The human heart is an amazing work of art. It is designed to receive oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and applies just the right amount of pressure to push it through the arteries and out to the body’s tissues.
When working correctly, there is just the right amount of pressure within the arteries to maintain a steady and even flow of blood. However, many things such as diet, stress, exercise, severe injury, or blood loss from menstruation can affect this pressure. Therefore, in order to keep this system operating at top efficiency, the heart makes continual and necessary adjustments throughout the day. These adjustments include the speeding up or slowing down of beats, and the increase and decrease of the strength of contractions. In addition, arteries relax and dilate or contract and constrict, and the kidneys retain salt and water (causing blood pressure to rise) or release salt and water (causing blood pressure to drop).
This system is so complex; it’s no surprise that fifty million Americans suffer from chronic high blood pressure or hypertension, and it is the most common of all diseases. To this day, it remains unclear as to why it affects African Americans more so than people of other ethnic backgrounds.
This disease is deadly because it shows no symptoms. It can stay undetected for ten to twenty years, while it does damage to vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, and eyes, all without warning. There are many public health measures geared to indentifying and treating people affected by high blood pressure. However, finding out if you are among the fifty million is not as easy as it may seem. Many people have different blood pressure readings throughout the day. For instance, some blood pressure readings can vary by twenty to sixty points. Some people find that their blood pressure is elevated every time they visit the doctor, an occurrence called white-coat hypertension.
The best way to make sure you do not have high blood pressure is to check your blood pressure readings on a daily basis. So, what is considered high blood pressure? If your blood pressure is constantly below 140/85, you are fine. However, if you are constantly getting a reading above this number, you should try to get it down through natural means as soon as possible. Depending on your age and health, you might want to consider going to a doctor.
Overweight people can drop their blood pressure to normal levels just by losing weight. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, try to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule. A daily forty-minute walk could do wonders for your health as well as drop your blood pressure a few points.
