What is High Blood Pressure?

Most of us know that high blood pressure is bad, but few of us know why. When most people think of blood pressure they think of it like a hose with water traveling through it. If you pinch the one end, the pressure will increase and the hose will eventually burst. But its a little more complicated than that. Think of your veins and arteries like a network of tunnels that help to move blood where it needs to be. When you wake up in the morning and get out of bed, gravity pulls all that blood down to your feet but its actually needed at your brain. To counter act this your arteries in your legs constrict and your heart pumps harder increasing blood pressure and enabling the blood to get to your brain where its needed. Its a very effective and ingenious way of working, but its also very easy to upset. You see, when you're carrying around a whole lot of excess fat around your waist your heart has to pump harder to get blood into all that new fatty tissue. When you eat salty food your body retains water so that it can dilute all that sodium and thus considerably increases overall blood volume. When your arteries get plastered with plaque after eating too many fatty meals, your blood pressure increases because your heart has to pump the same amount of blood through smaller openings in the arteries. When you're stressed and you lay awake all night your body remains in a constant fight or flight state forcing your heart to pump harder. All these factors could combing to create a dangerous situation. Thin walled vessels in the brain can burst under extreme pressure. High blood pressure damages smooth artery walls, creating places where plaque can catch on to. All this is putting lots of strain on your heart and over time it can cause The walls of your heart thicken and stiffen and become a less effective pump, which will eventually lead to congestive heart failure. Ideally your blood pressure should be 120/80 or lower. The 120 (systolic pressure) is the pressure when the heart contracts and the 80 (diastolic pressure) is the pressure reading when the heart relaxes. 120-139 systolic/80-89 diastolic: you should start putting somethings into practice to lower your blood pressure. 140-159 systolic/90-99 diastolic: Drug therapy is usually recommended. 160+ systolic/100+diastolic: advanced drug therapy is a must! People with pressure this high face a serious risk of being maimed or killed by there condition. Do you know what your blood pressure is? Are you a bit freaked out after reading this? By following the tips and strategies mentioned in this blog you significantly lower your blood pressure. Use the contents menu on the right to navigate your way around the blog.