(ThyBlackMan.com) You hear so much about maintaining healthy blood pressure. Normal blood pressure means that your body is receiving oxygen and nutrients in balanced amounts. Here’s how you can read your blood pressure report to know what’s happening. But before we move on to that part, here’s are some facts that you need to know:
How to read a blood report?
Your blood pressure report will highlight two numbers – one at the top and one at the bottom. The top number indicates systolic pressure – the maximum pressure exerted by your heart while beating. The number at the bottom indicates diastolic pressure – the amount of pressure present in your arteries as your heart beats.
- Low blood pressure: Significantly lower than the normal blood pressure range.
- Normal blood pressure: < 120 (top) and < 80 (bottom)
- High blood pressure (Stage 1): 130-139 (top) and 80-89 (bottom)
- High blood pressure (Stage 2): 140-180 (top) and 90 or higher (bottom)
- High blood pressure (Stage 3): > 180 (top) and > 120 (bottom)
Here are some interesting facts about blood pressure:
#1. It is a well-known fact that high blood pressure is also related to family history. Numerous studies have shown that more than 40 percent of people in the non-Hispanic African American community, including both men and women, suffer from high blood pressure problems. It has also been found that high blood pressure develops early in life in African-Americans. Although there are theories related to diabetes, researchers also believe that it could be a gene that makes the African-Americans much more sensitive to salt.
#2. Researchers from Rigshospitalet, Denmark published a study report suggesting that the higher night-to-day blood pressure ratio is a strong predictor of potential cardiovascular diseases. According to the report, various mechanisms support the fact that higher blood pressure during nighttime could be an indication of cardiovascular events.
#3. Scientists from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore conducted a study and found that children and infants with vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of high blood pressure. The study was conducted on a group of 775 children including infants to 18 years old. When the data collected by the researchers were compared, children with low levels of vitamin D had a 60% higher risk of developing high blood pressure at the age between 6 and 18. Scientists believe that providing vitamin D supplements to women during pregnancy can help reduce the risk of elevated blood pressure in children later in life.
#4. Another shocking fact about blood pressure is that it can cause serious damage to your brain by impacting blood vessels. Scientific research published in the journal of the American Heart Association revealed that those who have been found to have high blood pressure for a long time are prone to small vessel damage disease which is also known to be linked with stroke and dementia. Researchers have also discovered that there is a lot of evidence that supports the possibility of severe damage to brain functioning due to high blood pressure over a long period of time.
#5. Low blood pressure or hypotension is found to be responsible for a large number of fractures and falls in the elderly group. According to health experts, many people experience lightheadedness when they stand up after sitting for a long time. In medical terms, when you stand up but feel inability in standing firm or feel like falling, it is because of orthostatic hypotension. Many people in their old age fall and fracture their bones when they stand in the morning or at night. The blood pressure failure leads to causing the blood to travel down in the lower body which triggers the heart to increase heart rate in order to supply sufficient blood supply to the brain. Those few seconds after the person gets out of the bed are critical.
#6. The researchers who conducted Framingham Heart Study have found that people who walk 10,000 steps per day recorded lower systolic blood pressure. The results were surprising as the recorded blood pressure was 2.25 points lower than those who walk 5,000 steps in a day. It clearly means that for every 1,000 steps taken by a person, the systolic blood pressure goes down by 0.45 points. The researchers conducted this study on more than 600 participants who wore Apple Watch for at least 5 hours daily. The results were published after a comprehensive study of 5 months.
#7. New evidence suggests that a vegan diet based on whole foods, plant-based food items with no meat, dairy, or eggs is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. The study also suggests that one can still consume small amounts of animal products, for example, meat or dairy products once in a week and can still cut the risk of heart disease by reducing blood pressure.
Staff Writer; Corey Shaw
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