BLOOD
PRESSURE
MEASURE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
at
oatmeal with fruit for
breakfast. Check! Take
a -minute walk at
lunch. Check ! Ge t
eight hours of sleep.
Check! What’s an im-
portant item missing
from this list of healthy
habits? A blood pres-
sure check.
Getting
your pressure checked
on a regular basis is
crucial for one simple
reason: If it’s too high,
it can damage many
parts of your body—
including your heart
and bra in.
Read
through this Q&A to
learnmore about blood
pressure and the
measures you
can take to
stay healthy.
Know your numbers but not what they mean?
Visit www. shannonhealth.com/BloodPressureNumbers
{
How often do I need to get my
pressure checked?
}
According to the American Heart
Association, you need to have your
blood pressure measured at least once
every two years, starting at age .
at’s o en enough if your pressure is
within a healthy range. However, if your
readings are high, your doctor may want
to measure your pressure more o en.
Ditto if you’re at high risk for developing
hypertension. Some people also track
their blood pressure with a homemonitor.
{
What numbers should I aim for?
}
Most people should set their sights on
having a blood pressure measure of less than
/ mm Hg. e higher number (systolic)
tells you the force of blood when your heart
is beating, while the lower (diastolic) mea-
sures the pressure when your heart is at rest.
If you have a systolic number of
– or
a diastolic number of – , then you have
prehypertension. If those numbers go above
or and stay there, then you have high
blood pressure.
For people with diabetes or chronic kidney
disease,
/ is considered too high.
{
Why is high blood pressure so dangerous?
}
High blood pressure (also called hypertension) sneaks up on you quietly—
it rarely has any warning signs or symptoms. (Some people think if your pressure
is too high, you’ll feel nervous or you’ll sweat a lot. But that’s not true.)
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. When that
force is too strong, it can damage arteries. is raises your risk for serious health
problems such as heart attack, stroke, heart or kidney failure, and eye damage.
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S U M M E R 2 0 1 4
H E A L T H
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