Knowing your blood pressure

Keeping your blood pressure within a healthy range is vital in reducing your chances of developing health complications. Blood pressure is responsible for delivering blood throughout the body and returning it to the heart.

What do the readings mean?

A blood pressure reading has two numbers. The top number is called the systolic reading, this is the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts (each beat). The bottom number is called the diastolic reading, this is the pressure in the arteries when the heart is resting in between beats.

Are there any symptoms of high or low blood pressure?

High blood pressure rarely has noticeable symptoms. When the blood pressure is too high or too low, this can place extra stress on the heart and sometimes even the brain.

A normal blood pressure for a typical healthy person would be 120/80. Having low blood pressure isn’t necessarily dangerous however when blood pressure dips too low some may experience symptoms such as:

Light-headedness/Dizziness

Nausea

Fatigue

Lack of concentration

There is no defined range for low blood pressure. If your systolic reading falls below 100 then further investigation will need to take place especially if you are experiencing the symptoms above.

High blood pressure (hypertension) is defined when either your systolic reading is above 140 or you diastolic is above 90. If either of these are high and you are not known to have hypertension then we will do what is called a hypertension workup to see if there is an underlying cause as to why your blood pressure is raised. Consistently high blood pressure can lead to heart, brain and kidney damage so that why it is soo important for us and you to help maintain a healthy blood pressure.

How to maintain a healthy blood pressure range

There are many ways in which you can maintain a healthy blood pressure:

Eat a well-rounded diet

Maintain a healthy weight

Reduce salt intake

Exercise regularly

Quit smoking

Get the sleep you need

Limit alcohol

Find ways to manage stress

If you are known to have hypertension then you will most likely have to start some form of medication to help you maintain a healthy blood pressure range.

To be able to understand and maintain a healthy blood pressure range, you will regularly need to check you blood pressure. Many of you may already be doing this yourself by purchasing a blood pressure monitor and that is what we encourage all our patients to do. However, if you are concerned or haven’t had your blood pressure taken in a while you can always contact your surgery to arrange an appointment.

By Jazzmine Squire, Okehampton Medical Centre