May is High Blood Pressure Education Month
High blood pressure affects one in three Americans and is the third leading cause of death in the United States. This month, we observe National Blood Pressure Education Month by raising your awareness and using that knowledge to fight unseen, potential risks. Due to a tendency to show either minor or even no symptoms at all, high blood pressure has earned the nickname “the silent killer.” Knowledge of one’s high blood pressure — and then taking action — greatly reduces the possible risks of related health problems.
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body. Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day.
What do blood pressure numbers mean?
Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:
The first number, called systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.
If the measurement reads 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, you would say, “120 over 80,” or write, “120/80 mmHg.”
A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg.
What is high blood pressure (hypertension)?
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having blood pressure measures consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure (or hypertension).
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Your health care team can diagnose high blood pressure and make treatment decisions by reviewing your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and comparing them to levels found in certain guidelines.
The guidelines used to diagnose high blood pressure may differ from a health care professional to health care professional:
- Some health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood pressure is consistently 140/90 mm Hg or higher.2 This limit is based on a guideline released in 2003, as seen in the table below.
- Other health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood pressure is consistently 130/80 mm Hg or higher.1 This limit is based on a guideline released in 2017, as seen in the table below.
What are the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure.
What problems does high blood pressure cause?
High blood pressure can damage your health in many ways. It can seriously hurt important organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems.
Heart attack and heart disease
High blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to heart disease. In addition, decreased blood flow to the heart can cause:
- Chest pain, also called angina.
- Heart attack, which happens when the blood supply to your heart is blocked and heart muscle begins to die without enough oxygen. The longer the blood flow is blocked, the greater the damage to the heart.
- Heart failure, a condition that means your heart can’t pump enough blood and oxygen to your other organs.
Stroke and brain problems
High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough oxygen. Strokes can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you. Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life.
Kidney disease
Adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or both have a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease than those without these conditions.
What are the risk factors for high blood pressure?
Risk factors that can increase your risk of high blood pressure include health conditions, your lifestyle, and your family history. Some medical conditions can raise your risk for high blood pressure. If you have one of these conditions, you can take steps to manage it and lower your risk for high blood pressure.
Genetics and Family History
When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity. Genes likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.
The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and eating an unhealthy diet.
Diabetes
About 6 out of 10 people who have diabetes also have high blood pressure. Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood and also increases the risk for heart disease.
Talk with your doctor about ways to manage diabetes and control other risk factors.
Unhealthy Diet
A diet that is too high in sodium and too low in potassium puts you at risk for high blood pressure. Eating too much sodium—an element in table salt—increases blood pressure. Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed and restaurant foods. Learn more about sodium and high blood pressure.
Not eating enough potassium—a mineral that your body needs to work properly—also can increase blood pressure. Potassium is found in many foods; bananas, potatoes, beans, and yogurt have high levels of potassium.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Getting regular physical activity helps your heart and blood vessels stay strong and healthy, which may help lower your blood pressure. Regular physical activity can also help you keep a healthy weight, which may also help lower your blood pressure.
Obesity
Having obesity is having excess body fat. Being obese or overweight also means your heart must work harder to pump blood and oxygen around your body. Over time, this can add stress to your heart and blood vessels. Obesity is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower “good” cholesterol levels. Learn more about cholesterol. In addition to high blood pressure, obesity can also lead to heart disease and diabetes. Talk to your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level.
Alcohol Consumption
Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. Women should have no more than one drink a day, while men should have no more than two drinks a day.
Tobacco Use
Tobacco use increases your risk for high blood pressure. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels. Nicotine raises blood pressure, and breathing in carbon monoxide—which is produced from smoking tobacco—reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry.
Understanding continuous non-invasive blood pressure (cNIBP)
Hypertension is among the most dangerous risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It affects 67 million American adults, resulting in a direct healthcare cost of approximately $50 billion.
In the hospital setting, the Visi Mobile System provides data collected around the clock without disrupting a patient’s sleep, with its continuous non-invasive blood pressure (cNIBP) providing the potential to help improve the diagnosis and management of hypertension, saving lives and dollars.
The ViSi Mobile System cNIBP technique has been compared in clinical trials to invasive arterial lines and has shown an accuracy in these studies within 5mmHg. As a pulse wave travels down the arterial system, the systolic pressure increases. This is noticeable when comparing systolic blood pressure measured via an invasive arterial line versus auscultation. Sotera Wireless considered how this would impact the adoption of the technology in low acuity care units. As a result, the default cuff calibration for ViSi Mobile cNIBP is set to calibrate against the auscultatory method. cNIBP measurements will compare favorably to other non-invasive blood pressure techniques and captures blood pressure on a beat-to-beat basis.
Small steps to take care of your blood pressure
Every time your heart beats, it pumps blood through the arteries to the rest of your body. Your blood pressure is how hard your heart pushes against the walls of the arteries. If your blood flows at higher than normal pressures, you may have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Millions of Americans have high blood pressure, but many people who have it don’t know. That is why it is important to have your blood pressure checked at least once a year.
High blood pressure is a “silent killer”. It does not usually cause symptoms, but it can damage your body over time.
- If your blood pressure stays higher than 130/80 mmHg for a period of time, it can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and dementia.
- The only way to know whether you have high blood pressure is to have it measured –a process that is simple and painless.
- If you find out you have high blood pressure, a health care professional can tell you how to prevent serious complications, including disability and premature death.
Many people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure into a healthy range or keep their numbers in a healthy range by making lifestyle changes. Talk with your health care team about
- Getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week (about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
- Not smoking
- Eating a healthy diet, including limiting sodium (salt) and alcohol
- Keeping a healthy weight
- Managing stress
Talk with your health care team right away if you think you have high blood pressure or if you’ve been told you have high blood pressure but do not have it under control.
By taking action to lower your blood pressure, you can help protect yourself against heart disease and stroke, also sometimes called cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Observing National Blood Pressure Education Month
Check your blood pressure
Around 120 over 80 is considered the range for normal blood pressure. Any higher that that means you should try to lower it through some simple lifestyle changes like diet and exercise.
Get moving
One of the best ways to maintain healthy blood pressure is through exercise. A walk, bike ride, swim, jog, or any other aerobic activity will help keep your blood pressure low, and your body healthy.
Adjust your diet
Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products — while avoiding sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure significantly. National Blood Pressure Month is a good time to practice.
Sources:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/high-blood-pressure/high-blood-pressure-education-month
https://nationaltoday.com/national-blood-pressure-month/