World Hypertension Day

Did you know there’s a whole week dedicated to hypertension (high blood pressure)? My husband has high blood pressure and takes medication to control it. I’m the opposite. My blood pressure is usually 110/70. Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80).

The World Hypertension League (WHL) in partnership with the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) will celebrate May 17-May 24, 2016. The theme for World Hypertension Day is Know Your Numbers with a goal of increasing high blood pressure awareness in all populations around the world.

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

High blood pressure has many risk factors, including:

• Age. The risk of high blood pressure increases as you age.
• Family history. High blood pressure tends to run in families.
• Being overweight or obese. The more you weigh, the more blood you need to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. As the volume of blood circulated through your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure on your artery walls.
• Not being physically active. People who are inactive tend to have higher heart rates. The higher your heart rate, the harder your heart must work with each contraction and the stronger the force on your arteries.
• Using tobacco. Not only does smoking or chewing tobacco immediately raise your blood pressure temporarily, but the chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls. This can cause your arteries to narrow, increasing your blood pressure.
• Too much sodium in your diet. Too much sodium (salt) in your diet can cause your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.
• Too little potassium in your diet. Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. If you don’t get enough potassium in your diet or retain enough potassium, you may accumulate too much sodium in your blood.
• Drinking too much alcohol. Over time, heavy drinking can damage your heart. Having more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women may affect your blood pressure.

Nancy Roe
Author