High blood pressure
High blood pressure also called hypertension affects millions
of people increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart
failure.
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms. The only way for
you to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it measured
with a blood pressure monitor You can buy an accurate machine online from medical supply specialists such as
Medisave who offer the latest machines from Omron, A&D, Microlife that are suitable for home use.
High blood pressure causes strain on the blood vessels carrying
blood around your body. This strain can cause vessels to become
clogged up or to weaken, and this can lead to narrow blood vessels
and clots that can cause damage to the heart or brain. Having
high blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney failure.
It is important to realise that the higher your blood pressure,
the higher your risk of heart disease or stroke. This means that
all of us should be adopting a lifestyle that will help to lower
our blood pressure whether we have high blood pressure or not.
How can I lower my blood pressure?
Fortunately there is a wealth of quality information about things
you can do now to begin to understand, lower and control your
blood pressure as well as prescription drugs and medicines.
Leading a healthy lifestyle means exercising, healthy eating
- a diet low in fat and salt and more fruit and vegetables, being
the right weight for your height, drinking sensibly and not smoking.
By following these guidelines the risk of having a heart attack
or stroke in the future is reduced.
High blood pressure can be treated and there are many things that
help lower it. To see the impact on lowering your blood pressure
by changes in your lifestyle, diet and medicines many people find
encouragement in regularly measuring
their own blood pressure with automatic
digital home monitors
Where can I buy an accurate blood Pressure Monitor?
Medisave is a UK stockist of British Hypertension
Society validated machines from Microlife, Omron and A and D Instuments.
Make an informed purchase and trust machines that are considered
accurate by th British Hypertension Society. To visit the blood
pressure monitor department at
Medisave
This information presented her is to give you information about
your blood pressure and help you understand more about treatments
and help you keep your blood pressure controlled.
What is blood pressure?
Your heart pumps blood around your body through a network of
tubing called arteries. Every time your heart pumps it forces
blood through these arteries and into smaller blood vessels called
capillaries. The force that your heart produces in your arteries
when it pumps is called your blood pressure. When the heart contracts
and forces blood through the arteries your blood pressure goes
up, when the heart relaxes it goes down.
This pressure can be measured and is usually written down like
this:
140/90mmHg
The top number, which is called the systolic pressure, shows
the pressure in your arteries when your heart is forcing blood
through them. The bottom number, called the diastolic pressure,
shows the pressure in your arteries when your heart relaxes. The
top number can be anywhere from 90 to 240 and the bottom number
can be anywhere from 60 to 140. Blood pressure is measured in
millimetres of mercury, which is written down as: mmHg
Everyone has a different blood pressure and it can change in
the same person during the day and night.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. The higher
your blood pressure the higher the chnace of heart disease or
stroke.
140/90mmHg is the level of blood pressure used to diagnose high
blood pressure. If your blood pressure is consistently raised
at these levels and above, it will need to be treated. Treatment
may involve making changes to your lifestyle and/or taking medication.
This level of 140/90mmHg is the level for high blood pressure
for everyone, male/female, young/old.
140/85mmHg is the target blood pressure for people who are receiving
treatment for their high blood pressure. The only exception to
this target level is if you have diabetes, kidney disease or have
already suffered a stroke or heart attack. Then it may be worthwhile
lowering your blood pressure even further.
Why is high blood pressure important?
High blood pressure increases risk of heart disease, stroke,
kidney disease and dementia. If you have high blood pressure the
greater your risk of developing these conditions.
Having high blood pressure causes strain on the vessels carrying
blood around your body. This strain can cause vessels to become
clogged up or to weaken and this in turn can lead to narrow blood
vessels and clots, which can cause damage to the heart or brain.
Having high blood pressure can cause heart failure. High blood
pressure can cause kidney failure and some eye conditions.
High blood pressure is a serious condition that you should not
ignore. However it can be lowered either by changing your lifestyle
or if necessary adding in tablets. The lower your blood pressure
the lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease.
How common is high blood pressure?
