Blood flows through your body bringing oxygen and important nutrients where you
need them, and as it circulates, blood also collects what your body doesn’t need and
helps get rid of it.
Blood pressure is the pressure your blood exerts when pushing against the walls of your
blood vessels as it flows. If the pressure is consistently high, it causes damage. This is
what we call high blood pressure or hypertension. The only way to know if you have
high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure measured, or “taken.”
When you or your doctor takes your blood pressure, you’ll see two numbers. The first,
or top number, is the systolic, this measures the pressure on blood vessel walls when
your heart beats. The second, or bottom number, is the diastolic, this measures the
pressure on the walls when your heart is resting between beats.
Blood pressure is known as the silent killer because you may not feel it, so you may not
know you have it! This is dangerous because when high blood pressure isn’t treated it
can cause more serious problems including stroke, heart failure, or kidney disease.
Here is a chart that can help you understand your numbers. If you have consistently
high blood pressure or low blood pressure (hypotension) ask your primary care
physicians to refer you to our expert blood pressure specialist here at CKCH. We’re here to help!
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