Blood Pressure

As your heart beats it pumps blood around your body to provide energy and oxygen. As your blood moves it pushes against the walls of your blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood pressure. Most of us have had our blood pressure taken at some point in our lives, but what do those 2 numbers mean? A healthy blood pressure reading is around 120/80, anything extremely above or below that can lead to hypertension. Here are a few tips to maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

• Exercise- exercising stimulates your body and causes blood vessels to open and reduce your blood pressure.
• Weight loss- as your weight increases so does your blood pressure, so losing even a few extra pounds can decrease your blood pressure.
• Eat healthy- eating healthier can lower your risk for high blood pressure or help to decrease your blood pressure.
• Cut the salt- excess salt intake can lead to high blood pressure.
• Cut smoking and drinking- to much alcohol consumption can increase your blood pressure. And nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict and increase your blood pressure.

It is important to maintain a healthy blood pressure because hypertension can cause a lot of damage to your body. Including aneurysms, heart attack, stroke, dementia, kidney failure, nerve damage, bone loss, and many more!

References:

• http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPressureandyou/Thebasics/Bloodpressure
• http://blood-pressure.emedtv.com/blood-pressure/what-is-a-good-blood-pressure-p2.html
• https://www.everydayhealth.com/hypertension/treating/if-your-reading-is-normal.aspx
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045868