Blood pressure measures the work capacity of the heart. It consists of two numbers: the upper number(the systolic blood pressure) represents how hard the heart has to work to push the blood out; the lower number (the diastolic blood pressure) represents the pressure in the heart when it is resting between contractions. Since blood pressure can vary during the day, one high reading does not necessarily mean you have high blood pressure. A diagnosis of high blood pressure is given when readings at different times remain consistently high.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and heart attack.
Hypertension increases with smoking, obesity, atherosclerosis, stress, lack of exercise, caffeine ingestion, alcohol consumption, and unhealthy diet with lots of fat and meat.
Testing Blood Pressure:
<120/ <80 normal;
120-139/80-89 prehypertension;
140-159/90-99 hypertension stage 1; > or = 160/> or = 100 stage 2
Sources:
Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, 2003)
Dr. Laurie Steelsmith. Natural Choices for Women's Health (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005).
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