Aging and Disease

If you have high blood pressure or if you have just been diagnosed with hypertension, it is very important that you keep track of your blood pressure. Hypertension is called the silent killer, because people can have high blood pressure without showing most of the symptoms.

In order to monitor your blood pressure at home, you will need to purchase a blood pressure monitor for home use. They range in price from $40 to about $130, depending whether it is a simple manual model or a more advanced model with automatic pump. If you live by yourself, a fully automatic model is probably a better choice. The manual blood pressure monitors can be hard to pump up.

What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure that is exerted on the interior of the blood vessels (arteries) as blood flows through them. Blood pressure is measured as two numbers: when your heart contracts (beats), it pumps a large volume of blood through your blood vessels and the pressure increases: this is called the “diastolic pressure”. When your heart relaxes between beats, the blood pressure goes down: this is called the “systolic pressure”.

Traditionally, blood pressure is measured as millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), since the classical blood pressure meters contain a column of mercury and blood pressure was defined as how many millimeters the column of mercury was going up or down. The diastolic and systolic numbers provide very important information about your health: the numbers will be higher if it is more difficult for the blood to flow through your blood vessels. Blood pressure that is considered “normal” falls within a certain range: 120/80. You are considered to be hypertensive when your systolic pressure is above 140 and your diastolic pressure is above 90.

How to measure your own blood pressure?
To accurately keep track of your blood pressure, it is important that you measure your blood pressure daily and perhaps a few times each day. Do not measure it within two hours of eating and remember that your blood pressure will be higher when you are upset or have just finished exercising. Follow these simple steps to accurately measure your own blood pressure (and watch the video below):

1. Make sure you are calm
2. Place the cough over the left arm (and follow manufacturer’s directions): there should be a mark or arrow to indicate in which direction you should place the cough on your arm
3. Have your arm resting on a flat surface (a table for example), with the palm of the hand facing upward (relaxed)
4. Ask someone to pump up the cough for you or use a model with an automatic pump: for most models, you should pump it up at least 20 points above what you think the systolic pressure is, but don’t go too far above 200
5. The cough releases the air slowly and the monitor will start measuring
6. You will see an error message if you did not inflate the cough enough or if the sensors in the cough fail to detect a heart beat

To compare your blood pressure monitor reading to your doctor’s reading, take the monitor with you next time you see your doctor. Blood pressure monitors are calibrated before they leave the factory, but to make sure your monitor’s readings are accurate, you can also measure a family member or friend’s blood pressure for verification.

There are a number of ways by which you can control your high blood pressure. Your doctor may prescribe a medication that will lower your blood pressure. You can also follow a low-fat, low-salt diet. Exercising regularly can also lower blood pressure. If your blood pressure is slightly elevated, you may consider a blood pressure supplement. Always talk to your doctor before adding supplements or herbs to your diet as to prevent any herb-drug interactions.

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