Blood pressure - high and low blood pressure

The cardiovascular vessels may be compared with a central heating system in which a volume of water is is forced through a network of pipes by a pump in a closed circuit, over and over again. Our heart and circulatory system operate in the same way.

Blood pressure is recorded by two readings on a sphygmomanometer with the aid of a traditional inflatable cuff.
The top pressure is known as the systolic, the bottom as the diastolic.
The systolic pressure occurs when the heart relaxes and the volume of blood is at it's lowest. A practitioner interprets the pressure of blood against the wall of the brachial artery in terms of millimetres.

In a healthy young person or middle aged adult, the average systolic pressure is 120 with a diastolic of 80. They are recorded as 120/80.
The diastolic pressure (lower figure) represent pressure to which the arterial walls are subject and is the more important figure.
A blood pressure reading of 140/90 requires investigation while one of 160/95 is considered high blood pressure / hypertension and requires treatment.

The average pressure at aged 50 is around 135/80, and over 65 is 165/85. Hypertension is defined as a raised pressure reading on three consecutive occasions.

The highest pressure peak is reached in the evenings after a day's work and the lowest is at night. Pressure may rise with stress when the heart responds by beating faster, or it may fall with physical or mental exhaustion when the heart slows down.
Persistent high or low blood pressure readings may be associated with other conditions which may require their own specific treatments such as anaemia in low blood pressure and kidney disease or arteriosclerosis in hypertension.

High Blood Pressure :

Hypertension / high blood pressure is a major cause of heart disease and deaths from heart disease is the UK's biggest killer.

Some causes of high blood pressure :

• a diet high in salt intake
• increased blood thickness
• kidney disorders
• loss of elasticity in the arteries by hardening of calcification
• prolonged periods of stress
  Many cases of hypertension are related to lifestyle - how people act, think and take care of themselves. When a person is under constant stress, the BP goes up and bad habits such as excessive drinking to calm down follow.
• high fat diet and lack of exercise
• excessive alcohol consumption
• genetic predisposition such as a hyperactive thyroid gland or adrenals
• heart disorder
• food allergies
  By taking your pulse after eating certain foods you can see if the food item raises your pulse. If so, the foods should be avoided.
• excessive intake of caffeine as found in coffee, tea, soft drinks etc.

Some high blood pressure symptoms :

• morning headaches (back of the head)
• possible heart palpitations
• visual disturbances
• dizziness
• angina-like pains
• nose bleeds
• ringing in the ears
• fatigue
• breathlessness (possible sign of left ventricular failure)

In countries where salt intake is restricted, a rise in blood pressure with age is rarely seen.
Everyone knows that in most cases, blood pressure lowers when weight is lost and that fluid retention is a major contributor to hypertension. This is why the first action that doctors take in treating this ailment is prescribing diuretics (water loss tablets) as these help to eliminate extra fluid in the body and this in turn will hopefully reduce the blood pressure.

The long term use of diuretics for helping to lower blood pressure can cause their own set of problems:

• The reason being is that these drugs deplete the body of potassium, magnesium, zinc etc.
• They also overtax the kidneys and could cause permanent damage in long term use.

Therefore, try to reduce your blood pressure the natural way by improving your diet, losing excess weight and increasing activity levels.

Low Blood Pressure / Hypotension :

This is the term used for insufficient blood pressure to propel contents of the circulatory vessels throughout the body. Persistent low blood pressure is usually the result of of blood loss following an accident, infection, anaemic disorder or shock from a heart attack. The blood vessels of people with this condition are usually very relaxed and possibly flabby or stretched. Few nutrients or little oxygen can reach body tissues from vessels. Low B.P. is is often accompanied by hypoglycaemia, hypothyroidism or anemia as mentioned above.
Blood pressure is naturally low during sleep.

HIGH AND LOW BLOOD PRESSURE SUMMARY Eat a clean diet, devoid of food additives, colours and chemicals Lose any excess weight as this adds pressure on your heart and affects high blood pressure Stop smoking Reduce alcohol intake Stop or reduce added salt to food Increase mineral water / fluid intake Increase activity / exercise levels BENEFICIAL INGREDIENTS For High Blood Pressure: Herbals with a mild diuretic effect include e.g. dandelion leaf, celery seed, uva ursi, alfalfa Various Essential Oils EFA's Garlic Choline & Inositol Vitamin B6 Vitamin C A good tonic with added iron and vitamin C would be helpful for low blood pressure.

Page keywords : Hypertension, Hypotension, Low and High Blood Pressure.