Ever visit your GP surgery and either the doctor or nurse asks you about your blood pressure? Perhaps you’re thinking ‘How is this related to my toe?’; the reason why you might have booked your appointment in the first place.
Whatever your reason for visiting your GP, it is also a good opportunity to have your blood pressure checked, as a normal healthy blood pressure reduces the risk of developing heart attacks, strokes and many other conditions in the future.
Your blood pressure, measured above your elbow, is a measure of the pressure flowing in your arteries (big blood vessels carrying blood away from your heart). A blood pressure reading consists of two numbers – a systolic blood pressure - pressure of blood flowing in the arteries when the heart contracts and the diastolic blood pressure – pressure of blood in the arteries when the heart relaxes.
The target for a healthy blood pressure is under 140/90mmHg (if you are diabetic the target is slightly lower at 130/80mmHg). Our blood pressure varies throughout the day depending on your activity. It is not a set number like a weight. If you have a blood pressure machine at home, your GP may ask you to jot down a few readings over a few days to calculate your average blood pressure. They will advise you on how to do this.
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. High blood pressure is not diagnosed based on one reading but a few readings over a period of time (above 140/900mmHg). High blood pressure indicates some sort of stress on the body such as:
These sorts of stresses “stiffen up” the normally healthy elastic arteries so blood flows at higher pressures
Usually there are no symptoms of high blood pressure – another good reason why it is good to check your blood pressure now and again at home or at your GP surgery. Only at very high blood pressures, symptoms can develop:
A persistently high blood pressure over time increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, bleeds in the eye, reduced kidney function, dementia and problems with the blood vessels in the legs. These conditions not only affect our daily function day to day – our ability to feel energetic, to work and fulfil our roles and responsibilities, but they also mean lifelong medications each day. This is why monitoring about our blood pressure is so important.
These tips will also help those who are already on medication for their blood pressure. It may be best to have a read of all of these and focus on one that seems the most achievable first.
Being of a heavier weight is stressful on the blood pressure and flow within the arteries. The BMI can be used as a guide to see how much weight you would have to lose if you are overweight. You can calculate your BMI by using a simple online BMI Calculator.
This is perhaps one of the most challenging areas to overcome. We know that lung health is really important especially in the context of the pandemic, but equally often smoking is used to relieve stress as well. Smoking not only hardens the arteries but also causes up a build of cholesterol which contributes to high blood pressures and also blockages leading to heart attacks and strokes. A reduction in smoking with a view to quitting also reduces our risk of various cancers including mouth, throat, lung and bladder cancer. There are lots of free resources and support available to you if you are looking to quit.
Drinking above the weekly amount (both 14units for men and women) can increase our risk of high blood pressure. Alcohol causes the release of proteins (called endothelins) from the blood vessels which cause the arteries to narrow. When the blood vessels narrow, blood flows at a higher more pressurized speed. It is good to calculate how much alcohol we are drinking as this is a hidden source of calories and a simple unit calculator can be found by clicking here. If weight loss is your main goal, calories from alcohol will need to be taken into account. Adding alcohol-free days into your routine is also recommended.
This one is slightly trickier as we don’t really know how much salt we have each day.
The maximum amount of salt adults should be having each day is 6 grams or 1 teaspoon. Having more salt in the diet causes our body to retain fluid in an effort to dilute the salt. This causes an increase in circulating volume of fluid making the heart work harder leading to an increased in blood pressure. Processed foods such as ready made sauces, ready meals, frozen foods and bread all have salt – and these foods are not particularly salty either. Being mindful of how much we each eat rather than cut everything out of our diet is a small but important step to reduce blood pressure and improve health overall. To see how much you and your family should be consuming click here to see a full breakdown.
Useful ways to cut down on salt include:
Dedicated time to move each day challenges our bodies in so many ways and has a natural lowering effect on blood pressure over time. Exercise minimises cholesterol in the blood which causes stiffening of the arteries (be mindful of alcohol, smoking and processed foods as this increases cholesterol build up leading to higher blood pressures). Recommended time spent includes 150 minutes of moderate activity each week such as walking, cycling or aqua aerobics. However, if you want to go a step further 75 minutes weekly of vigorous activity of skipping, swimming, or jogging. More details on exercise ideas can be found by clicking here.
If you notice that your home blood pressure reading is high, please contact your GP surgery.
It is important if you have any new symptoms, you should seek advice from your local pharmacy or GP surgery. Generally, any gentle changes to your lifestyle are safe but I would encourage you to seek support from your GP so they can support you over time.
Want to keep learning? Find more articles from Dr Serena Rakha:
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