Controlling Blood Pressure

What Does Blood Pressure Mean?

Controlling blood pressure (often called BP) is important for maintaining overall good health. Think about it. When you visit a doctor's office, what's the first thing they do? They take your BP reading. Nonetheless, many people don't understand why controlling blood pressure is important, and what poor the health risks are of bad BP can be.

This website is dedicated to providing you with information you need for controlling blood pressure. But always remember that you should never take any action related to controlling blood pressure without consulting your doctor. Our purpose is solely to provide introductory facts about controlling blood pressure to readers who have no medical training.

What does you blood pressure mean? 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.

Controlling blood pressure is critical because there are so many other possible health risks associated with poor BP.

Blood pressure health risks High blood pressure, or hypertension, strains the heart and is often a symptom of heart disease. Hypertension 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. Lifestyle changes can help lower blood pressure naturally, but sometimes medications are necessary.

Hypertension 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.

Controlling blood pressure may be something you rarely think about, but you should. Even younger people should take a BP reading often to make sure they have good blood pressure numbers: it's never to early to start controlling your blood pressure properly. In this day and age of fast food and sedentary lifestyles, doctors are seeing high BP in younger and younger people all the time.

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