Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure and is one of the most severe medical conditions nowadays in the world. It affects millions and most of the times it does not show any warning signs. However, if there is no prompt and thorough treatment, it can be proven extremely damaging to your health state.
There are two different types of blood pressure, the systolic and diastolic type. The former has to do with the rate at which the heart pumps blood, whereas the latter measures the resistance of this blood flow. Both are important, of course, and so you need to monitor them regularly.
Measurements and Hypertension
As stated above, there are two types of blood pressure. If you measure 119/79 or lower, you are within the average. 140/90 and higher qualifies as high blood pressure. Apart from that, there is also prehypertension (when you get measurements 120-139 and 80-89). Prehypertension acts like a warning sign, which urges you to take precautions. In this way, you can avoid even worse situations.
Dangers Deriving from Hypertension
If you do not pay attention to high blood pressure, a lot of medical conditions might be triggered. Among them, you are at risk of getting a heart attack or a stroke, vascular dementia and aortic aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease and heart failure. These are all severe and might jeopardize your life.
Precautions
Hypertension can be caused by various factors. However, there are several things that you can do to improve your blood pressure levels. First of all, you should limit your sodium intake. This will help you to better your measurements. So you should restrict sodium consumption to 1,500 mg daily.
Another precaution has to do with anxiety management. You need to find ways to let the steam off and avoid all the excess stress. Instead, indulge in methods of relaxation, such as yoga and meditation.
Reaching and maintaining your ideal weight is of utmost importance. Hypertension can be improved, solely by dropping the extra pounds and starting eating healthy. This is a great resolution, after all. Along with healthy diet, you should aim at sleeping properly and reducing your intake of alcohol and smoke. Obviously, drugs fall under the same category.
Pregnancy and Hypertension
Pregnant women are at high risk of developing hypertension. So they need to be checked regularly and implement all the precautions pointed out above. Otherwise, preeclampsia is a serious medical condition that affects the fetus by ceasing the supply of oxygen and blood flow.
Bottom Line
High blood pressure, or hypertension, can be a true burden. However, with the proper precautions and through a healthy lifestyle, you should be able to avoid it for a long time. If you get hypertension, you should work your way round the precautions and seek medical assistance. Maybe medications are in order, but always under the guidance of the doctors.