People With High Blood Pressure

How Is Blood Pressure Measured

Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure that is exerted on the artery walls as blood moves through them. It is measured in millimetres of mercury, or mmHg.

A more detailed explanation is provided below.

Two measurements are used to measure blood pressure:

• Systolic pressure – the measure of blood pressure exerted when your heart beats and forces blood around your body.
• Diastolic pressure – the measure of blood pressure when your heart is resting in between beats.

Both the systolic and diastolic pressures are measured in millimetres of mercury .

The figures are usually represented with the systolic pressure first, followed by the diastolic pressure. Therefore, if your GP says that your blood pressure is ‘120 over 80’, or 120/80mmHg, they mean that you have a systolic pressure of 120mmHg and a diastolic pressure of 80mmHg.

Genetics And Family History

When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity.

Genes likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.

The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and eating an unhealthy diet.

Find out more about genetics and disease on CDCs Office of Public Health Genomics website.

Family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions people in your family have had. Family health history is a useful tool for understanding health risks and preventing disease. To help people collect and organize information on their family history, CDCs Office of Public Health Genomics collaborated with the Surgeon General and other federal agencies to develop a Web-based tool called My Family Health Portrait.

Can People With High Blood Pressure Exercise Safely

If you have high blood pressure, you may be wondering if its safe to exercise. The good news is that, in most cases, exercise is safe for people with high blood pressure. In fact, exercise can help lower your blood pressure. However, if your blood pressure is uncontrolled or very high, exercise may not be the best idea. In these cases, you may need to take medication to control your blood pressure before you start exercising. If you have high blood pressure and want to start exercising, talk to your doctor first. They can help you create a safe exercise plan that meets your individual needs.

Wearing a monitor Because the device is automated, you wont need to interact with it. You must keep your daily routine in mind while wearing the monitor. This includes any type of exercise that you would normally engage in under the supervision of your doctor .

Most people use the monitor on their bed or under their pillows at night if you are asked, you should leave it on all night. You can return the machine and cuff to the hospital or surgery after the monitoring period is over.

Don’t Miss: How To Measure Blood Pressure Without Equipment

What Do You Do When You Wear A 24 Hour Blood Pressure Monitor

If you are wearing a 24 hour blood pressure monitor, you will need to take your blood pressure at regular intervals and record the readings. You will also need to avoid any activities that could increase your blood pressure, such as strenuous exercise.

A check of the blood pressure monitor should not result in you stopping taking your medication or changing your lifestyle. Your medication regimen should remain the same as usual. Your doctor will only see the results of the blood pressure monitor to determine whether or not your blood pressure is normal.

Your Blood Pressure Consists Of Two Numbers:

The first number measures the force as your heart beats. This is called systolic pressure.

The second number measures the force as your heart relaxes. This is called diastolic pressure. Someone with a systolic pressure of 120 and a diastolic pressure of 80 has a blood pressure of 120/80, or 120 over 80.

An ideal blood pressure for an adult is less than 120/80. You have high blood pressure if your top number is 130 or higher, or your bottom number is 80 or higher, or both.

Also Check: How To Bring My Blood Pressure Down

Monitor Your Salt Intake

Too much sodium can translate to too high of a blood pressure reading.

We get most of our sodium in the form of salt. Salt is especially important to pay attention to if you are Black. Research has shown that Black people are more likely to eat foods that have a higher salt content than white people. There has been some evidence that Black people are more sensitive to salt, which means they may need to cut back even more.

Lowering your salt intake by any amount can reduce your blood pressure over the long term. One of the easiest ways to cut some salt out of your diet is to skip adding any extra salt don’t even have the salt shaker on the table.

You can also by adopting the DASH Diet, which involves:

• Eating more fruits, vegetables, low-fat foods, and whole grains
• Trading red meat for poultry and fish
• Limiting processed and packaged foods
• Cutting down on desserts and sweets
• Choosing foods that are high in magnesium, calcium, and potassium

More Than 100 Million Americans Have High Blood Pressure Aha Says

Please note: This article was published more than two years ago, so some information may be outdated. If you have questions about your health, always contact a health care professional.

The number of Americans at risk for heart attacks and strokes just got a lot higher. An estimated 103 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure, according to new statistics from the American Heart Association. Thats nearly half of all adults in the United States.

With the aging of the population and increased life expectancy, the prevalence of high blood pressure is expected to continue to increase, said epidemiologist Dr. Paul Muntner, co-chair of the group that wrote the AHAs Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics2018 Update, published Wednesday in Circulation.

