Preventing High Blood Pressure

written by runnergirl training 

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a silent killer. There are no symptoms of having high blood pressure. However, it is a very dangerous condition and if it goes uncontrolled it can be fatal.

 High blood pressure means the force of the blood pushing through the blood vessels is too high. If it is not controlled through medication or lifestyle factors it can lead to a stroke, heart attack or death. There is no cure for high blood pressure but it can be controlled.

What is a normal or high blood pressure?

Blood Pressure	Systolic (top #)	Diastolic (bottom #)
Normal	< 120	< 80
PreHypertension	120-139	80-89
Hypertension Stage 1	140-159	90-99
Hypertension Stage 2	160+	100+
Hypertensive Crisis Emergency	180+	110+

Since there are no symptoms for high blood pressure it is important to have regular screenings. Even some grocery stores and pharmacies now have an automatic blood pressure cuff for convenient screening.

What can prevent high blood pressure?

Be active & exercise most days of the week

Keep a healthy body weight

Eat a low salt diet

Limit alcohol intake

What are risk factors for developing hypertension?

Smoking

Sedentary lifestyle

Genetics/family history

Overweight or obese

Too much salt intake

Too little potassium intake

Race
Age

Some of these risk factors for high blood pressure can’t be changed (like family history, age or race). Talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about creating healthy lifestyle habits to prevent developing hypertension. It is easy to swap out some high salt foods for lower sodium options. Decide to become more active and take a walk around the block each day. Small changes really do add up to make a big difference when preventing high blood pressure.