people fall under this condition. Although prehypertension is not as dangerous as hypertension, it still increases the chance of damaging your arteries, heart diseases, kidney damages, brain, and kidneys. Doctors say prehypertension can be treated but there is a lack of evidence about its long-term help.
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