Hypertension AKA High Blood Pressure
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure describes how much pressure is being placed on the walls of the arteries, from the heart pumping blood through them. The body likes to maintain a consistent pressure to ensure our organs and tissues are receiving the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. Too little and not enough oxygen will be available to the tissues that need it, too much and the vessels start to become damaged.
When measured, it will produce two numbers that are written side by side like this, 120/80.
The first number is called your systolic blood pressure and is looking at how much pressure is created when your heart pumps.
The second number is called your diastolic blood pressure and is looking at how much pressure is in the vessels when your heart is at rest.
How is it measured?
There are two main ways to measure blood pressure!
1. Manual blood pressure AKA Auscultatory
This is when your Dr or trained health professional will use a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff called a sphygmomanometer to listen for the sound of your blood moving through the vessels.
2. Automatic blood pressure AKA Oscillometric
This is more common to see as it is a machine that does the job not a person. The way this one works is by measuring the vibrations made by the blood pumping.
What is normal and what is not?
Normal blood pressure sits at 120/80mmHg or lower (not lower than 90/60)
Elevated blood pressure sits at between 120-129/80mmHg
High blood pressure is classed into two subcategories;
Stage 1 hypertension sitting at 130-139/80-89mmHg
Stage 2 hypertension sitting at 140+/90+mmHg
When your Dr is looking to diagnose you, they will often side with caution, meaning if you have one of the numbers in a higher range and one in a lower, they will diagnose you as the higher stage. For example if your Blood pressure is 145/85 they will opt for stage 2 hypertension because your systolic is over 140 even though your diastolic is less than 90.
How will I know if I have high blood pressure?
Despite the seriousness of high blood pressure, most people will not experience any noticeable symptoms. Of the few possible sometime people can experience, these are the most common;
Headaches
Nausea
Shortness of breath
Nose bleeds
Dizziness
Chest pain
Blurred vision
However, not everyone will experience symptoms and so high blood pressure can often be taken less seriously. Out of sight out of mind...
This is why it is important to get regular checks of your blood pressure to monitor whether you have any changes that need to be managed.
My doctor says I have high blood pressure....
What does treatment look like?
Typically, treatment will come in three forms, Medications, diet and exercise. These are often utilised together to create the best change possible.
More specific information on what the Diet and Exercise treatments look like will be in future blogs!
What happens if I do not manage it?
If left unmanaged through medications, diet, exercise or a combination of all three, high blood pressure can lead to several other serious health concerns such as;
Heart attack
Stroke
Heart failure
Kidney disease
Vision loss
Peripheral artery disease
Who can help?
Your GP is the first place you should seek assistance.
Your local Pharmacist can also help you with blood pressure monitoring and managing your medication.
A Dietitian can help you to make choices around your food and drink consumption that can help to lower your blood pressure and maintain it within normal ranges
An Exercise Physiologist can help you to safely exercise and look to improve your blood pressure
Your Cardiologist if you have one, will also be a valuable resource to help you to manage your blood pressure and other cardiac concerns.