Understanding The Basics: Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, strokes, aortic aneurysms and many others. When your cardiologist or primary care doctor checks your blood pressure, they compare it with the normal range set by the guidelines published by the American Heart Association. The guidelines state that anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 is considered to have hypertension or high blood pressure. That does not always mean that you need to start taking medications.
Changing your lifestyle is always the first step in treatment. Helpful lifestyle changes include exercise, reducing salt intake and quitting smoking. We encourage you to take charge of your heart health and work with your primary care doctor or cardiologist to manage your blood pressure.
Three Things You Can Do About Your Blood Pressure
- Know what your blood pressure is. Schedule a visit with your primary care doctor to talk about your blood pressure. Be sure to ask how often it should be measured and if it is in a normal range.
- Watch what you eat. Diet can impact your blood pressure in many ways.
- Exercise. Even an increase in steps can be a way to improve your heart health.
Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure:
- age
- genetics
- being overweight or obese
- not being physically active
- high-salt diet
- drinking too much alcohol
