High Blood Pressure

Transcript

So your mom has got it. Your grandma’s got it. Maybe you even have it, but what exactly is high blood pressure? Now, blood pressure is the pressure in your circuitry system or arteries. And it’s measured by a cuff in your arm. The blood pressure reading has two components, a top number, which is the systolic and a bottom number, which is the diastolic. The top number represents when the heart beats, the bottom number represents when the heart relaxes. So what is normal blood pressure? Normal blood pressure is usually around one hundreds to one twenties over sixties to seventies. So what is high blood pressure? High blood pressure is typically defined at greater than 130 over 80 on two separate readings on two different occasions. Why is high blood pressure bad for you? Think of your body as a plumbing system with blood running through it. Now imagine if your house’s plumbing system had high pressure in it, it would start to destroy the pipes, right? It would start causing leaks and start destroying all the faucets and valves connected to it. Well, that’s exactly what’s going on in your body. That high blood pressure is slowly destroying your arteries, your heart, your kidneys, and your brain because of the pressure put on them.