About Your Heart
What is Blood Pressure?
How to Lower Your Blood Pressure
About
Your Heart
The heart must pump blood to all parts of the body. This makes it the hardest
working muscle. Both high blood pressure and high cholesterol increase stress
on your heart and affect how hard it must work to do its job.
What
is Blood Pressure
Blood pressure refers to the pressure of the blood against blood vessel walls
in the body. It is determined by the pumping action of the heart, the resistance
to blood flow in the arteries, the health and elasticity of the artery walls,
blood volume and thickness. Normal blood pressure is 120/80. The top number, systolic blood pressure,
refers to blood pressure during the contraction of a heartbeat. The bottom number refers to the blood pressure
during the diastolic or relaxation phase of a contraction. When blood pressure
rises too high, an individual is at a higher risk for heart disease, hormonal
disorders, kidney problems, diabetes and a shorter life expectancy.
Blood pressure varies significantly among men and
women, among age groups and even between two people of the same
age and gender. Time of day, stress and exercise will also influence
a blood pressure test. Blood pressure will also rise slightly with
altitude. Children have lower blood pressures and people over 60
have systolic blood pressures from 140-170. If you have high blood
pressure your doctor may have put you on medication to manage it.
By itself, high blood pressure may not be a major health risk.
However, in conjunction with high cholesterol, high blood sugar,
smoking and poor lifestyle habits, it becomes a much greater concern.
How to Lower Your
Blood Pressure?
Perhaps the single most important dietary measure you can take is to begin
making the largest portion of all of your meals vegetables and fruit. In populations
around the world where the largest amount of fruits and vegetables are consumed,
blood pressure rates are the most normal. However, in addition to this measure,
here are a few other steps to begin taking:
- Work towards maintaining a healthy body weight/body
composition.
- Exercise regularly to stay fit. A fit body is
less likely to have high blood pressure than an unfit body. Exercise
will also help with lowering cholesterol, body weight and shape
control, and stress management (check with your doctor before
starting an exercise program).
- Lower your salt intake. Eating less salt and other
sources of dietary sodium can help some people lower their blood
pressure. Use salt sparingly at the table, taste your food before
you salt and choose processed foods less often.
- Limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol may reduce
your heart's pumping ability and it can cause some blood pressure
medications to be less effective. Limit alcohol to no more than
1 drink for females and 2 drinks for males per day.
- Do not smoke. Smoking does not cause high blood
pressure, but does increase your risk for heart disease and stroke.
- Follow the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop
Hypertension). This diet is high in fibre, calcium, magnesium
and potassium. It is lower in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol
while being high in vegetables and fruit, whole grains and low-fat
dairy products. It is moderate in meat, fish and poultry and
emphasizes nuts, seeds and legumes.
To determine if you have high blood pressure, visit
a Save-On-Foods Pharmacy. If it is elevated, be sure to visit your
family doctor.
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