In order to monitor your blood pressure at home, you will need to purchase a blood pressure monitor for home use. They range in price from $40 to about $130, depending whether it is a simple manual model or a more advanced model with automatic pump. If you live by yourself, a fully automatic model is probably a better choice. The manual blood pressure monitors can be hard to pump up.

Blood Pressure Defined

Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure that is exerted on the interior of the blood vessels (arteries) as blood flows through them. Blood pressure is measured as two numbers: when your heart contracts (beats), it pumps a large volume of blood through your blood vessels and the pressure increases: this is called the “diastolic pressure”. When your heart relaxes between beats, the blood pressure goes down: this is called the “systolic pressure”.

Traditionally, blood pressure is measured as millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), since the classical blood pressure meters contain a column of mercury and blood pressure was defined as how many millimeters the column of mercury was going up or down. The diastolic and systolic numbers provide very important information about your health: the numbers will be higher if it is more difficult for the blood to flow through your blood vessels. Blood pressure that is considered “normal” falls within a certain range: 120/80. You are considered to be hypertensive when your systolic pressure is above 140 and your diastolic pressure is above 90.

How to measure your own blood pressure

To get a good reading about your blood pressure, it is important that you measure your blood pressure daily and perhaps a few times each day. Do not measure it within two hours of eating and remember that your blood pressure will be higher when you are upset or have just finished exercising. Follow these simple steps to accurately measure your own blood pressure:

• Make sure you are calm
• Place the cuff over the left arm (and follow manufacturer’s directions): there should be a mark or arrow to indicate in which direction you should place the cuff on your arm
• Rest the arm on a flat surface (such as a table), with the palm of the hand facing upward (relaxed)
• Have somebody pump up the cough or in case of automatic model, it will pump it up for you: for most models, you should pump it up at least 20 points above what you think the systolic pressure is, but don’t go too far above 200
• The air is being released from the cough slowly while the monitor measures the blood pressure
• In case you did not pump the cough up high enough, or if the monitor cannot detect a heart beat, you will see an error message on the display

You can take your home blood pressure monitor to your doctor to compare its’ reading to your doctor’s reading. Blood pressure monitors are calibrated before they leave the factory, but to make sure your monitor’s readings are accurate, you can also measure a family member or friend’s blood pressure for verification.

There are a number of ways by which you can control your high blood pressure. Your doctor may prescribe a medication that will lower your blood pressure. You can also follow a low-fat, low-salt diet. Exercising regularly can also lower blood pressure. If your blood pressure is slightly elevated, you may consider a blood pressure supplement. Always talk to your doctor before adding supplements or herbs to your diet as to prevent any herb-drug interactions.

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Measuring Your Own Blood Pressure When You Have Hypertension

Origins of High Blood Pressure

Although behavior patterns and stress play an key role, hypertension is most closely related to food consumption. Other key elements are:

• Obesity
• Lifestyle factors such as coffee consumption, alcohol intake, too much salt use, and not enough aerobic exercise
• Cigarette smoking is a causal factor in hypertension. Smoking is also positively associated with greater sugar, alcohol and caffeine use. Nicotine stimulates secretion of adrenaline.
• If you experience some of the following signs you should see your general practitioner to have your blood pressure monitored: headache, fatigue, confusion, vomiting, excessive perspiration, muscle tremors, chest pain, ear ringing.

How Can You Prevent High Blood Pressure?

Everyone – regardless of race, age, sex, or heredity – can help limit their likelihood of developing high blood pressure. Here’s how:

1. Maintain a healthy weight, lose weight if you are overweight
2. Exercise more
3. Choose lower salt and sodium foods, reduce consumption of red meat, eat more fruits and vegetables
4. If you drink alcoholic beverages, drink in moderation. give up smoking it increases your chance of heart attack and stroke

These guidelines are also recommended for treating high blood pressure, although medicine is often added as part of the treatment. It is far better to keep your blood pressure from becoming high in the first place

Teresa Zeigler, L.Ac. is a Chicago Healers Practitioner and Certified Chicago Acupunture and Chinese Herbalist.

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Origin and Prevention of High Blood Pressure

However, the good news is that hypertension is fairly easy to identify. All you have to do is to check your condition frequently. Furthermore, there are many choices in treating this condition that include lifestyle changes and medications.

Who Gets It

Men are prone to undergo from hypertension throughout the early years of life and into middle age. Though, the statistics for women and menopause incline to rise on top the later years. Another possibility factor in hypertension is race. Often at an earlier age, African Americans are much more probable to be identified with this condition than whites. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, you may also have a higher possibility of developing hypertension at some time in your life.

Other types of possibility factors for hypertension can be controlled effectively by your lifestyle selection. For example, excess weight and lack of exercise can lead to high blood pressure. Experiencing chronic stress, drinking excess alcohol, and consuming tobacco can also lead to hypertension. Actually, you can do much to lessen your chances of developing hazardous hypertension by making good lifestyle choices that avoid as several of these risk factors as possible.

What You Can Do About It

Even though you feel that your condition isn’t so bad, you need to understand that treating hypertension is necessary. Since hypertension can increase your risk of other serious health problems, you need to control your blood pressure at regular intervals. Currently, you do not have to worry in selecting medication for treating your condition. There are many drugs prescriptions that doctor can select from to get the one that works effectively for you.

Additionally to hypertension medication, lifestyle changes can be an effective way to guard hypertension under control. A healthy diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is a good first step coupled with thirty minutes of daily physical activity. This will help to keep your cardiovascular system heathy and strong. These two steps will also help you to keep a healthy weight, which is another positive step in controlling blood pressure.

Furthermore, you can also control your blood pressure by quitting smoking, learning to manage your stress effectively, and limiting alcohol consumption. Getting serious about your health condition is a significant step in enjoying a healthier lifestyle overall and keeping your blood pressure under control. This is the advisable technique to escape from hypertension.

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What You Should Understand About Hypertension

Hypertension is quite uncomplicated in such a way that modern medicine has discovered fast relief to easily lower high blood pressure readings. It is also quite intricate because hypertension is not only a sole disease, but it can be a warning signal of a greater disease that may surface within the individual. In other words, it can also be considered as a symptom of an acute or chronic illness.

So what is hypertension? It is medically defined as blood pressure that is greater than either 140 mm Hg systolic, or 90 mm Hg diastolic. In simple terms, the person who is hypertensive is having a blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 mmHg.

It was noted that this disease is more frequent in African Americans, and higher incidence in white men compared to women. It also affects most people before they reach the age of fifty.

You are more at risk to develop hypertension when you are obese and diabetic. There is also a higher incidence among people who have hypertensive parents.

The common signs and symptoms of the disease include headache in early morning, abnormal heart rate and sometimes nose bleed. The person may also suffer from visual disturbances.

If this disease remains untreated, the person may suffer from further complications that include mental and neurologic abnormalities, renal diseases, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and papilledema of the eyes.

There are several ways to manage hypertension, and the best one is to change your lifestyle.

• decrease your weight
• eat a diet that is low in fat and sodium
• consume a fair amount of fruits and vegetables
• limit your alcohol intake
• engage in regular exercise
• stop your smoking habits
• avoid too much stress

You can also engage yourself on alternative therapies that relax your mind, as well as the different organs inside your body. These alternative interventions include body massages, yoga, prayer, gardening, or even just a simple walk in the park.

Remember, high blood pressure or hypertension can be controlled if you are willing to submit yourself to these therapies. The success of your care and cure depends on your compliance to the regimen that you and your doctor have agreed upon.

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Managing Hypertension