Facts on High Blood Pressure

One day, at age 32, I was getting dizzy, headaches, tired.  I didn't know what was exactly going on, so I decided to visit my doctor.  Upon taking my vitals, I found out my blood pressure was 153/92.  Wow, that was a huge surprise.  Me? At age 32 with high blood pressure?

Little did I know that 1 in 3 people are said to have high blood pressure, and most of these people don't even know that they have it.  That is why high blood pressure is known as the "silent killer".  You can have it for years without anytype of symptoms and not even know you have it.

The American Heart Association defines high blood pressure as a systolic pressure greater or equal to 140mmHg or a diastolic pressure greater or equal to 90mmHg. Below is a list of the levels the AHA uses for high blood pressure:

Normal: A systolic pressure less than 120mmHg and a diastolic pressure of less than 80mmHg.

Prehypertensive: A systolic pressure of 120-139mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80-89mmHg.

Stage 1: A systolic pressure of 140-159mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 90-99mmHg.

Stage 2: A systolic pressure of 160mmHg or greater or a diastolic pressure of 100mmHg or greater.

A medical determination of high blood pressure can only be determined by your doctor.  The doctor will take your blood pressure at their office.  A single high reading is not enough to determine hypertension.  You may not have been feeling well that day, or could have been nervous, etc.  Upon a second high reading, or TWO doctors telling you your readings are high, a determination of hypertension may be made.

Upon a determination of hypertension, the doctor may suggest lifesytle changes, or put you on medication to help lower your pressure into acceptable ranges.

People have claimed for years different natural remedies for blood pressure instead of medication.  Some of these remedies are garlic, hawthorn, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar. Do these natural remedies work, or are they just a bunch of hype?  I will explore these natural remedies in a later hub.