Other risks include stroke, diabetes, lung failure, kidney failure, glaucoma, and the list goes on and on. However, the good news is that your general practitioner can easily detect this condition, as well as high cholesterol, in a routine check up and the effects can be reversed through diet, lifestyle changes and medication.
You should be tested for hypertension every two years. An inflatable arm cuff will measure the blood flow through your bicep and painlessly report the status of your arteries and heart activity. The first number the doctor reads indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats, also known as systolic pressure.
This number should be below 120, ideally 115. The second number your doctor reads measures the pressure in your arteries between beats, which is also known as diastolic pressure. This number should be less than 80, ideally 75. Anything higher puts you at risk for congestive heart failure, strokes, kidney disease or some other ailment.
What are the dangers of high blood pressure, you may ask? If left unchecked over a long period of time, hypertension will inevitably take its toll on your internal organs. Blocked or ruptured blood vessels leading to the brain can cause a stroke and weakened or narrowed blood vessels can cause kidney failure.
Some people develop glaucoma from narrowed or torn blood vessels leading to the eyes, while others develop a thickened heart muscle from too much exertion, resulting in heart failure. Atherosclerosis or aneurysms happen when the arteries sustain damage and diabetes or heart disease are the result of metabolic failure.
The good news is that, unlike cancer or other conditions, simply changing one's lifestyle can go a long way for the person with high blood pressure.
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