High Blood Pressure Leave a comment

What is Blood Pressure?

Your heart pumps blood around your body through a network of tubing called arteries. Every time your heart pumps it forces blood through these arteries and into smaller blood vessels, called capillaries. The force that your heart produces in your arteries when it pumps is called blood pressure. When the heart contracts and forces blood through the arteries, your blood pressure goes up, when the heart relaxes it goes down.

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. The higher your blood pressure the greater your risk of developing narrowed arteries, which can lead to heart problems, kidney disease and strokes. The good news is, that if your blood pressure is high, it can be lowered by making changes to your lifestyle; for example, by changing your diet, exercising and losing weight and if needed, with treatment. This will reduce the risk of developing heart and brain problems that might otherwise occur, if high blood pressure is not treated.

Why is Blood Pressure Important?

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementias. This means that if you have high blood pressure you have a greater risk of developing these conditions than someone who does not have high blood pressure.

What is High Blood Pressure?

If your blood pressure is high, it causes a strain on the vessels carrying blood around your body. This strain can cause vessels to become clogged up or to weaken; this in turn can lead to narrow blood vessels and clots, which can cause damage to the heart or brain. More rarely, it can lead to the blood vessels bursting. Having high blood pressure can also cause heart failure, which means your heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should; this can cause you to become short of breath and can also cause your ankles to swell. High blood pressure can also cause kidney failure and some eye conditions. However, this is very rare and most people who have high blood pressure will have very few if any symptoms.

Did You Know?

You Can Have Your Blood Pressure Checked at:

• Work, if you have an Occupational Health Department
• Your GP surgery – by your GP or Nurse
• Your local Gym or Health Club, sometimes for a small fee
• Local Health Events – look out for advertisement in local papers etc.
• Your pharmacy – many offer testing, sometimes for a small fee

What Can Cause High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure can also be called Hypertension, both words mean the same thing; a small number of people have what is called secondary hypertension, which means that there is an underlying cause of their high blood pressure. For example, some people develop high blood pressure if they have problems with their kidneys or adrenal glands (which sit above the kidneys). These glands produce hormones that are important in controlling blood pressure.

However, for most people there is no definite cause for their high blood pressure and doctors call this essential hypertension. The small blood vessels in the body narrow and this causes the pressure to build up; a bit like squeezing a garden hose whilst the water is running, therefore, interrupting the flow.