Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood in your arteries. You need a certain amount of pressure to keep the blood flowing around your body. Your heart pumps blood through the arteries, by contracting and relaxing.
Your blood pressure reading consists of two numbers usually shown as one on top of the other and measured in mmHg (millimetres of mercury). If your blood pressure reading is 120/80mmHg your doctor or nurse may refer to it as 120 over 80?.
The first (or top) number represents the highest level that your blood pressure reaches when your heart contracts and pumps blood through your arteries known as your systolic pressure. The second (or bottom) number represents the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats your diastolic pressure.
High blood pressure or hypertension means that your blood pressure is constantly higher than the recommended level. Hypertension is caused by hardened arteries.
Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, information from the British Heart Foundation indicates that your blood pressure should be below 140/90. High blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher. If you have heart and circulatory disease (such as coronary heart disease or stroke) or diabetes or kidney disease, then your blood pressure should be below 130/80.
As a general guide, NHS recommendations indicate that the ideal blood pressure is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.
Making healthy lifestyle changes can help reduce your chances of getting high blood pressure and help lower your blood pressure if it's already high. The following provides a number of top tips:
1 Regular physical activity ‐ Try to do some moderate‐intensity activity every day and build up to at least 150 minutes per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more.
2 Keep to a healthy weight ‐ For some people, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is all they need to do to get their blood pressure down to a normal level. More information and advice on Achieving and maintaining a Healthy Weight is available here.
3 Eat a healthy balanced diet ‐ In particular include a variety of fruit and vegetables. More information and advice on Healthy eating & improving diet and nutrition is available here:
4 Cut down on salt ‐ The British Heart Foundation recommends that you avoid cooking with salt or adding any salt to your food. Also cut down on processed foods, which contain a lot of salt. When you eat too much salt, your body holds on to water in an effort to dilute it. This extra water increases your blood volume, which means your heart works harder because it's pushing more liquid through your blood vessels.
Read more from the BHF on examples of salty foods to cut down on.
5 Don't drink too much ‐ If you drink alcohol, stick within the recommended limits. No more than 3‐4 units a day for men and no more than 2‐3 for women. Drinking too much alcohol can damage our hearts, so it's vital that we understand and stick to guidelines. Alcohol is also high in calories so drinking too much can lead to weight gain ‐ for example, there are nearly 240 calories in a large glass of chardonnay (13% alcohol), the same as in a 50g bar of milk chocolate.
6 If already taking medicine, ensure you take your medicines as prescribed ‐ Don't stop taking your medication without consulting with your GP first. Most people will need to take more than one type of medicine to control their blood pressure.
Other lifestyle changes recommended by the NHS include cutting down on caffeine and stopping smoking, which can also help to prevent and lower high blood pressure.
One in three adults in the UK (16 million) has high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is the biggest known cause of premature death and disability in the UK due to the strokes, heart attacks and heart disease it causes. It is also a risk factor for kidney disease and dementia.
More than five million people don't know they have high blood pressure ‐ that's why it's called the silent killer.
Maintaining a healthy blood pressure is very important because the higher your blood pressure is the higher your chances of having health issues are. All of your body's important organs, such as your brain and heart, receive nutrients and oxygen through your blood flow. The beating of your heart is what pushes your blood through your blood vessels allowing it to flow through your body to all your important organs. Your blood vessels will adjust and become either more narrow or wide in order to maintain a healthy blood pressure.
It is important to control your hypertension for a number of reasons:
Left untreated, high blood pressure can increase your risk of developing a number of serious long-term health conditions.
Information from the British Heart Foundation indicates that high blood pressure significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. It can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack. Therefore, it's important you get your blood pressure checked regularly.
If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs, such as the brain, kidneys (including kidney scarring or kidney failure) and eyes.
Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a wide range of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:
If you have high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can help lower your risk of these health conditions.
It is firstly advisable to try and arrange an appointment at your own GP practice / medical centre.
Alternatively, the following services are also available within Hounslow:
Find your nearest Lloyds Pharmacy Blood pressure testing service