One of the leading causes of death all over the world is high blood pressure. If your blood pressure is high, you could suffer from a stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and heart failure. High blood pressure is also one of the leading causes of dementia and sexual dysfunction. These problems can be avoided if you know how to treat and control your blood pressure.
A normal blood pressure level is one that allows the blood to be able to flow freely and deliver food and oxygen to the various parts of the body. Blood pressure is measured with two numbers. An example is 124/84 mm Hg. The first number is known as systolic blood pressure while the second number is the diastolic blood pressure.
The systolic blood pressure is the highest blood pressure measurement and it’s recorded through the contraction of your heart. On the other hand, diastolic blood pressure is your lowest blood pressure and it’s recorded once your heart is relaxed and is filled with blood. The higher your diastolic or systolic pressure and the longer that the figure stays high, the more damage it will cause to your blood vessels. Heart attacks and strokes are often due to a damaged blood vessel.
What Does this Mean?
Everyone wants to have a healthy blood pressure, but not everyone is aware of what these numbers actually mean.
If the numbers are bigger than the ideal range of blood pressure, then that could mean that your heart is working very hard to pump blood towards the rest of your body.
What’s a Normal Reading?
For your blood pressure to be considered normal, it needs to show a reading where the top number is between 90 and 120 while the bottom number should be between 60 and 80. According to the American Heart Association, the blood pressure is in a normal range if both your diastolic and systolic numbers are within the ranges mentioned.
The blood pressure reading is expressed in mm of mercury and is abbreviated as mm Hg. A normal reading is anything below 120/80 mm Hg and above 90/60 mm Hg among adults.
If your blood pressure is within the normal range, you don’t need any medical intervention. Nevertheless, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight and live a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent hypertension. Doing regular exercise and eating healthy can help a lot. You must also be extra careful with your lifestyle if hypertension is common among family members.