The death rate from high blood pressure increased by nearly 11 percent in the United States between 2005 and 2015, and the actual number of deaths rose by almost 38 percent up to nearly 79,000 by 2015, according to the statistics. Worldwide, high blood pressure affects nearly a third of the adult population and is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease-related deaths, said Muntner, a professor and vice chair in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Before this guideline, if your blood pressure was at 130, you werent supposed to do anything, said cardiologist Dr. Kenneth Jamerson, an author of the high blood pressure guidelines.

View text version of infographic

Also Check: What Is S Normal Blood Pressure

Treatment Of High Blood Pressure

Treatment for HBP depends on its severity and associated risks of developing other diseases. Treatment options include:

Lifestyle changes

• Make and keep appointments to see your doctor for routine check-ups and follow-up tests.

Medications

• ACE inhibitors will help blood vessels relax and open up, leading to a lower blood pressure.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers will help blood vessels open up, leading to a lower blood pressure.
• Beta blockers will help reduce your blood pressure.
• Alpha blockers will help reduce the arteries resistance, relaxing the muscle tone of the vascular walls.
• Alpha-2 receptor agonists will help reduce blood pressure by decreasing the activity of the sympathetic portion of the involuntary nervous system.
• Calcium channel blockers will help relax and open up narrowed blood vessels, reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure.
• Combined alpha and beta blockers are used as an IV drip for those patients experiencing a hypertensive crisis.
• Central agonists will help decrease the blood vessels ability to tense up or contract.
• Diuretics water pills will help reduce the amount of fluid retention in your body.
• Peripheral adrenergic inhibitors will help reduce blood pressure by blocking neurotransmitters in the brain.
• Vasodilators will help the muscle in the walls of the blood vessels to relax, allowing the vessel to dilate.

Blood Pressure Is Linked To Other Medical Issues

High blood pressure can be the first indication of a serious underlying condition. When a patient comes in with high blood pressure, doctors will check their urine and kidney function do an electrocardiogram to check the size of the heart and look for lung changes.

Stress on the blood vessels makes people with hypertension more prone to heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and aneurysms. Correspondingly, chronic conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, sleep apnea and high cholesterol increase the risk for developing high blood pressure.

In some women, pregnancy can contribute to high blood pressure, leading to preeclampsia. Postpartum blood pressure typically goes back to normal levels within six weeks. However, some women who have high blood pressure during more than one pregnancy may be more likely to develop high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases as they age.

Some of these medical issues can also cause spikes in high blood pressure .

You May Like: What Numbers Are Considered Low Blood Pressure

What’s The Impact Of Having High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases such as:

• coronary heart disease – where the main arteries that supply your heart become clogged up with plaques
• strokes – a serious condition where the blood supply to your brain is interrupted
• heart attacks – a serious condition where the blood supply to part of your heart is blocked

Diabetes and kidney disease are also linked to high blood pressure complications.

Common Causes Of High Blood Pressure Spikes

Some people with high blood pressure will experience sharp rises in their blood pressure. These spikes, which typically last only a short period of time, are also known as sudden high blood pressure. These are some possible causes:

• Certain medications or combinations of medications
• Chronic kidney disease

You May Like: Is Green Tea Good For High Blood Pressure

You Shouldn’t Ignore White Coat Hypertension

Some people experience white coat hypertension, when blood pressure is elevated in the doctor’s office but not in other settings. These patients need to monitor their blood pressure at home or wear an ambulatory blood pressure monitor that takes your blood pressure every 30 minutes for 24 hours.

While white coat hypertension was formerly considered simple nervousness, recent research suggests otherwise.

A study published in the journal Hypertension found that people with white coat hypertension are at a significantly greater risk for developing sustained high blood pressure than people who have normal blood pressure. One possible explanation is that people with white coat hypertension have a harder time managing stress and anxiety.

More Than Blood Pressure

The new guidelines have other changes, too. First, they don’t offer different recommendations for people younger or older than age 65. “This is because the SPRINT study looked at all patients regardless of age and didn’t break down groups above or below a certain age,” says Dr. Conlin.

The guidelines also redefined the various categories of hypertension. It eliminated the category of prehypertension, which had been defined as systolic blood pressure of 120 to 139 mm Hg or diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mm Hg. Instead, people with those readings are now categorized as having either elevated pressure or Stage 1 hypertension .

A reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher is considered Stage 2 hypertension, and anything higher than 180/120 mm Hg is hypertensive crisis.

Read Also: What Is White Coat Hypertension

Women And African Americans Face Unique Risks When It Comes To High Blood Pressure

Women with high blood pressure who become pregnant are more likely to have complications during pregnancy than those with normal blood pressure. High blood pressure during pregnancy can harm a mothers kidneys and other organs, and it can lead to premature delivery and low birth weight babies.

