Ever wonder what those two numbers in your blood pressure reading stand for? It’s interesting how doctors make such a big deal out of how high or low those numbers are, while we ourselves can’t make heads or tails out of it.
Actually, these numbers tell you how hard your blood is pushing against the walls of your arteries. Just as how water building up in a hose can damage it, your own blood can also damage your arteries and leave you more susceptible to strokes and cardiac arrest.
A blood pressure reading can look like this: 120/80 mmHg. The first number represents the systolic blood pressure, which is the pressure your blood exerts on your arteries when your heart beats. The second number represents the diastolic blood pressure, which is your blood pressure when your heart rests between beats.
120/80 is considered as normal blood pressure reading. Most people have this reading or a slightly lower reading. If a person has a blood pressure slightly higher than 120/80, he/she is considered as prehypertensive, and doctors start treatment at this stage to prevent the blood pressure from escalating.
Of the two numbers, it’s long been thought that a higher diastolic blood pressure (the second number) contributed to hypertension and its subsequent medical concerns. However, it’s been recently suggested that higher systolic blood pressures (the first number) also pose a measure of risk, particularly for individuals past the age of 50.
When an individual registers a blood pressure reading of 140/90 or higher in two different sessions, then he/she has hypertension. Left untreated, hypertension can lead to several other medical conditions.
To be able to bring those numbers down to 120/80, doctors may suggest extreme, life-changing practices, such as stop smoking and drinking, start a vigorous exercise regimen, or change diets completely.
When these individuals can’t maintain these life-changing practices (and more often than not, they can’t), their blood pressure gets back up and their hypertension returns. In other words, hypertension can make some very unpleasant changes in a person’s life.
But it can be avoided.
My hypertension program does not have any drastic practices, or vigorous exercises. In fact, you can incorporate the simple exercises into your daily life. Wouldn’t you want to be one of my customers who have cured their hypertension for good?
So now that you know the meaning of those numbers, it’s much more satisfying to see them go down to 120/80 and stay there.
Warm regards,
Christian Goodman