High Blood Pressure Awareness

Blood pressure is literally the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries as blood circulates through the body. There are two pressures from this blood circulation, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. In order to understand the concept better, think of a garden hose. Before you turn the water on the hose is somewhat soft and pliable. When you turn the water on full blast the hose becomes firm as the water rushes through. This is what the systolic pressure is like. It is the highest of the two pressure readings and occurs when the heart beats and squeezes blood into the arteries. The diastolic pressure is lower and occurs between heart beats when the heart is at rest. To continue the garden hose analogy, if you alternate turning the water on high and halfway over and over, you get an idea of what blood pressure is. When the water is turned on halfway and the hose is not as firm, that is what diastolic pressure is like.

OK, so why is high blood pressure (HBP) so important? There are plenty of reasons. Long-term HBP is a serious condition that can lead to:

• coronary heart disease
• heart failure
• stroke
• kidney failure
• other health problems.

Approximately 72 million Americans have HBP. That's about 1 out of every 3 adults. There are usually no symptoms. Many people only discover that they have HBP after it causes health problems, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, or kidney failure.
Risk factors include:

• Older Age - BP tends to rise as we age.
• Race/Ethnicity - African Americans tend to develop HBP more often than whites.
• Overweight or Obesity - According to the AHA, individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher are more likely to develop high blood pressure.
• Gender - HBP tends to occur earlier in men than women.
• Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits - Too much salt, too much alcohol, not enough physical activity, and smoking often contributes to HBP.
• Family History of HBP - Possible genetic predisposition to HBP.
• Long-Lasting Stress - Difficult to measure and tolerance varies from person to person.
• Having Prehypertension - blood pressure levels between 120-139/80-89.

The National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes for Health have created a program called "Go Local". The Go Local links on MedlinePlus health topic pages take you to information about health services in local geographic areas, including hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, support groups, health screening providers and many others. To find blood pressure screening and treatment resources go to Go Local - HBP and select the state and county or zip code you live in.