In the United Kingdom there are about 16 million people with
a blood pressure higher than 140/90mmHg. One in every three women
and two in every five men now have high blood pressure, with larger
numbers affected in older age groups. For example, about half
of all people over the age of 75 have the condition. Although
you may be said to have high blood pressure, or a normal blood
pressure, it is important to realise that the higher your blood
pressure, whatever it is, the higher your risk of heart disease
or stroke. This means that all of us should be adopting a lifestyle
that will help to lower our blood pressure whether we have high
blood pressure or not.
How is blood pressure measured?
Your blood pressure can be measured either by using a device
called a sphygmomanometer or by using a digital machine.
A sphygmomanometer is the older kind of equipment that measures
blood pressure using a column of mercury. These are used less
frquently now as they can often give inaccurate measurements
These day automatic, or partly automatic, digital machines are
used to measure blood pressure. Models that have been validated
by the British Hypertension Society are considered accurate when
used properly. See the fact sheet How
to Measure Your Blood Pressure.
In order to be sure that you have high blood pressure, you will
be asked to have readings taken several times. This is to make
sure that you have consistently high blood pressure, rather than
high blood pressure because you are anxious or nervous in medicall
environments or have rushed to be there - see White
Coat Hypertension
What causes high blood pressure?
There is no definite cause for their high blood pressure for
most peple and doctors call this essential hypertension. The small
blood vessels in the body narrow and this causes the pressure
to build up.
High blood pressure can run in the family, and if you have a
parent with high blood pressure then you are more likely to have
high blood pressure yourself.
Some other conditions are also linked to high blood pressure,
such as diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease. If you have
any of these conditions then it is even more important that your
blood pressure is well controlled.
Your blood pressure is very much affected by your lifestyle.
The important factors are:
· Eating too much salt
· Not eating enough fruit and vegetables
· Not exercising enough
· Being overweight
· Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
You cannot change your genes, or the fact that you will grow
older, you can change your lifestyle. Changing your diet and exercising
more will help lower your blood pressure.
Can high blood pressure be treated?
High blood pressure can be treated. Lowering blood pressure causes
a large reduction in strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and
kidney disease that would otherwise have occurred and may reduce
your risk of developing some kinds of dementia.
How will my high blood pressure be treated?
How your high blood pressure is treated will depend on how high
it is and on what other ‘risk factors’ you have for
heart disease and stroke.
If your blood pressure is between 140-160/90-100mmHg then you
will probably be asked to make some changes to your lifestyle.
You will probably not need to take tablets providing that the
changes you make work. In this way you can lower your own blood
pressure without needing to take tablets. However, some people
with a blood pressure in this range may be prescribed medication
to take. This is usually if they are older or have other risk
factors for heart disease and stroke, such as high cholesterol,
smoking or already have complications such as a previous stroke
or heart attack.
So if you have a blood pressure reading in this range you should
make the lifestyle changes described at below.
If your blood pressure is 160/100mmHg or more you will probably
be given tablets as well as being asked to make changes to your
lifestyle. You are aiming to reach a target blood pressure of
140/85mmHg or less whilst feeling fit and well. There will, however,
be a small number of people who may find their blood pressure
very difficult to control even with medication.
Changing your lifestyle to lower high blood pressure.
All people who have high blood pressure should make changes to
their lifestyle. These changes can be enough to lower your blood
pressure to a level where you may not need to take tablets. Even
if you need tablets, the changes to your lifestyle will make the
tablets more effective.
These changes to your lifestyle should be adopted by the whole
family, as, increasing evidence suggests that this will lower
blood pressure and prevent high blood pressure from occurring
later in life. A healthy diet will also make you feel much better.
These are the five main changes you can make
to help lower high blood pressure:
1. Cut down on your salt
We each eat about 10 grams of salt (sodium chloride) each day
and this can easily be reduced by half to 5 grams each day. That
means cutting down from a dessert spoon of salt every day to a
teaspoon. You should not add salt to food or use it in cooking.
However, most salt is hidden in many processed foods and this
may not be obvious, for example salt may be hidden in bread, many
cereals and ready meals so avoid these high salt foods where possible.
