Blood Pressure: What You Need To Know

Blood is carried from heart to all parts of the body in arteries. The term blood pressure refers to the power of the blood pushing through the walls of the arteries. As the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries. When the heart pumps the blood the blood pressure is highest and is called systolic pressure. In between beats when the heart is at rest the blood pressure falls .This is called diastolic pressure.

Basic Blood Pressure Info

The blood pressure changes throughout the day. Blood pressure is cited as two numbers. These numbers represent the systolic and diastolic pressures. These two figures are written as one above or before the other. The way they are represented is 120/80 mmHg. The systolic pressure is the top or first number and the diastolic pressure is the second or bottom number. When the blood pressure is 120/80 you say it is 120 over 80.The blood remains the same for most of the day but it is lowest when you are asleep and highest when you get up. When the level is high, for example, 140/90 you are said to have high blood pressure. The blood pressure rises when you are working, playing or are active, nervous or excited. When there is high blood pressure the heart puts in more effort to pump blood. The chances of a stroke, heart attack and kidney problems are higher.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

The specific cause of a heart attack is not known and this is known as essential or primary blood pressure. Research is being carried out to find out the causes. There are other reasons like a medical problem or medication his is referred to as secondary high blood pressure. Sometimes low blood pressure is caused due to improper nutrition and other such factors. Low blood pressure also needs medication and treatment. Essential hypertension is the result of 95 % cases of high blood pressure. Secondary hypertension is the cause of the remaining 5% of cases of high blood pressure. These causes are identifiable and in most cases correctable. Low blood pressure is taken to be a sign of excellent health in many countries. In these countries, low blood pressure is associated with fewer incidences of strokes and heart attacks. But in some countries like Germany it is associated with weakness and fatigue. Women with lower bl0ood pressure were shorter and tended to weigh less than women with higher blood pressure. But, no connection between body size and low blood pressure in men. But hypertension was the sole cause of high blood pressure and there has been recognition of this among large sections of the population. The prevention, control, and treatment of high blood pressure have improved. The percentage of people whose high blood pressure is controlled increased to 29% from 10%. The treatment of people suffering from hypertension increased from 31% to 55%. This is what blood pressure deals with.

Blood Pressure Treatment

Blood pressure is better kept under control than to be treated after there is a rise or fall in the blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can make you avoid both suffering from high blood pressure and from low blood pressure. Anyway, the treatment options for high blood pressure takes into account medications like Diuretics, ACE Inhibitors, Beta Blockers, Calcium Channel Blockers and Alpha Blockers. The treatments for low blood pressure depend completely on what it is caused by.