What is high blood pressure and how is it treated?
As your heart pumps blood through the arteries and veins, the blood pushes against the arterial walls and this force is measured as blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is typically 130 over 80. High blood pressure damages blood vessel walls and results from the narrowing of the very small arteries that regulate the blood flow through your body. As these arteries narrow, your heart has to pump harder to move the blood through a smaller space and the pressure inside these arteries begins to increase. You can help lower your blood pressure by eating a low-fat and low-sodium diet, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, losing weight and reducing your caffeine intake. If necessary, high blood pressure can also be treated with medication, called antihypertensives.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, results from constriction or tightening of arteries that regulate blood flow through the body. As the arteries constrict, the heart has to work harder to pump the blood through the vessels, and the pressure inside the vessels grows. High blood pressure is considered the silent killer because there are often no symptoms. High blood pressure tends to run in families. Men are at higher risk than women, and blacks are at greater risk than whites. High blood pressure has no symptoms. Most physicians don’t make a final diagnosis until they measure a patient’s blood pressure on several occasions. In many cases high blood pressure can be controlled by maintaining a low-salt diet, losing weight, stopping smoking, and regularly exercising. In other cases, physicians may use various medications called antihypertensives. What is cholesterol and why is it so important? Cholesterol is a soft fat like substance that occurs naturally in the body, in animal fats, a
Your heart pumps blood through a network of arteries, veins, and capillaries. The moving blood pushes against the arterial walls, and this force is measured as blood pressure. High blood pressure results from the tightening of very small arteries (arterioles) that regulate the blood flow through your body. As these arterioles tighten (or constrict), your heart has to work harder to pump blood through the smaller space, and the pressure inside the vessels grows. High blood pressure is so dangerous because it often has no symptoms. High blood pressure tends to run in families. Men are at higher risk than women, and blacks are at greater risk than whites. In most cases, high blood pressure can be controlled by eating a low-fat and/or low-salt diet; losing weight, if necessary; beginning a regular exercise program; learning to manage stress; quitting smoking; and drinking alcohol in moderation, if at all. Medicines, called antihypertensives, are available if these changes do not help contr
