Battling High Blood Pressure

We often hear about high blood pressure. But what is it and what harm can it do to you? Read on to know the answer.

Blood flows to different parts of our body along arteries and veins that can be likened to tubular structures of varying diameters. The heart acts like a pump and pushes blood along arteries and the blood returns to the heart along the veins, thus completing the circulatory system of the body. Large arteries branch out into a network of about 100,000 tiny arteries, called arterioles. It's hard for the heart to squeeze blood into these miniature vessels. When there's a large amount of blood, and when the arterioles are constricted, blood pressure rises.

A doctor uses an inflatable arm cuff to measure how hard the blood is pushing on the walls of your vessels. Let's say your blood pressure is found to be 110/70. The higher number indicates the pressure of your blood when your heart contracts (beats) and squeezes blood forcefully through the vessels. The lower number is the pressure your blood exerts between beats, when the heart rests.

The numbers measure the distance a column of mercury rises due to the pressure of your blood. The number of 110 means the mercury rose 110 millimeters, or 11 centimetres. Blood pressure up to 120/80 is considered normal. High blood pressure starts at 140/90.

What is the worst that can happen if blood constantly presses too hard against vessel walls? Severe kidney damage or heart attacks, because high blood pressure damages artery walls and makes them clog with cholesterol faster; strokes, from blocked or haemorrhaging arteries; or aneurysms, in which blood vessels balloon and burst.

Here are some proven methods of reducing the risk of high blood pressure, or lowering it if it's elevated:

• Lose weight if you are too heavy. Carrying extra weight makes your body produce more blood and your heart work harder, which can raise blood pressure. Fat around the waistline is the worst, raising your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
• Get moving. Blood pressure falls rapidly after vigorous exercise like brisk walking, swimming or biking. While you exercise, your blood vessels widen to let more blood through to oxygen‑hungry muscles. Afterward, vessels stay stretched for some time, as the heart rate slows to normal. The combination of a normal rate with wider vessels lowers blood pressure. Over time, blood pressure may stay tamed all day.
• Keep track of what you eat. Eat less fat and less salt, which raise blood pressure in many people. Also, studies show healthy drops in blood pressure in people who ate at least 10 small servings of fruits and vegetables a day, along with some low‑fat dairy products.