Ever wonder what those two numbers in your blood pressure reading stand for? It’s interesting how doctors make such a big deal out of how high or low those numbers are, while we ourselves can’t make heads nor tails out of it.
Actually, these numbers tell you how hard your blood is pushing against the walls of your arteries. Just as how water building up in a hose can damage it, your own blood can also damage your arteries and leave you more susceptible to strokes and cardiac arrest.
A blood pressure reading can look like this: 120/80 mmHg. The first number represents the systolic blood pressure, which is the pressure your blood exerts on your arteries when your heart beats. The second number represents the diastolic blood pressure, which is your blood pressure when your heart rests between beats.
A blood pressure reading of 120/80 is considered normal. Most individuals have this blood pressure or slightly lower. Individuals with blood pressures slightly higher than 120/80 are considered prehypertensive, and doctors often start treating them to keep their blood pressures from escalating.
Of the two numbers, it’s long been thought that a higher diastolic blood pressure (the second number) contributed to hypertension and its subsequent medical concerns. However, it’s been recently suggested that higher systolic blood pressures (the first number) also pose a measure of risk, particularly for individuals past the age of 50.
When an individual registers a blood pressure reading of 140/90 or higher in two different sessions, then he/she has hypertension. Left untreated, hypertension can lead to several other medical conditions.
When it comes to bringing those numbers down to 120/80, doctors often suggest drastic, life-changing practices to their patients. They may ask individuals to stop smoking or drinking, to get into vigorous exercise regimens, or to change their diets entirely.
When these individuals can’t keep up with the doctor’s order (and they usually can’t), they lose any blood pressure drop and they get back into hypertension. In other words, hypertension can bring some very unsavory changes to a person’s life.
But it doesn’t have to.
My Hypertension Program doesn’t entail any life-changing practices. In fact, most of its exercises are something you can do while you go on about your day. Wouldn’t you like to be one of the hundreds of my customers to normalize their blood pressures for good?
And now that you know what those numbers stand for, it’s much more satisfying to watch them go down to the 120/80 levels and stay there.
Warm regards,
Christian Goodman