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Understanding
High Blood Pressure
The Basics
Every time your heart beats, it pumps blood through your arteries to carry oxygen to all parts of your body. When the force of the blood pushing against your artery walls is too strong, that’s high blood pressure. Because you can’t feel the blood pushing against the artery, the only way to know if the pressure is too high is to have it tested. It is a simple, painless process that only takes a couple of minutes.
Blood pressure readings consist of two numbers, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. When written, the numbers are separated by a slash (example: 120/80).
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When spoken, they are referred to as one number over the other (example: 120 over 80).
- Systolic pressure is the force against the artery wall when your heart beats and pushes blood into circulation.
- Diastolic pressure is the pressure against the artery wall when your heart rests between beats.
Blood pressure rises and falls many times throughout the day due to a variety of factors. Therefore, in order to get a true measure of what your blood pressure is, you have to test it several times on different days and take an average of the numbers.
Some people get so nervous when they are in a doctor’s office that their blood pressure rises automatically, which causes misleading measurements. This is referred to as “white coat hypertension”—a reference to the white lab coats many doctors wear. People can work around this problem by monitoring their own blood pressure on an ongoing basis. You can do this using the blood pressure testing machines available in many pharmacies, or you can purchase a device designed for use in the home.
If you choose to use a home monitor, you should be aware that different models have different features. Your pharmacist will be able to help you select one that meets your particular needs and will be able to answer any questions you have about how to use your monitor to ensure that you get accurate results.
Once you know what your blood pressure is, you can use this table to determine whether it is in the healthy range.
| Category |
Systolic Pressure |
Diastolic Pressure |
| Optimal |
below 120 |
below 80 |
| Normal |
below 130 |
below 85 |
| High Normal |
130 – 139 |
85 – 89 |
| Mild Hypertension |
140 – 159 |
90 – 99 |
| Moderate Hypertension |
160 – 179 |
100 – 109 |
| Severe Hypertension |
180 and above |
110 and above |
| Isolated Systolic Hypertension |
140 and above |
below 90 |
Who is likely to get high blood pressure?
There are certain risk factors that increase a person’s chances of developing high blood pressure. Some can be controlled; other’s can’t.
The risk factors you can control by making healthy lifestyle changes are:
- Obesity: If you are overweight, you require a larger volume of blood circulating through your body, which increases the pressure on your artery walls.
- Inactivity: Lack of regular exercise increases your risk of being overweight.
- Excessive alcohol consumption (more than three drinks a day): Experts are uncertain why it happens, but too much alcohol increases blood pressure.
- Tobacco use: Nicotine causes blood vessels to narrow, making it harder for blood to pass through. Other chemicals in tobacco damage the lining of artery walls, causing a build-up of fatty deposits that further narrows the passageway blood travels through.
- Salt intake: Some people are sensitive to sodium, the main component of table salt. Consuming salt makes them retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.
- Low potassium intake: Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in blood. If you don’t get enough potassium, your sodium levels can rise to an unhealthy level.
- Stress: High levels of stress can lead to a temporary but dramatic increase in blood pressure.
The risk factors that are beyond your control:
- Family history: High blood pressure tends to run in families.
- Race: People of African-Canadian heritage are at higher risk.
- Age: Your risk of getting high blood pressure increases as you get older. While blood pressure normally rises as we age, it increases faster in people who already have high blood pressure.
- Gender: High blood pressure is more common among men than women in people under 60. After age 60, the opposite is true, with women having the greater risk of developing high blood pressure.
Treating High Blood Pressure
The best strategy to prevent and control high blood pressure is to make healthy lifestyle changes such as:
- Eating well: Make careful food choices and include a variety of foods in your diet. There are several different diets that are considered especially heart-healthy, and your doctor or a dietitian can help you find one that suits your tastes and lifestyle.
- Maintaining a healthy weight: Even a 5 kg (11 lb.) weight loss can help lower blood pressure. One of the best ways to tell if your weight is in the healthy range is to determine your body mass index (BMI), which reflects the relationship of your weight to your height. While BMI is an important indicator, it has limitations. It applies only to people between the ages of 18 and 65 years of age and is not appropriate for very muscular people or for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding. You can check your BMI on a BMI
chart (which is available in many pharmacies and doctors’ offices), on the Internet, or by using a mathematical formula.
- Using metres and kilograms: Take your weight in kg and divide it by the square of your height in metres (BMI = kg/m2)
- Using inches and pounds: Take your weight in pounds and divide it by the square of your height in inches, and multiply that figure by 704.5 (BMI = lbs/in2 x 704.5))
- Exercising: Regular aerobic exercise seems to lower blood pressure for some people, even without weight loss.
- Butting out: The chemicals in tobacco harm the heart.
- Limiting alcohol and caffeine: Alcohol and caffeine can raise blood pressure.
- Managing stress: Learn stress management techniques.
For some people these lifestyle modifications will be enough to bring elevated blood pressure levels down, but others will need to take medicine in addition to leading a healthier lifestyle. There are a number of medications that lower blood pressure, and each has its advantages and drawbacks. Because they work in different ways within the body, you and your doctor may have to try several different medicines before you find the one that is right for you.
The major categories of blood pressure medicines are:
- Diuretics help the body eliminate sodium and water, which reduces your blood volume, thereby lowering your blood pressure.
- Beta blockers stop the effects of chemicals that cause the heart to beat too fast and forcefully.
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors relax blood vessels by blocking the formation of a chemical in the body that narrows blood vessels.
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers help relax blood vessels by blocking the action of a chemical in the body that narrows blood vessels.
- Calcium antagonists, also known as calcium channel blockers (CCBs), help relax the muscles of the blood vessels. A few calcium antagonists also slow heart rate. If you are taking one of these medications, avoid eating or drinking grapefruit products, as the grapefruit may interact with the medication and increase the risk of developing side effects.
Helping Yourself
Take preventative measures to keep your blood pressure under control. If you have high blood pressure, you need to find ways to lower it. Over time, excessive force on your artery walls can lead to serious damage to many of your body’s vital organs. The higher your blood pressure or the longer it goes uncontrolled, the greater the damage. By the time you experience symptoms, you may already have a serious problem.
If you have high blood pressure and your doctor prescribes medication, take it exactly as directed. And remember, medicines work with a healthy lifestyle; they are not a “magic bullet” that will fix the problem while you continue to maintain unhealthy habits.
If you have any questions about high blood pressure or the medications used to treat it, speak with your doctor or pharmacist.
The material in this pamphlet has been supplied by a professional medical writer. It is intended for information purposes only and should not be used in place of consultation with a health care professional. Axis Pharmacy is not responsible for errors, omissions, or inconsistencies with respect to the information contained in this pamphlet and does not accept any liability whatsoever for reliance by the reader on the information contained herein.
© Promo-Ad & Associates Inc., 2005
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