What is blood pressure and what you need to know about it? Part 1
1 in 3 Americans has been diagnosed with high blood pressure. I spend a good amount of time with patients that have to deal with high blood pressure as part of their health concerns. It becomes part of our health goals get them to a normal and managed blood pressure so they can create vibrant health in their lives. I always start by explaining blood pressure is the amount of pressure found in our arteries. I think it is important to note that our blood pressure changes from minute to minute depending on what we are doing. If we are in a stressful situation mentally, emotionally or physically our blood pressure will rise. For example, if we are running into the doctor’s office because we are late our blood pressure will rise. If we are about to sit with our boss for a performance review our blood pressure will rise too. Our goal for our blood pressure is to remain in normal range most of the time through out the day.
Because our blood pressure changes so much a diagnosis of high blood pressure is given when a patient has a higher than normal blood pressure on 3 separate occasions. When our pressure is higher than normal most of day most days it create stress on our arteries that could cause them to leak or burst.
