Your blood carries oxygen, nutrients, and other chemicals throughout your body via a network of blood vessels and arteries by a process known as blood pressure. As your heart beats, it pushes blood through your arteries and vessels at a rate of up to 100 times a minute all day, every day to keep your body functioning. The term “blood pressure” refers to the amount of force your blood exerts on your artery walls as it travels through your circulatory system.
As May is High Blood Pressure Education Month, we want to take the opportunity to help you better understand how blood pressure works, and what happens when it gets too high, resulting in hypertension. This also means getting to know what the numbers mean on a blood pressure check.
If you live in the Beverly Hills, California, area and you’re struggling with blood pressure problems, Dr. Shawn Veiseh and his dedicated staff at Shawn Veiseh, M.D. can help you get those issues under control.
Let’s explore what hypertension does to your body, what your blood pressure numbers indicate, and what you can do to keep those numbers under control
Commonly known as high blood pressure, hypertension is the result of your blood pressure being consistently too high. If it stays that way, your heart has to work that much harder to pump blood, and you’re at higher risk for stroke, heart failure, aneurysm, metabolic syndrome, problems with your eyes and kidneys, and dementia.
If the pressure is exerting too much force on your arteries, it can cause them to bulge, weaken, and become damaged in other ways.
In a blood pressure check, the numbers represent your systolic and diastolic pressure, which is an indication of the pressure on your arteries when your heart beats as well as between beats. Your numbers are compared to normal readings to determine how high or low your blood pressure is. The results look like this:
Anyone in a hypertensive crisis needs emergency medical care and may also be dealing with chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, vision changes, and signs of stroke.
To maintain good blood pressure, there are several lifestyle changes you can make, including getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress and anger, avoiding tobacco and nicotine products, and reducing your alcohol intake.
A diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol also helps regulate your blood pressure and keep you healthy.
Follow your doctor’s instructions if you’re given any medications to help lower your blood pressure, and be sure to go to your follow-up appointments to make sure you’re on track.
If you have any concerns about your blood pressure, make an appointment with Dr. Veiseh and his team today to get help. Call our office or schedule a visit online.
