Your Blood Pressure

What Is It? Why Is It Important?

Have you noticed that whenever you go to a doctor's office for a checkup, the first thing they do is measure your blood pressure?

Obviously blood pressure is important, but many of us don't really understand what it is and why we need to make sure it's in a normal range.

Blood pressure refers to the pressure the blood exerts against the blood vessel walls as it circulates through the body.  

A blood pressure reading is expressed as a ratio of two numbers. The medical terms for these numbers are systolic and diastolic.

The systolic reading measures pressure when the heart is fully exerted--in other words, during a "beat."

Diastolic refers to the pressure in between beats--the so called "resting phase" of the heart.

Blood pressure is important because it's an indicator of so many other possible health problems, especially those related to the heart.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, strains the heart and is often a symptom of heart disease. High blood pressure is also common when there's too much cholesterol in the blood, which can lead to blockages in the arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes.

When cholesterol builds up in the arteries, they become narrow and clogged, which means the heart has to work harder to force blood through them. This can also lead to poor general circulation, which may result in problems in many of the body's other organs and metabolic systems.

High blood pressure and elevated cholesterol are usually caused by eating foods that are high in fat and not getting enough exercise..

Low Blood Pressure

High blood pressure gets most of the attention of the media, but low blood pressure can also be a significant health risk. Low blood pressure, or hypotension, might indicate that your heart is not functioning as it should. That, of course, would mean your organs and cells aren't getting the oxygen and nourishment they need.

Blood pressure is one of those things most people take for granted, but they shouldn't. Even younger people should be aware of it because it's never to early to start managing it properly. In this day and age of fast food and sedentary lifestyles, doctors are seeing high blood pressure in younger and younger people.