Understanding High Blood Pressure

bybuildyournow

605 followers

7 years ago

My Rude Awakening With High Blood Pressure

All my life, I’ve been surrounded by people, including relatives, friends and acquaintances and even strangers, who have been plagued with high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension. When I was just a little boy, I often heard my father telling my mom that his pressure was up and he needed to take care of it. Then it meant very little to me as I truly thought it was something that they had no control over. But as I became older, I understood more about high blood pressure and the impact it has on our everyday life.

After I had graduated from college in the 70’s, I started cigarette smoking…a bad habit, which to me was more a fashion statement a habit…thinking it was something cool to do as then it was very popular, especially seeing popular movie, television and magazine personalities in ads profiling with a Malboro or Camel cigarette in the corner of their mouths. Even some professional athletes advertised cigarette smoking. So I thought then it was really cool! I ignored the dangers of smoking but after a few years, I made the conscious decision to quit smoking. By now the world had become more knowledgeable about the hazard of smoking and the negative impact it had on our health.

In the 80’s, physical fitness emerged globally with more positive messages about maintaining our body in great physical condition through gym workouts, proper dieting and cardio activities. This had even more impact on me than cigarette smoking that I saw as a fad. It was in 1982, as I was headed to the beach to do my daily four miles jogging when I thought how ironic it was that I had a cigarette in my mouth at that very moment. Because this particular day was, in fact, my birthday, I made a promise from that very moment, to discontinue smoking for the rest of my life, as a personal birthday gift to me. I’m happy to say that I’ve kept that promised to this day, and was never challenged to break it!

In spite of all the exercising and jogging, there were some things that I failed to do yet…I never had regular medical check-ups or ate well balance meals. I ate what tasted good to me! Without being too modest, I thought that I looked and felt pretty good physically and felt immune to physical breakdown and ailments of any kind…I guess I felt like Superman! But, boy, did I have a rude awakening, as little did I know that this would one day be the kryptonite that would almost destroy me! I was headed on a collision course with high blood pressure.

A few years ago, I experienced day-long excruciating headaches that prompted me to take Aspirins and pain killers of any type to ease the throbbing pain in my head. My eyes, in the mornings, looked puffed and almost blood-shot. I endured this for about two weeks and was prompted to visit a doctor to diagnose the problem. After an extensive examination, the doctor shook his head and said that I was very lucky that I did not have a seizure of a stroke or heart attack, as my blood pressure was extremely high…200/101…commanding me to immediately be treated with prescribed medications to lower the pressure. I was shock to say the least! How could I possibly have this high blood pressure when I was in such great physical shape? Or so I thought! The only sense of relief I felt was the doctor’s comment about me being lucky that I had engaged in physical exercising that somewhat strengthened my body as otherwise the result could have been much worse.

I’m positive many of you, like me, have experienced symptoms of high blood pressure without sensing that you have a very serious problem which, if left untreated, could result in a stroke, heart attack or even death. Hence, my purpose for this message! I want to share some facts about high blood pressure known as the silent killer. High blood pressure gives absolutely no warning, or signs of its presence. It attacks like a ninja and before you can say Jack Rabbit, you’re down and out! Hopefully, this information that I’m sharing will sensitize you of the importance of learning a little more about this debilitating disease and to seek the necessary help and treatment before it’s too late.

What Is Blood Pressure?

In its simplest terms, blood pressure relates to the blood that is pumped throughout your body to give it its required oxygen. As the blood moves, it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels, and it’s this force that is known as blood pressure.

How Is Blood Pressure Read?

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHG), and is written in two numbers. For example, if your blood pressure reading is 120/80 mmHG, your blood pressure is 120/80. The top number is your stylistic blood pressure reading is the highest level your Blood pressure reaches during your heartbeat. The second or bottom number is your diastolic blood pressure and is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats. The higher your blood pressure, the higher is your risk of a stroke seizure, heart attack or even death.

Ideally, we should always strive to have our blood pressure below 120/80 which is the ideal blood pressure because at this level, you have a much lower risk of heart disease or stroke and you will be able to maintain this by following healthy living practices.

How Do You Monitor Your Blood Pressure?

We, too often become so comfortable with our lifestyles that we fail to do the proper checks and balances to ensure that our health is at its absolute best to prevent the onslaught of diseases and other life’s threatening conditions. Regular medical check-ups should be your priority, especially that high blood pressure gives no warning and can occur at any time.

Another method of testing your blood pressure is by use of Blood Pressure Monitors which can be purchased in most prescription drug stores; however you should be cautious to purchase a ‘Clinically Validated’ machine for best results.

Common Causes of High Blood Pressure

Our body communicates with us but we hardly react to the signs that are given. We are good at ignoring these signs and end up spending lots of money for medical treatment and expensive prescription drugs. Following are common causes of high blood pressure:

Headaches: We often have headaches and mildly brush it off without any concern. Sometimes it just goes away, or it may have required a cold towel to be placed on our foreheads or a drink of cold water before it subsides. After the headache goes away, we’re back to normal as usual. In fact, if the headache is recurring, we should seek medical attention as the cause could be resulting from high blood pressure.

Consumption of Excessive Salt: Many of us have the bad habit of consuming highly seasoned foods, so we find it necessary to add salt to satisfy our taste buds. Be warned, that adding salt to foods that already naturally contain salt, is a dangerous precedent and most certainly contributes to high blood pressure.

Drinking Too Much Alcohol: This without a doubt is unacceptable and contributes heavily to high blood pressure. Adults should drink no more than 12 to 14 units of alcohol per week as more than this will most certainly put you at risk of high blood pressure.

Poor Diet: We habitually consume foods that that taste good rather than foods that are good for us in order to promote good health. A proper diet of fresh vegetable and fruits is by far better than the tasty weekend pizzas, burgers and fries. We should eat as much fresh vegetables and fruits as much as possible daily.

Lack of Exercise: inactivity is a very common cause of high blood pressure as the body does not burn up the stored calories which eventually turn into fat causing overweight. This contributes to high blood pressure. We should be encouraged to engage in regular physical exercise program as much as possible.

Treatment of High Blood Pressure

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure some years back, my doctor prescribed medications for treatment, but regrettably, the side effects, which could affect each person differently, were intolerable. I oftentimes did not want to use them because of the side effects. Many times I wondered which was worse…the high blood pressure or the side effects!

Fortunately, about two years ago, I was introduced to Moringa leaves! I was told about the many benefits of this plant and the great impact it had on lowering blood pressure. I reluctantly used the Moringa leaves in various ways and I was truly amazed how quickly it helped me…and without any side effects! This was an awesome feeling of achievement as I never thought that I would ever be free of the side effects I experienced from the prescribed medications I’ve been taking all this time. The Moringa leaves, I’ve discovered has tons of additional benefits that promote good health. Ever since, I have been recommending Moringa leaves to every one whom I knew had a high blood pressure problem. And they have all given excellent verbal testimonies of its effectiveness. Having stated this, there are numerous prescribed medication that are recommended by doctors for high blood pressure, namely, ACE Inhibitors, Calcium Channel Blockers, Thiazide Diuretics, Beta Blockers and Renin Inhibitors, to name a few. But all these medications cause countless side uncomfortable effects.

In conclusion, I am fully aware of the dander experienced from having high blood pressure, and have had to also make some lifestyle changes along with treatment me of the high risks of the disease. This was not easy to accomplish but once you realize the importance of improving your health, you will make every effort to accomplish this. I am now free of high blood pressure and am hoping that you take my advice and follow suit to improve yours. In the end the feeling is absolutely amazing.