Blood pressure is reported using two numerical values that represent the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. The top numerical value is referred to as your systolic value, which is the pressure that is created when your heart is pumping blood to your body. The bottom numerical value is referred to as your diastolic value which is the pressure when your heart is relaxing between beats. These values are categorized into numerical ranges indicating a component of your heart health.
Categories
There are four general categories of blood pressure related health as reported by the journal "Circulation." High blood pressure is represented by three of the four and are categorized into different severities of health risk. Normal blood pressure is represented by a reading of 120/80 and lower; pre-hypertension is a range of 120/80 to 139/89; type I is a range of 140/90 to 159/99; and type II is any value above 160/100. As your blood pressure increases from normal to type II, your risk for negative coronary events increases as well.
Manage
Once you reach the point of hypertension you can't heal yourself from it for good. A better and more practical approach at that point is to manage your blood pressure and do things to help minimize the chances of it increasing further. Outside of anti-hypertensive therapy there are lifestyle modifications that you can do to help minimize the effects of hypertension as well as slightly lower its value as well. These are necessary actions that should be adopted for the rest of your lifetime so that your blood pressure remains in the normal range.
Modifications
Lifestyle modifications that have been researched and shown to be effective in lowering blood pressure has been reported in the journal "Circulation" in 2007. In this publication, they report that reducing body weight, decreasing salt intake, engaging in regular physical exercise, cessation of smoking, decreased alcohol consumption, and increase in fat-free mass can all potentially assist in minimizing your risk for developing hypertension as well as managing it if you have it.
Risk
If you do not manage your high blood pressure consistently for your lifespan you predispose yourself to an increased risk for conditions such as: coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, and ischemic heart disease. The research has shown that if you can effectively manage and or reduce your blood pressure for an extended period of time that you can reduce your risk for heart attack up to 20-25 percent; stroke 35-40 percent; and heart failure greater than 50 percent as shown in the journal "Hypertension."
Combination
A mixture of lifestyle modifications and anti-hypertensive medications gives you the best chance of keeping your blood pressure in the normal range. Although these have been shown to be mostly effective, your genetics have an effect on your likelihood of developing high blood pressure as well. Therefore, it is still possible to have above normal blood pressure despite practicing heart healthy behaviors, and in this instance it is best to keep under close supervision of your healthcare provider for quarterly checkups.
