If you'd rather be set on fire than exercise, have trouble fitting into your "fat" jeans and do not see your physician on a regular basis you might want to skip the Jeopardy re-run and read this article. You might be placing yourself at jeopardy to develop high blood pressure.
The Silent Killer
The coronary cops and all members of the public should be on the
lookout for hypertension also known as the “silent killer”. Got your attention? Good.
This article may save your life.
In order to determine whether or not your blood pressure is high you
need to know more about blood pressure and hypertension.
Blood pressure is simply the force of blood against the artery walls as
blood is circulated through the body. Blood pressure is measured at two points. The first point is when the heart beats and
pushes blood into the arteries. This is
known as systolic pressure. Systolic
pressure is when the pressure in the arteries is at its greatest.
The second measurement is called diastolic pressure. This measurement is taken when the heart is
between beats and the pressure in the artery walls is at its lowest.
Blood pressure measurements are written with systolic results over
diastolic results. For example, your
blood pressure might be recorded as 110/75. Then again, your blood pressure
might be recorded as 140/100.
High blood pressure or hypertension simply means that your heart has to
work harder to pump blood through your circulatory system. If left untreated high blood pressure can
cause serious health problems such as: enlargement of the heart, hardening of
the arteries, kidney failure, stroke and eye damage that can result in
blindness.
Who Is at Risk For Hypertension?
Anyone can have hypertension. It is estimated that over 50 million
people in the United States have high blood pressure. However, there are
individuals who are considered more at risk to develop hypertension.
They are: African-Americans, people over 60 years of age, obese
individuals, those individuals who have an unhealthy lifestyle which includes
smoking, ingestion of too much salt or fatty foods, high consumption of
alcohol, excessive stress on a daily basis and those people who have
consistently high normal blood pressure readings.
It is estimated by the medical community that at least 20% of all
adults have hypertension. It is also
estimated that 60% of senior citizens have hypertension. What is of concern to physicians is that
many people are unaware that they have problem.