High Blood Pressure
Your heart is the hardest working muscle in your body. No bigger than a fist, this powerful pump circulates blood throughout your entire body, providing the oxygen and nutrients you need to live. Unlike most pumps, however, this pump never stops as long as you’re alive. In fact, the average human heart works at a rate of 100,000 beats a day, or an incredible 2.5 billion beats over a lifetime of 70 years!
Every time your heart beats, it pumps blood through arteries, exerting pressure (or force) on the inside of your blood vessels. This is called blood pressure. To understand this, think of a water pump and hose. When you turn the pump on, it pushes water into the hose, creating pressure against the inner walls of the hose and causing the water to flow. Now, if you interrupt the flow of water — for example, by putting a bend in the hose — you create a blockage that stops up the water. The water will build up behind the blockage, exerting more pressure and pushing out the walls of the hose. If you keep the hose bent, eventually either the hose will burst or the pump will shut down. If you get rid of the blockage, water will once again flow smoothly through the hose.
You can think of high blood pressure, or hypertension, in the same way. It is a condition in which the pressure of the blood inside the arteries is too high. If the condition is left untreated, it will cause damage to the arteries and put strain on the heart. You can develop serious complications of high blood pressure, including stroke, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, and eyesight problems or even blindness. Developing these and other related illnesses can lead to a life of considerable suffering or premature death.
Research shows that more than 50 million Americans over the age of 6 have high blood pressure. Roughly 1 in every 4 American adults has the disorder. In 1999 alone, high blood pressure contributed to the deaths of more than 227,000 Americans. This number is expected to rise in the years ahead.
Sadly, millions of Americans are walking around with high blood pressure and don’t even know it. It seems that most people find out they have the disorder only when their doctors bring it to their attention during an office visit. This is due to the fact that there are no clear-cut symptoms for high blood pressure — which is part of the reason it has become known as “the silent killer.”
One basic marker that people can use to keep tabs on their blood pressure is their age. As people grow older, their chance of developing the condition becomes greater. Health experts have determined that roughly 54% of people over 60 have high blood pressure and that two out of three Americans will have it by the age of 70. For this simple fact alone, it is important for people to become more aware of their blood pressure, have it measured periodically, and learn healthy ways to prevent or control this potentially deadly condition.
High blood pressure does not affect all people in the same way. African Americans and older people are particularly hard hit by the disorder. Those with lower incomes and lower educational backgrounds also tend to be at greater risk for developing high blood pressure. In addition, research studies have shown that people living in the southeastern United States have average blood pressure levels that are higher than Americans living in other parts of the country. The exact reasons for this still remain unclear.
What is clear is that people can take many actions to reduce their chances of developing high blood pressure. This involves having blood pressure checked regularly, since high blood pressure is simple to detect, and making changes in lifestyle, such as increasing physical activity, reducing the amount of salt consumed, and committing to a lifetime of healthier eating.
For those suffering from high blood pressure, medical science and modern research since the 1940s and 1950s have come a long way in understanding and treating this silent condition. Many medications have been developed and proven effective in helping to get blood pressure levels under control, to limit or avoid further complications, and to prolong life.
Ongoing research and technological advances also have enabled doctors to better adjust treatment plans to the individual, since medical remedies do not necessarily work for everyone in the same way.
Medical advances and greater public awareness about high blood pressure are critical for saving the lives of millions of Americans in the future. What may be more important, however, is to realize that there are a number of healthy, natural ways that people can prevent their blood pressure from getting out of control in the first place.
Retired from Teaching But Not from Learning about Her Health
Some people with high blood pressure ignore the problem or think it can’t hurt them.
Not Marge Prioleau.
“High blood pressure can lead to stroke and having problems with the heart. There are so many things that can come from high blood pressure.”
Prioleau is a retired school teacher who lives in Beaufort, South Carolina. She found out that she had high blood pressure about 14 years ago.
“I started to feel dizzy and went to the school’s nurse. She took my blood pressure and said it was high.”
Following health advice is easier said than done, but somehow Prioleau manages to do it. She keeps her blood pressure under control by getting exercise, eating healthy foods, and taking blood pressure medications.
Her main exercise is walking around a quarter-mile running track at a nearby school. She gets up early to beat the heat, which in South Carolina can sap even the most determined person’s willpower to exercise. She does 16 to 20 laps, which equals four to five miles.
She makes sure her shoes are comfortable. Unlike many people who run and walk for their health, she doesn’t wear a Walkman.
“I like to take time to take an inventory of myself,” says Prioleau. “It gives me time to think.”
She has banned fried food from her diet except for fish and a special treat of fried chicken on New Year’s. She makes juice from carrots and apples and drinks a lot of water.
And does Prioleau eat grits, the porridge-like dish made from corn that Southerners crave? “Of course,” she says laughing, “but I don’t eat them with salt.”
Like many people with high blood pressure, Prioleau can’t keep it under control with diet alone. She was originally prescribed Lotrel, a calcium-channel blocker, but her blood pressure started going up again. Now she takes Norvasc, a calcium-channel blocker; Cozaar, an angiotensin II receptor blocker; and a diuretic.
Prioleau says her doctor. Dr. William Bestermann, deserves part of the credit for her outlook. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say Dr. Besterman is a 10. He promotes a healthy way of life.”
Many of us take our health for granted. We just go along assuming we’ll stay well or that doctors will be able to treat us if anything goes wrong. Prioleau sees her health as something she has to work for.
“I am the sort of person who if there is something that is going to help me have a better way of life, then I am going to try to do it.”
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