Blood Pressure

UNDERSTANDING BLOOD PRESSURE

• Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing on your artery walls

• Pressure is highest during the heart beat• Pressure is lowest in-between beats

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS• Blood pressure• 120 - systolic 80 - diastolic

• SYSTOLIC – The pressure in your arteries when the blood is pumped

• DIASTOLIC - The pressure in your arteries in between beats

120/80 – Normal - Less than

120-139/80-89 – Pre-Hypertension

140-159/90-99 – Stage 1 Hypertension

160-or higher/100 or higher – Stage 2 Hypertension

What is Hypertension?

• High blood pressure makes the heart work harder to pump blood throughout the body and causes damage to the blood vessels. If high blood pressure is not treated, it can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, and vision problems.

Blood Vessels

Managing High Blood Pressure

• Eat Healthy – DASH Diet – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension – low in saturated fats, cholesterol and total fat

• Make small changes• Keep a food Diary• Read food Labels• Limit Alcohol- women one drink / men 2

drinks a day

Managing High Blood Pressure• Reduce Sodium (salt) – less than 1,500 mg a

day, don’t add salt to food, eat fewer processed and prepackaged food/frozen meals, buy low/reduced sodium

• Exercise – 30-60 min , strength train, choose activities you enjoy, recruit friends

• Change Lifestyle – Overweight lose 10 lbs, quit smoking, manage stress.

• Follow Through – see doctor, take meds if needed, learn about high blood pressure