High Blood Pressure
High Blood pressure or hypertension increases your risk of a stroke or heart attack. It can also lead to developing kidney disease and dementia!
Simplified, it is the pressure of your blood in your arteries and shows the increased workload of your heart.
There are usually no symptoms with hypertension pressure and you may be unaware you have it.
The only way to find out is to carry out regular checks. A healthy blood pressure reading is 120 over 80. (120/80) The first number is called the systolic pressure which measures the pressure when your heart pumps the blood around your body. The lower reading is your diastolic reading and this is when your heart relaxes.
Whatever age you are, a reading of 140/90 is deemed to be high. If it is constantly above this level, it does need lowering.
What can you do to lower your blood pressure?
There are plenty of Kindle E-books on the subject but below is a short summary of what you need to do.
- Eat more fruit and veg. They contain the most significant source of potassium which helps lower it. Frozen and tinned are as good as fresh.
- Use less salt. Too much salt raises it and is not good for you. An adult should have no more than 6g per day but most of us have much more, especially with hidden salt in processed foods.
- Lower your consumption of alcohol to no more than 3/4 units for a man and 2/3 for a woman per week.
- Lose weight if you are overweight.
- Take more exercise. It is recommended to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week. You need to do something which makes you breathe faster and warms you up! Cardio.
- Check your numbers often using a reputable monitor.
