Blood pressure is the force of the blood against the artery walls. You run the risk of serious and life-threatening conditions, like heart disease or stroke, or kidney disease when your blood pressure is left unchecked and damages the artery walls or kidney overtime. It's not the high blood pressure that will eventually kill a person, it is the disease that develops as the result of the untreated hypertension.
When the force of the blood pushes against the wall of the artery, the measurement of the force against the artery wall is called blood pressure. If this continued force against the arteries is not detected in time and brought under control, the individual may suffer serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke or kidney disease - all of which may be fatal. Even blindness may be the result of uncontrolled high blood pressure.
It is not the high blood pressure that can kill, or destroy the quality of life, it is the disease which develops as the result of uncontrolled hypertension.
1. A Simple, Easy, Convenient Blood Pressure Test
The only way to find out if a person has high blood pressure is through a blood pressure test. Most have taken the test at one time or another in their lives so they know it is painless, quick and convenient. Many of the grocery or discount stores that have an in-house pharmacy will generally have a blood pressure monitoring device available for their customers free-of-charge. Some people may feel uncomfortable taking their blood pressure in public so the ideal situation for them is to buy their own monitoring device. Before buying, though, it is best to check with the pharmacist or health care professional to find out which is the best product to buy and has the highest level of accuracy. The next step is to ask for instructions on how to use it since the product's accuracy will depend on using it correctly.
2. Tips For Increasing The Accuracy Of A Blood Pressure Test:
a. Since smoking or drinking coffee before the test will temporarily elevate blood pressure, wait 30 minutes before taking the test.
b. Your blood pressure can elevate if you feel anxious about taking the test so sit quietly for five minutes beforehand. The back should be against the back of the chair with the feet flat on the floor and legs "uncrossed".
c. Table should be at heart level, rest your arm on the table.
d. Short sleeves will keep the area needed for the test exposed.
e. A full bladder can affect the measurement results, so use the restroom beforehand.
f. By taking two readings that are at least two minutes apart and then averaging those results will give the most accurate number and is the
protocol which is used by most doctors and nurses.
g. The easiest device to use in taking blood pressure at home is an electronic monitoring device which gives the diastolic and systolic results in easy-to-read numbers.
3. Keep Accurate Records:
Be sure to keep a blood pressure information log, when you are taking your blood pressure at home and if it is taken at the doctor's office, be sure to get the results in numbers. Make sure you keep an accurate log that includes the date, time the measurement was taken and the results. By keeping this information in a log, the doctor may be able to see a pattern in the blood pressure rising throughout the day.
4. Blood Pressure Numbers And Their Meaning:
Most individuals are familiar with the mmHg associated with blood pressure numbers after a test, but are not familiar with what it means. The mmHg stands for millimeters of mercury and is used when testing blood pressure. Once the test is completed, the millimeters of mercury (mmHg) is then recorded as two important numbers, a top number and a bottom number. The systolic number is the top number and it represents the pressure of the blood against the artery wall as the heart is beating. The lower or "down" number is the diastolic pressure and it represents the pressure of the blood against the artery wall as the heart is resting between the beats.
For those of different age groups, the systolic and
diastolic numbers are important for different reasons. As an example, those over the age of 50 should be concerned with the systolic or top number because it increases with age. Those under the age of 55 might be more concerned with the lower number, which is the diastolic number because it increases until around 55 years of age and then it usually declines.
The blood pressure information is broken down into different levels from normal to high:
* Normal is "less" than 120/80.
* Pre-hypertension is the range of 120/80-139/89.
* High blood pressure or hypertension is defined as 140/90 or higher.
The medical profession does not believe high blood pressure can be cured (only controlled) so once diagnosed, the diagnosis lasts a lifetime.
Basically, each individual has two choices: They can do whatever needs to be done to prevent their blood pressure from rising into Stage 1, or do what must be done to control it if it already has. Taking responsibility means making whatever changes need to be made to ensure a high quality of life.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com
About the Author
Therese Braunecker has a B.S. and M.A.T. degrees in health & wellness and has been involved in the wellness industry for over 15 years. Want to know some critical blood pressure information and how not knowing can destroy your life? Discover 13 Tips and Techniques On How To Lower Blood Pressure with a FREE eCourse at: http://www.howtolowerbloodpressuresafely.com