2. Eat more fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables contain potassium, which has the opposite
effect of salt and can help to lower blood pressure. If you can
manage to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables and cut
down the amount of salt that you eat then you should see your
blood pressure fall by quite a lot. We should all be eating seven
to nine portions of fruit or vegetables each day.
3. Exercise - be more active
Being active can help you to lower your blood pressure. It will
also help you to lose weight and reduce the amount of fats (cholesterol)
in your blood. Being active doesn't have to mean jogging, it can
mean walking the dog regularly and gradually increasing the amount
you do over three to six months. You should aim to be active for
at least 30 minutes, five times a week.
4. Weight -
Everyone has an ideal weight. Your ideal weight will depend on
how tall you are and whether you are male or female. If you are
overweight you should try and get down to a weight within the
ideal range for you.
Many people find losing weight, and maintaining weight loss,
difficult. A healthy diet is an essential first step. Once you
are eating a healthy diet cut down the amount of food you eat
until you start to lose weight.
5. Drink alcohol in moderate amounts only
As well as the five factors set out above there are two other
key risk factors for stroke and heart disease, smoking and eating
too much saturated fat. They don't in themselves cause high blood
pressure but they do make you more at risk of heart disease or
stroke. However, the combined effect of stopping smoking, cutting
down the amount of saturated you eat and lowering your blood pressure
causes a very large reduction in your risk of having a stroke
or having a heart attack.
Giving up smoking
Smoking is the biggest risk factor for having a heart attack.
If you smoke it will not directly affect your blood pressure,
but it will cause your arteries to narrow, just as high blood
pressure does. So, if you smoke and you have high blood pressure
your arteries will narrow much more quickly. There are now lots
of ways in which you can make giving up smoking easier for yourself.
Nicotine replacement therapy, in the form of patches and gum,
for example, and groups to help smokers quit are just a few. If
you have difficulties talk to your doctor or nurse.
Cutting down on saturated fat
We all eat too much fat. The type of fat that causes the most
problems is saturated fat, for example animal fats and some vegetable
oils such as palm and coconut oil. Fat increases the amount of
cholesterol in your blood. The higher the level of cholesterol
in your blood the greater your risk of heart disease and stroke.
If you have high blood pressure reducing you saturated fat intake
is very beneficial.
These changes to your lifestyle will reduce your risk of heart
disease or stroke, but they may not lower your blood pressure
enough. It may be necessary for you to take tablets as well.
Medicines for high blood pressure
If you need tablets, there is very strong evidence that they
will reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease, provided your
blood pressure is well controlled. Tablets can prolong life and
reduce the risk of complications from high blood pressure. In
most people lowering blood pressure with tablets causes no problems,
in fact many people feel better.
As with any medicines, those for high blood pressure can cause
side effects in some people. Side effects are rare and only happen
in a small number of people. It is important that if you feel
that any medicine you are taking is makes you feel unwell that
you should go back to your doctor to talk. Tablets and combination
of drugs can be changed to find the best ones that keep your blood
pressure controlled, and leave you feeling well. Most people are
prescribed more than one tablet to control blood pressure and
it may take time to find the combination of tablets that suits
you best. The aim of any tablet, combined with lifestyle changes,
is to get your blood pressure to below 140/85mmHg.
Taking tablets for high blood pressure is something that most
people will have to do for the rest of their lives and continuing
to take them is very important. You may have no symptoms from
your high blood pressure, but if it is left untreated you will
put yourself at risk from heart disease or stroke. As soon as
you stop taking tablets your blood pressure will go back up, as
will your risk of heart attack or stroke. Many people find that
once they get into a routine with their tablets, they become a
part of their daily lives, like cleaning their teeth.
The purpose of both the lifestyle changes that you make and the
tablets that you take is to control your blood pressure with you
feeling completely well. Once your blood pressure is controlled
you should be able to lead your life as normal.
If you are considering buying a blood pressure monitor to measure
your blood pressure accurately at home visit
Medisave to see their range of latest approved
automatic digital machines.