Understanding Blood Pressure, medication and its treatment
Posted:Through this blog, we shall discuss what blood pressure means, how high and low blood pressure affects our body, its measurement and treatment:
Apart from delivering oxygen and nutrients through arteries, blood pressure is important since white blood cells, hormones and antibodies are sent across the body to various organs. When fresh blood is pumped through our body, it gathers the toxic waste of metabolism and carbon dioxide too. But how exactly is blood able to apply pressure on our arteries? Simply speaking, when our heart contracts with every heartbeat, it creates pressure by forcing out blood. Blood flow also occurs due to the difference in pressure across various parts of our bodies, highest being at our heart.
Our arteries play a huge role in maintaining pressure and allowing blood to course through the body and its different organs. The condition of the arteries has an impact on the blood pressure and its flow and if the arteries narrow further, it could block the blood supply completely. This could lead to conditions like stroke and heart attack.
How is Blood pressure measured?
An important part of high blood pressure treatment includes accurate measurement of blood pressure that is carried out using a device called a sphygmomanometer. The patient’s arm is bound by a rubber armband which is inflated using a pump. After the cuff is inflated as much to stop the pulse, a reading is taken. The reading consists of two numbers, systolic and diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure is the one caused by the heart’s contraction while the diastolic pressure is the pressure in the arteries. Pressure between 120mm Hg (systolic) and 80mm Hg (diastolic) is considered to be normal.
Symptoms of low and high blood pressure
People suffering from high blood pressure have symptoms like headaches, shortness of breath and nose bleeds. However, most people may not experience these symptoms even if the levels reach dangerously high.
Pressure levels lower than 90 mm hg (systolic) and 60 mm hg (diastolic) are considered to be low. Symptoms of low blood pressure include dizziness or lightheadedness, dehydration, nausea, blurred vision and low concentration levels.
How to maintain a healthy blood pressure
In order to keep a constant and healthy blood pressure, doctors recommend their patients to follow these steps:
- Maintain and aim for the ideal body weight
- Keep a diet that is packed with vegetables, fruits and dairy products with low fat.
- Reduce sodium or salt in the diet
- 30 minutes of brisk walking or any other aerobic exercise at least 3-5 days a week
- Stop smoking
- Reduce the intake of alcohol or completely cut it off
- Speak to a doctor to start on high or low bp medicine depending on your condition
It is important to discuss any of the above mentioned symptoms with your doctor and seek advice at the earliest. Apart from a few lifestyle changes, your doctor could begin with blood pressure medications to keep the pressure under control so it does not spiral to any dangerous proportions.
