Against the Wall High: Blood Pressure

Blood is under pressure as it is pumped around the body, and this pressure exerts on the arterial wall. The health status of this pressure is dependent on the force of the pumping, the quantity of blood pumped and the condition of the arteries. While blood pressure can change by the minute or second— it’s influenced by temperature, diet, mood, activity, medication and other factors—consistently high blood pressure that rarely abates is dangerous to health. Called hypertension, high blood pressure is even more dangerous because it often develops silently, giving no outward symptoms of its escalation. Thus, the best way to know blood pressure is via testing. However, due to the influence of many factors (including white coat syndrome, where the patient get nervous at the doctor’s office), it takes multiple and consistent high test readings to confidently diagnose hypertension.

When talking blood pressure measurement, two main forces must be considered. Systolic pressure is usually the higher of the two numbers in a test reading and measures the force when the heart contracts to pump blood. Diastolic is the lower number and measures the force during the heart’s relaxation between pumps. A reading below 120 mmHg (systolic) over 80 mmHg (diastolic) is a median of sorts, as readings below this figure is considered healthy for adults. A reading where the systolic result is higher than 120 but below 139 and the diastolic is above 80 but below 89 is considered pre-hypertensive, while readings above 140/90 is considered hypertensive.

Elevated blood pressure can be physically due to a greater pumping force from the heart or from, more commonly, narrowing of the arteries, such as in cardiovascular disease (CVD). High blood pressure can further damage the arteries and make the heart work harder, increasing the risk of heart and cardiovascular problems, including stroke. Further, if blood vessels to the kidneys are affected, kidney failure risk can go way up.

Continued Tomorrow
 
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