High Blood Pressure and Heart AttackBLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART ATTACK
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High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart disease. High blood pressure is also the most important risk factor for stroke. Even slightly high blood pressure levels increase your risk for these conditions.
High blood pressure currently affects more than 65 million Americans. That's 1 in every 3 adults.
This is a 30% increase over the last few years.
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Equally worrisome, blood pressure levels have increased substantially for American children and teens. This increases their risk of developing hypertension in adulthood. Major factors contributing to high blood pressure include: 1) a family history of the disease 2) overweight 3) dietary salt Older individuals are at higher risk than younger people. Among older individuals, women are more likely than men to develop high blood pressure. African Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure, and at earlier ages, than Whites. But nearly all of us are at risk, especially as we grow older. Middle aged Americans who don't currently have high blood pressure have a 90% chance of eventually developing the disease.
What Is High Blood Pressure?
Each time your heart beats, it pumps oxygen-rich blood through the blood vessels, or arteries, that run through your body. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries.
The pressure of blood against the artery walls when your heart beats is called systolic pressure. The pressure between beats when your heart relaxes is called diastolic pressure.
Blood pressure is always given as two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures. Both are important.
Usually they are written one above or before the other -- for example, 120/80 mmHg. The top, or first, number is the systolic and the bottom, or second number, is the diastolic. If your blood pressure is 120/80, you say that it is "120 over 80."
Your blood pressure changes throughout the day.
It is lowest when you're asleep, and it rises when you awaken. It also can rise when you are excited, nervous, or active. So it varies throughout the day.
A systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher, or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or higher, is considered high blood pressure, or hypertension. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure.
If you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, a systolic blood pressure of 130 mmHg or higher, or a diastolic blood pressure of 80 mmHg or higher is considered high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is often called "the silent killer" because it usually has no symptoms.
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Some people may not find out they have high blood pressure until they have trouble with their heart, brain, or kidneys.
When high blood pressure is not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to other life-threatening conditions, including heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.
High blood pressure can cause: * your heart to work too hard and become larger, which can lead to heart failure.
* small bulges (aneurysms) to form in your blood vessels.
Common locations for aneurysms are the aorta, which is the main artery from the heart; the arteries in your brain, legs, and intestines; and the artery leading to your spleen.
* blood vessels in your kidneys to narrow, which can cause kidney failure, and blood vessels in your eyes to burst or bleed, which may cause vision changes and can result in blindness.
* arteries throughout your body to "harden" faster, especially those in your heart, brain, kidneys, and legs. This can cause a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure, or lead to amputation of part of the leg.
A blood pressure reading of 120/80 mmHg or less is considered normal. Usually, the lower, the better, although very low blood pressure can sometimes be a cause for concern and should be checked out by your doctor.
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Pre-Hypertension
If either your systolic or diastolic blood pressure is higher than normal (120/80) but not high enough to be considered high blood pressure (140/90), you have pre-hypertension.
Pre-hypertension is a top number between 120 and 139 or a bottom number between 80 and 89 mmHg. For example, blood pressure readings of 138/82, 128/70, or 115/86 are all in the "pre-hypertension" range.
If you have pre-hypertension, your chances of developing high blood pressure are greater than average unless you take action to prevent it.
In fact, having pre-hypertension doubles a woman's chances of having heart disease or a stroke. That's a 100 percent increase. For men, the increase is 45 percent.
About two out of every three people over the age of 60 who have high blood pressure have isolated systolic hypertension.
This means that only the top number, the systolic pressure, is high (140 mmHg or higher). Isolated systolic hypertension can be as harmful as when both numbers are high.
You may have isolated systolic hypertension and feel fine. As with other types of high blood pressure, it often causes no symptoms.
When your systolic and diastolic pressures fall into different categories, the higher category is used to classify your blood pressure level.
For example, 160/80 mmHg is considered stage 2 high blood pressure even though a diastolic pressure of 80 mmHg is in the pre-hypertension range.
You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle. These steps include: * Losing weight, if necessary, and maintaining a healthy weight
More than 2 out of 3 Americans ages 20-74 are either overweight or obese.
Overweight and obesity increase your chances of developing high blood pressure and diabetes, which, in turn, increase your chances of developing heart disease.
Blood pressure rises as body weight increases. Losing even 10 pounds can lower blood pressure -- and it has the greatest effect for those who are overweight and already have hypertension.
If you are overweight, work with your health care provider to develop a plan to help you reduce your weight.
* Being physically active
Being physically active is one of the most important steps you can take to prevent or control high blood pressure.
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It also helps reduce your risk of heart disease. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise on most, and preferably all, days of the week can help improve your cardiovascular health.
* Following a healthy eating plan like DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products and choosing and preparing foods with less salt and sodium
In general, the lower your salt intake, the lower your blood pressure. The key to reducing the amount of salt we eat is making wise food choices.
Only a small amount of the salt that we eat comes from the salt shaker, and only small amounts occur naturally in food.
Most of the salt that we eat comes from processed foods -- for example, canned or processed meat, baked goods, certain cereals, soy sauce, seasoned salts, monosodium glutamate (MSG), baking soda, and some antacids.
* If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. Men should limit their intake to 2 drinks per day, and women should limit their intake to one drink per day. * Quit smoking
Smoking injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of hardening of the arteries.
It increases your chances of stroke, heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and several forms of cancer.
If you smoke, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start.
Once you quit, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year. So you have a lot to gain by quitting.
* Diabetes If you have high blood pressure and diabetes, you have an increased risk of heart and kidney problems and stroke. Controlling your blood glucose -- and your blood pressure and cholesterol -- will help lower your chances of having a heart attack, a stroke, or other diabetes problems.
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