Some types of birth control can also raise a womans risk for high blood pressure. Women with high blood pressure who want to become pregnant should work with their health care team to lower their blood pressure before becoming pregnant.8,9

African American men and women have higher rates of high blood pressure than any other racial or ethnic group.4 These individuals are also more likely to be hospitalized for high blood pressure.10 Experts think these health disparities are tied to higher rates of obesity and diabetes.

• Eating a healthy diet

These Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure Can Land You In The Hospital Warn Doctors

High blood pressure is a major health issue that most people don’t realize they have because there’s often no warning signs, but if left untreated the condition can cause serious complications like heart disease, stroke and more. The Mayo Clinic says, “High blood pressure is a common condition that affects the body’s arteries. It’s also called hypertension. If you have high blood pressure, the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls is consistently too high. The heart has to work harder to pump blood. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury . In general, hypertension is a blood pressure reading of 130/80 mm Hg or higher.”

Going in for regular doctor visits is always recommended because the first thing a nurse will do is check your blood pressure. Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, MBBS, Ph.D., a professor of public health at New Mexico State University tells us, ” The majority of American adults have high blood pressure. However, the majority may not know about it or be able to control their blood pressure. Unfortunately, high blood pressure has adverse effects on our body organs and systems in both the short term and in the long run. As a result, for more than half a million deaths in the U.S. hypertension is a direct or contributing cause. According to some latest studies, high blood pressure awareness and treatment have been declining and there is an urgent need to emphasize on increasing awareness.”

Recommended Reading: What Causes Sudden Low Blood Pressure

What Are The Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure And Kidney Disease

Most people with high blood pressure do not have symptoms. In rare cases, high blood pressure can cause headaches.

Early CKD also may not have symptoms. As kidney disease gets worse, some people may have swelling, called edema. Edema happens when the kidneys cannot get rid of extra fluid and salt. Edema can occur in the legs, feet, ankles, orless oftenin the hands or face.

Symptoms of advanced kidney disease can include

• loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting
• drowsiness, feeling tired, or sleep problems
• headaches or trouble concentrating
• chest pain or shortness of breath

Tips For Taking Blood Pressure Medication

Untreated high blood pressure can increase your risk of serious health problems. If your doctor prescribes medication to lower your blood pressure, remember:

• If you take blood pressure medication and your blood pressure goes down, it means medication and lifestyle changes are working. If another doctor asks if you have high blood pressure, the answer is, “Yes, but it is being treated.”
• Healthy lifestyle changes may help lower the dosage you need.
• Get up slowly from a seated or lying position and stand for a bit before walking. This lets your blood pressure adjust before walking to prevent lightheadedness and falls.
• Tell your doctor about all the drugs you take. Don’t forget to mention over-the-counter drugs, including vitamins and supplements. They may affect your blood pressure. They also can change how well your blood pressure medication works.
• Blood pressure medication should be taken at the same time each day as part of your daily routine. For example, take it in the morning with breakfast or in the evening before brushing your teeth. If you miss a dose, do not double the dose the next day.
• Remember to refill your medication before you run out and bring it with you when traveling. Its important to keep taking your medication unless your doctor tells you to stop.
• Before having surgery, ask your doctor if you should take your blood pressure medication on the day of your operation.

Recommended Reading: Does Running Lower Blood Pressure

How Common Is High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a common condition, it is estimated that 18% of adult men and 13% of adult women have high blood pressure but are not getting treatment for it.

In 90-95% of cases, there is no single identifiable reason for a rise in blood pressure. But all available evidence shows that lifestyle plays a significant role in regulating your blood pressure.

Risk factors for high blood pressure include:

• being overweight
• excessive alcohol consumption.

Also, for reasons not fully understood, people of Afro-Caribbean and South Asian origin are more likely to develop high blood pressure than other ethnic groups.

Facts About High Blood Pressure

There’s a good reason why every doctor’s appointment starts with a blood pressure check. While one in three American adults has high blood pressure, about 20% of people are unaware that they have it because it is largely symptomless.

In fact, most people find out they have high blood pressure during a routine office visit.

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as the heart pumps blood. High blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, is when that force is too high and begins harming the body. If left untreated, it willl eventually cause damage to the heart and blood vessels.

Your blood pressure is measured in two numbers: The top systolic blood pressure measures the force pushing against artery walls when the heart is contracting. The bottom diastolic blood pressure measures pressure in the arteries when the heart is resting between beats.

Normal blood pressure levels are 120 mmHg/80 mmHg or lower. At risk levels are 120-139 mmHg/80-89 mmHg. Readings of 140 mmHg/90 mmHg or higher are defined as high blood pressure.

Here are six other things you should know about high blood pressure.

Read Also: Does Dehydration Cause Low Blood Pressure