Understanding Blood Pressure

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure refers to two different measurements: pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts, and pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes. These are called systolic and diastolic blood pressure respectively. When you’re looking at your blood pressure reading, the systolic is the top number and the diastolic is the bottom number.

What is considered healthy blood pressure?

Normal blood pressure is 120/80 or lower. A blood pressure reading of 130/80 is considered stage 1 high blood pressure. A reading of 140/90 or higher is considered stage 2 high blood pressure. Readings of 180/110 or higher should be addressed by seeking medical treatment right away.

Hypertension or high blood pressure aren’t diagnosed based on one reading because lots of things can cause blood pressure to temporarily elevate such as illness or anxiety, but if you start to have persistently elevated blood pressure, that’s when we diagnose. Having either your systolic or diastolic blood pressure elevated qualifies as high blood pressure.

What are some things that have an impact on our blood pressure?

Age, weight, family history, genetics and race can affect our likelihood of developing high blood pressure. Other things that can contribute in terms of lifestyle are diets that are high in salt, excess alcohol intake, and smoking. Sometimes there are causes for high blood pressure that aren’t related to lifestyle such as sleep apnea, kidney disorders or hormone disorders.

What is the treatment for high blood pressure?

Lifestyle does play a huge role in reducing blood pressure, just like it can elevate your blood pressure. Losing weight, reducing salt intake, avoiding drinking too much alcohol, quitting smoking and staying physically active (especially cardiovascular exercise) can all help. There are also several medications that can be used to treat high blood pressure.

What are the health risks of high blood pressure?

When high blood pressure goes untreated, there’s increased stress on the heart and the arteries, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke but can also cause organ damage. For this reason, some people will see vision changes or kidney damage from high blood pressure.

How often should we be checking our blood pressure?

At a minimum, see your primary care doctor yearly for blood pressure checks. However, if it’s running a little more elevated, they will bring you back more frequently to keep an eye on it and treat it if necessary.

To schedule an appointment, please call 636.928.WELL (9355).

Learn more about how you can live a more heart-healthy life: https://www.bjc.org/news/take-control-your-heart-disease-risk

Caitlin Rogers, DO is a primary care physician. She is part of BJC Medical Group of Missouri and sees patients at Progress West Hospital.