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Boost Your Blood Pressure IQ How to control prehypertension before it gets worse. Blood pressure tests are a mainstay of doctor office visits. You walk in, the band is strapped to your arm, you’re told your numbers and you nod your head. But do you know what to do with those numbers? Knowing what they mean is the first step to making them better.
Two numbers make up your blood pressure reading, each with their own meaning and importance. The first number (systolic pressure) measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number (diastolic pressure) measures the pressure in your arteries between heart beats. Prehypertension exists when systolic pressure is between 120 and 139 or diastolic pressure is between 80 and 89. Any reading of 140/90 or higher is considered hypertension. If you have prehypertension (also called borderline hypertension), it means you don’t have high blood pressure now, but are likely to develop it in the future if it’s left untreated. In fact, if you’re in the 130 to 139/80 to 89 range, you’re twice as likely to develop hypertension as someone with lower scores. Of course, you can’t change some risk factors, such as age, sex and family history of heart disease. But you can control many other risk factors by losing weight if you’re overweight, not smoking, limiting alcohol intake, reducing salt in your diet and exercising on a regular basis if you aren’t already. Even with this introduction, there’s no substitute for what your doctor can tell you. Next time you get your blood pressure checked, find out what those numbers really mean for you. If they’re higher than 120/80, talk to your doctor about what you can do to keep those numbers under control. McMurry, Inc. © 2009. All rights reserved. Click here for our disclaimer and more information about Healthy Solutions™.
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