What exactly is high blood pressure and why isn’t there global agreement among the medical industry of for the best treatment? Learn more about the dangers of high blood pressure and commonly prescribed medications for hypertension in part 1 of our blood pressure report.
Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of the arteries each time your heart beats. Your blood pressure is highest each time the heart beats, pumping blood into the arteries. This is called systolic pressure, and is the high number in your reading. The diastolic pressure measures the pressure in between beats, when your heart is at rest. Your blood pressure is lowest while sleeping and although it varies some during the day, it remains close to the same. Normal blood pressure is 120/80. If your systolic pressure rises to 140 or above, or if your diastolic pressure rises to 90 or above, this is considered high blood pressure..
According to the American Heart Association, an estimated one in three U.S. adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, and an alarming one-third of those don’t even know they have it. It’s no wonder this...