Blood Pressure Monitoring
"Blood Pressure is when your heart pumps blood through blood vessels, the blood pushes against the walls of your blood vessels. This creates blood pressure. Your body needs blood pressure to move the blood throughout your body, so every part of your body can get the oxygen it needs." "For your arteries to stay healthy it's important that your blood pressure be within a healthy range." "For some people blood pressure can get too high. This is true for about one-third of American adults (33.0%)."
"High blood pressure cannot be cured. It can, however be managed very effectively through lifestyle changes and, when needed, medication." - American Heart Association
About one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure
Risk Factors Outside of Your Control
Family History- "Just as hair and eye color can run in families, so can high blood pressure. This is why it is important to get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis."
Age - "The older you are, the more likely you are to get high blood pressure." As we age, our blood pressure gradually lose some of the slastic quality , which increases blood.
Gender - "Until age 54, men are more likely to get high blood pressure than women are. But that changes as we age. From age 55 to 64, men and women get high blood pressure at similar rates. And, at 65 and older, women are more likely to get high blood pressure than men."
Race - "African Americans tend to develop high blood pressure more often than caucasians. For African Americans, high blood pressure also tends to occur at younger ages and be more severe." -American Heart Association
Risk Factors That You Can Control
Lack of physical activity - "Not getting enough physical activity as part of your lifestyle increases your risk of getting high blood pressure. Physical activity is great for your heart and circulatory system in general, and blood pressure is no exception."
An unhealthy diet, especially one high in sodium - "Good nutrition from a viariety of sources is critical for your health. A diet that is too high in salt consumption, as well as calories, saturated fat and sugar, carries an additional risk of high blood pressure. On the other hand, making healthy food choices can actually help lower blood pressure."
Overweight and Obesity- "Carrying too much weight puts extra strain on your heart and circulatory system, and can cause serious health problems. Being overweight puts you at risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It also increases your risk of getting high blood pressure."
Drinking too much alcohol- "Regular, heavy use of alcohol can cause many health problems, including heart failure, stroke and irregular heartbeats. Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of cancer, obesity, alcoholism, suicide and accidents. It can also cause your blood pressure to increase dramatically." -American Heart Association
Additional Risk Factors
Smoking and Tobacco Use - " Using tobacco can cause your blood pressure to temporarily increase and con contribute to damaged arteries, which can make high blood pressure worse."
stress - "Stress is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. But too much stress may contribute to increased blood pressure. Also, too much stress can encourage behaviors that increase blood pressure, such as poor diet, physical inactivity and using tobacco or drinking alcohol more than usual."
Sleep Apnea - "This is a condition in which some of the tissues in the throat collapse during sleep and block the breathing passageway. In response to that, the brain awakens the sleeper, who then gulps for air in order to open the trachea again. This cycle often repeats many times a night, leading to severe fatigue the following day from lack of good sleep. Sleep apnea can be a contributing factor to high blood pressure." - American Heart Association
