What is Hypertension

What is Hypertension?

Every time the hearth beats, it pushes the blood through the arteries: This is the “systolic” blood pressure. Between each contraction the hearth relaxes and the pressure drops, and this is called the “diastolic” pressure. Blood pressure varies a lot from person to person and depends on many factors, including age. The normal reading for an adult should be around 120 (systolic) and 80 (diastolic). Blood pressure goes up in a normal individual when he is subject to stress or physical activity, but in a person with hypertension, blood pressure is elevated even when he is at rest.

How Is It Measured?

Your blood pressure is highest when the heart contracts, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure; it's the top number in your blood pressure reading.

When your heart is at rest--between beats--your blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure; it's the bottom number in your blood pressure reading.

A device called a Sphygmomanometer records pressure changes in millimeters of mercury or mm/Hg.

Mercury Sphygmomanometer

Dial type Sphygmomanometer

Digital type Sphygmomanometer

How High Is High?

Systolic (mm/Hg) Diastolic (mm/Hg)

Normal under 130 under 85

High Normal 130-139 85-89

High 140 and over 90 and over

Or with other words:

Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg.

Prehypertension is systolic pressure that's between 120 to 139 or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89.

Stage 1 hypertension is systolic pressure between 140 to 159 or diastolic pressure between 90 and 99.

Stage 2 hypertension is systolic pressure higher than 160 or diastolic pressure of 100 or higher.

Consistent elevated blood pressure is one of the most prominent dangers for a heart attack and greatly enhances the risk for a stroke. Hypertension is appropriately called "the silent killer" because many people often don’t know they have it until heart problems arise. Usually there are no symptoms until the condition becomes very severe. At that point headache, confusion, nose bleeding, shortness of breath, tingling of hands and feet, and a general feeling of discomfort can be an indication that something is wrong, otherwise most of the times hypertension is discovered only during a routine medical check up.

Most often hypertension is related to lifestyle. Weight problems, inactivity, stress, and wrong eating habits are all factors that can greatly affect hypertension. Not to mention excess alcohol, too much caffeine, and smoking, all habits with a very adverse effect. But often lifestyle changes are difficult to achieve. Exercising can be hard for many, even if it is a necessary sacrifice. Dieting is also very important, not so much in the sense of depriving yourself of certain types of food, as much as eating the right things. High blood pressure is often directly related to excessive sodium together with reduced potassium levels. A balanced nutrition and especially eating the proper foods can help enormously in controlling your blood pressure level. There is no magic formula but medical research can point us in the right direction.

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