Often the first thing that will occur after arranging a meeting with a doctor is that they will take your blood pressure reading. Blood pressure is a very important measurement that often indicates a wide number of potential health issues. Blood pressure is measured by comparing the pressure the heart puts on the arteries while the heart is pumping and while it’s at rest. These are known as the systolic and the diastolic measurements.
As mentioned, readings are important because blood pressure can reveal issues within the body. High blood pressure especially is a warning sign of heart disease, strokes, heart failure, aneurysm and many other issues. Since blood pressure is so crucial to the body, it’s important to know how to understand it and how your lifestyle can affect the blood pressure in your body.
Understanding Blood Pressure Measurements
When blood pressure is checked, the systolic and diastolic measurements are listed as a numerical value with the systolic value on top. Typically this can be read like “122/82 mm Hg”. Readings of 120 and 80 are considered to be normal. Readings over 140 and 90 are considered to be truly high blood pressure. It is ranked in various different stages. High blood pressure is known as hypertension.
On the other side of things, low blood pressure is known as hypotension. Readings lower than 90 and 60 is known as low blood pressure. Oftentimes the most dangerous are fast drops in blood pressure. People with low blood pressure are at risk of fainting, falling or feel dizzy and weak.
Causes of High and Low Blood Pressure
Unfortunately, in many cases, people have high blood pressure without any identifiable cause. It’s likely for this form of high blood pressure (primary hypertension) to continue to grow year by year as it becomes an issue. Secondary hypertension however can be caused by underlying conditions. People with thyroid issues, kidney problems, arsenal gland issues, sleep apnea or some birth defects can have high blood pressure due to these issues. There’s also medications that can cause high blood pressure, as can many illegal drugs.
There’s plenty of potential causes of low blood pressure as well. Blood loss, pregnancy and dehydration can all commonly cause it. People with thyroid disease, low blood sugar, diabetes, bradycardia and septicemia can also suffer from low blood pressure. When it comes to diet, it’s a lack of iron, folate and vitamin B-12 that play the biggest role. Medications also have an effect and can artificially cause blood pressure to drop.
The Effect of Diet and Lifestyle
Quite simply, living a good lifestyle can help reduce the risk of getting high blood pressure and help reduce it when you are diagnosed with it. Obesity plays a big role. Extra weight requires more blood to be circulated. This increases the pressure on the blood vessels and also on the artery walls. Inactivity is linked to obesity. Those who are inactive tend to have both a higher standing and active heart rate. This makes the heart work harder and put out more force when it is pumping blood.
Diet also plays a big role. Most people know that too much salt is a problem. This is because a lot of salt causes the body to retain additional fluids. In turn, that increases blood pressure. Another factor is potassium. Potassium works in balance with salt. When you have lots of potassium, it will keep salt levels from becoming too high. Drinking alcohol is another issue. Typically moderation is the way to go. Drinking more than a little bit each day can result in increased blood pressure.
Another lifestyle aspect to high blood pressure is stress. Stress can cause large temporary boosts to blood pressure levels. Being able to maintain stress is easier said than done, but attempts should be made, especially for people who are already suffering from hypertension.