What is high blood pressure?
To better understand what constitutes high blood pressure, it’s helpful to step back and review what the blood pressure numbers are measuring. Every time your heart beats, it pushes blood through your circulatory system. Blood pressure measures the amount of blood your heart is pumping and the resistance it’s experiencing in your arteries.
The higher your blood pressure numbers, the harder your heart is working to deliver blood.
To put this in actual numbers, here’s the breakout:
- Normal blood pressure: less than 120/80
- Elevated blood pressure: 120-129/less than 80
- High blood pressure, stage 1: 130-139/80-89
- High blood pressure, stage 2: higher than 140/120
There is a third stage of high blood pressure, which is considered a crisis that requires immediate medical attention.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure doesn’t happen overnight. It usually takes years to develop the significant narrowing in your arteries that causes high blood pressure. The leading factors that are associated with high blood pressure are:
- Age
- Weight issues
- Lack of exercise
- Smoking
- Too much salt
- Too little potassium
- Alcohol consumption
- Genetics
High blood pressure can also be caused by existing medical conditions or certain medications. The only way to find out what may be at the heart of your blood pressure issue is to seek a diagnosis from a medical professional.
How is high blood pressure treated?
If you review the list of common risk factors, you’ll see that many of them are under your control to change. To get started, schedule a visit to see the team at Medico so they can tailor a plan that best suits your situation. With your medical history and current vitals in hand, they can suggest treatments that deliver the best results, which may include:
- Medications
- Lifestyle changes
- Exercise programs
- Weight loss programs
- Nutrition counseling
By tackling your high blood pressure from many different angles under the team’s watchful eye, you can lead a long and healthy life free from the serious complications that come with hypertension.
To schedule an appointment, call one of the offices or book an appointment online today.
