CVMG Facts: Hypertension

All About Hypertension

     High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.
     You can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms. Even without symptoms however, damage to blood vessels and your heart continues and can be detected. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure generally develops over many years, and it affects nearly everyone eventually. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected.

Reading Blood Pressure

​     A blood pressure reading appears as two numbers. The first and higher of the two is a measure of systolic pressure, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats and fills them with blood. The second number measure diastolic pressure, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats. Normal blood pressure rises steadily from about 90/60 at birth to about 120/80 in a healthy adult. If someone were to take your blood pressure immediately after you'd delivered a speech or jogged 5 miles, the reading would undoubtedly seem high. This is not necessarily cause for alarm; it's natural for blood pressure to rise and fall with changes in activity or emotional state. It is also normal for blood pressure to vary from person to person, even from one area of the body to another. But when blood pressure remains consistently high, talk with your doctor about treatment.

High blood pressure affects nearly everyone eventually

Care and Treatment

     Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. Your doctor may recommend you eat a healthy diet with less salt, exercise regularly, quit smoking, and maintain a healthy weight. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren't enough. In addition to lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure. Your blood pressure treatment goal depends on how healthy you are.

Are you or a loved one dealing with hypertension?
CVMG can help! Give us a call today at 661-323-2295