High Blood Pressure – What is it, and How do we Check it?

Something that is a huge health concern for many people in the UK and around the world is high blood pressure (known in the medical world as hypertension). There have been many studies done to look into this and to tackle this issue which seems to be becoming more common. There are lots of medicines and treatments available for people with high blood pressure, as well as research being done to look for new and improved ways to treat it, such as these adaptive phase 1 studies, but a huge part of dealing with high blood pressure is to help people to prevent it in the first place.

What is High Blood Pressure?

Each time your heart beats, it is pumping blood all around your body – when you run or exert yourself, you feel it do this more quickly as blood is needed to move around much more quickly. As blood moves around the body, it pushes against the walls of the blood vessels. The strength of this is what is known as blood pressure.

Depending on your age and weight you will have a range of blood pressure that is ideal for you, anything outside of this range could be dangerous.

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How do we Measure Blood Pressure?

A machine that is known as a sphygmomanometer (most people simply call it a blood pressure monitor as it is quite a mouthful!) is used to get a measure of your blood pressure. It consists of three main parts, a stethoscope, a cuff that inflates with air and a pressure meter. It will then give a reading of two numbers, for example 92/64mmHg – these are known as systolic blood pressure, which is the first number, and the highest level that your blood pressure reaches as the heart beats, and the diastolic number, which is the lowest pressure that it reaches which is measured when your heart is relaxing in between beats.

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Are there other Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

Although using a blood pressure monitor is the best way by far to check your blood pressure, you may have an idea that you have high blood pressure if you experience other symptoms (however, do not rely on this as often people are completely unaware that they have high blood pressure). Things that could mean you need to get your blood pressure checked include feeling under the weather, regular headaches, and bloodshot eyes.

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