Blood pressure and your heart
High blood pressure – hypertension – can cause heart attacks and strokes, and it can damage the kidneys. High blood pressure can be prevented and treated, but it is important to detect it early since it rarely causes symptoms until severe complications have occurred.
What causes high blood pressure?
The heart acts like a pump, circulating blood through your body. Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the heart and arteries to push blood around the body. The circulation of the blood is a closed system and if the blood vessels do not expand enough to let blood flow through them to all parts of the body, then the heart has to pump harder to move the blood around and the blood pressure rises. This increased blood pressure puts a strain on the heart and also causes wear and tear on the walls of the arteries damaging their lining and making it more likely that they will fur up.
How do you know if you have high blood pressure?
The only way to find out is to have your blood pressure checked.
Adults over 25 should have it checked once a year. Severe hypertension in people under the age of 25 is very rare and is usually caused by kidney problems. It is particularly important that women of all ages who take the contraceptive pill should have their blood pressure checked regularly.
It only takes about three minutes to have your blood pressure measured. If you are a blood donor your blood pressure will be checked every time you donate. If you’re not a regular donor, next time you visit your GP ask for it to be checked.
A blood pressure level of below 140/90 is usually considered normal. (140 is the pressure when the heart contracts, pumping out the blood, and 90 is the pressure in the vessels when the heart relaxes between beats.) About a quarter of middle-aged adults in the UK have blood pressure over this level.
Prevention and treatment
High blood pressure can be prevented, and in many cases successfully reduced, by adopting a healthier lifestyle. It is important to:
* Avoid being overweight
* Exercise regularly
* Eat less salt and saturated fat
* Avoid drinking too much alcohol
* Try to avoid situations that cause you stress.Drug treatment for hypertension usually starts at blood pressure levels of around 150/105, but there is no hard and fast rule and the decision to prescribe drugs depends on the patient’s age and general health.
There are several different sorts of drug treatments. Some may cause side effects. The most common are fatigue, depression and impotence. Some people also have problems with blood sugar regulations.
It is vital to have your blood pressure monitored during treatment. This means regular visits to the doctor even if you have no side effects from drugs.
Who will get high blood pressure?
Unfortunately, high blood pressure is all too common – about one in seven of us has it at some time – and it can run in families, so don’t get complacent. It’s worth asking your doctor for a check-up, especially if a relative is affected. And if you are over 35, it is a good idea to have your pressure checked every three years. But remember it’s never too early to start!
There are many elements that contribute to high blood pressure such as being overweight, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, and the side effects of certain drugs and diseases.
Do I have high blood pressure – how can I tell?
There are usually no symptoms; the trouble with high blood pressure is that you can have it for a long time and not feel any different. Some people think headaches and tiredness are a sign of high blood pressure, but this is not always the case. Often it only shows when damage has already been caused. The only way you can tell if you have high blood pressure is by asking your family doctor for regular checks.
What causes high blood pressure?
The main cause is narrowing of the arteries. It’s a bit like when you water the garden with a hosepipe. If you stand on the hosepipe accidentally, the flow of water out of the pipe decreases and pressure builds up behind your foot.
When the arteries narrow, the pressure in the blood system also increases in a similar way. If this abnormally high blood pressure is not detected, heart disease and strokes can follow.
What you can do to reduce the risk of high blood pressure?
- Perhaps the most important thing is to watch your weight. Keeping down helps keep blood pressure down.
- Try to limit alcohol drinks. They’re fattening and can increase your blood pressure.
- Try to be sparing with salt which is, after all, just a matter of re-educating your taste buds. Replace salt in cooking with herbs and spices.
- Regular exercise helps control stress, keeps your blood pressure normal and your whole system in tip top condition. Try to walk as much as possible and why not take the stairs instead of the lift? In the evenings, light jogging or swimming are excellent.
- Like most smokers, you’ve probably wanted to give up for ages. Smoking temporarily raises your blood pressure. It also adds to the damage that high blood pressure may cause to your heart and blood vessels.
- Try to avoid situations which cause stress, anxiety or worry. You may manage to win an argument, but your blood pressure will soar.
- Remember if you are over thirty-five, have those three yearly blood pressure checks.
What are the effects?
Looked at simply, when blood is forced through arteries at high pressure, it’s more likely to damage artery walls. The walls can become thicker and fat (cholesterol) may be deposited. Blood clots may form at these sites.
But, don’t worry…
… there is evidence that the risk of all these problems drops when high blood pressure is properly treated.
Your doctor might decide that some of the simple measures shown below are all that’s needed to get your pressure down to normal.
Often a change of diet, reducing your weight or alcohol intake or increased exercise are enough to bring your blood pressure down.
What is blood pressure?
- Your heart is a muscular pump about the size of your fist.
- Every minute your heart beats about seventy times.
- The heart pumps blood around the body at the rate of five litres per minute – that’s about 180 million gallons during a lifetime’s pumping.
- We all have blood pressure – the pressure is created by the heart’s constant pumping of blood around the body and the size of the blood vessels through which the blood passes.
- In a healthy young adult a normal blood pressure is around 120/80. (The higher figures refers to blood pressure during each heartbeat and the lower figure to your blood pressure between beats).
- Exercise, excitement, anger or anxiety all make your heart beat faster and increase your blood pressure temporarily.
- High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when blood pressure rises to a level which may cause a heart attack or stroke.
Who will get high blood pressure?
Unfortunately, high blood pressure is all too common – about one in seven of us has it at some time – and it can run in families, so don’t get complacent. It’s worth asking your doctor for a check-up, especially if a relative is affected. And if you are over 35, it is a good idea to have your pressure checked every three years. But remember it’s never too early to start!
There are many elements that contribute to high blood pressure such as being overweight, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, and the side effects of certain drugs and diseases.
Do I have high blood pressure – how can I tell?
There are usually no symptoms; the trouble with high blood pressure is that you can have it for a long time and not feel any different. Some people think headaches and tiredness are a sign of high blood pressure, but this is not always the case. Often it only shows when damage has already been caused. The only way you can tell if you have high blood pressure is by asking your family doctor for regular checks.
What causes high blood pressure?
The main cause is narrowing of the arteries. It’s a bit like when you water the garden with a hosepipe. If you stand on the hosepipe accidentally, the flow of water out of the pipe decreases and pressure builds up behind your foot.
When the arteries narrow, the pressure in the blood system also increases in a similar way. If this abnormally high blood pressure is not detected, heart disease and strokes can follow.
What you can do to reduce the risk of high blood pressure?
- Perhaps the most important thing is to watch your weight. Keeping down helps keep blood pressure down.
- Try to limit alcohol drinks. They’re fattening and can increase your blood pressure.
- Try to be sparing with salt which is, after all, just a matter of re-educating your taste buds. Replace salt in cooking with herbs and spices.
- Regular exercise helps control stress, keeps your blood pressure normal and your whole system in tip top condition. Try to walk as much as possible and why not take the stairs instead of the lift? In the evenings, light jogging or swimming are excellent.
- Like most smokers, you’ve probably wanted to give up for ages. Smoking temporarily raises your blood pressure. It also adds to the damage that high blood pressure may cause to your heart and blood vessels.
- Try to avoid situations which cause stress, anxiety or worry. You may manage to win an argument, but your blood pressure will soar.
- Remember if you are over thirty-five, have those three yearly blood pressure checks.