Blood pressure is the force of the blood on the artery walls as
the heart pumps blood through the body. The arteries are the blood
vessels that carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
The heart pumps blood through the blood vessels by contracting.
Each time the heart contracts, the blood pushes harder against the
walls of the arteries than it does when it rests between beats.
This means that the pressure of the blood on the artery walls is
greatest each time the heart contracts. This is the systolic
pressure, the higher (upper) number in a blood pressure reading.
When the heart rests between beats, the pressure of blood on
artery walls is lower. This is the diastolic pressure, the lower
number in a blood pressure reading.
These 2 levels of blood pressure--systolic and diastolic--are
measured when someone takes your blood pressure. For example, in
the blood pressure reading of 120/80, 120 is the systolic pressure
(the pumping pressure) and 80 is the diastolic pressure (the
resting pressure). The pressures are measured in millimeters of
mercury.
Normal, healthy blood pressure is less than 120/80 ("120 over
80"). The upper number (120) is the pressure when the heart pushes
blood out to the rest of the body (systolic pressure). The bottom
number (80) is the pressure when the heart rests between beats
(diastolic pressure).
Blood pressure can rise and fall with exercise, rest, stressful
emotions, or pain. However, if you have several measurements over
120/80, you probably have pre-high or high blood pressure.
- Pre-high blood pressure (prehypertension) is between 120/80
and 139/89.
- Stage 1 high blood pressure ranges from 140/90 to 159/99.
- Stage 2 high blood pressure is over 160/100.
The higher your blood pressure, the greater your risk of having a
stroke and other serious medical problems.
You can do the following things to help keep your blood pressure
under control:
- Maintain a healthy body weight. Avoid being overweight.
- Follow the DASH diet. This diet is low in fat, cholesterol,
red meat, and sweets. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and
low-fat dairy foods. The DASH diet also includes whole-grain
products, fish, poultry, and nuts. (DASH stands for Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension.)
- Use less salt. Check the levels of sodium listed on food
labels. Avoid canned and prepared foods, such as soups, dinner
mixes to which you just add the meat or cheese, chips, and
crackers, unless the label says no salt is added.
- Try not to have too much caffeine in your diet.
- Include regular physical activity in your schedule, after
checking with your healthcare provider.
- If you are a woman, do not have more than 1 drink of alcohol a
day. Men should not have more than 2 drinks a day. (Alcohol
raises your blood pressure.)
- Try to reduce the amount of stress in your life, or learn
techniques to help you relax and cope with stress better.
- If you take medicine for high blood pressure, always follow
your healthcare provider's instructions. Don't take less
medicine or stop taking medicine without talking to your
provider first. It can be dangerous to suddenly stop taking
blood pressure medicine. Also, do not increase the dosage of
any medicine without first talking with your provider. If you
are having problems paying for your medicines, let your
healthcare provider know. There may be some way to get help
paying for them.
If your blood pressure is normal, check it once a year. If it's
above normal, follow the schedule for checkups recommended by your
healthcare provider.
Developed by Phyllis G. Cooper, RN, MN, and RelayHealth.
This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to
change as new health information becomes available. The
information is intended to inform and educate and is not a
replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or
treatment by a healthcare professional.
© 2009 RelayHealth and/or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.