Posted on Saturday, 13th June 2009 by admin
Blood pressure is simply the pressure that your blood runs at within the arteries of your body. The pressure in the blood is what makes it circulate your body through your arteries, organs and veins. The pressure is generated by the pumping of the heart and resistance of the arteries. Systolic blood pressure represents the pressure displayed when your heart muscle contracts. Diastolic pressure represents the pressure displayed when your heart muscle relaxes.
The avrage reading of systolic blood pressure is anywhere between 90 and 120 mmHh. Normal diastolic blood pressure readings should fall between 60 and 80 mmHg. When taking a reading, the systolic pressure is placed over the diastolic pressure for a reading that looks like this: systolic/diastolic. Current guidelines indicate that normal blood pressure should fall between 120/80 to 140/90. 140/90 is used to consider someone a prehypertensive. People with high blood pressure suffer increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries, eye damage, stroke and heart attack.
When blood flow is too low to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your organs such as your hear, kidney and brain, this condition is referred to as low blood pressure or hypotension. When this happens, your organs are not able to function properly and permanent damage can be done. However, it is difficult to diagnose someone with this condition because someone who may have a 90/50 reading might not exhibit symptoms while someone else with a reading of 100/60 might exhibit extreme symptoms.
Managing low blood pressure is important. Raising your blood pressure is indeed easier than lowering it. If you think you suffer from low blood pressure, you should consult your doctor to get properly diagnosed and start treatment. Like high blood pressure, hypotension (low blood pressure) it can be deadly.
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