FITNESS: Keep eye on blood pressure

More than one out of four adults -- and one out of two people older than 60 -- has high blood pressure.

According to a recent article in Nutrition Acton Newsletter, 30 percent of those with high blood pressure don't know they have it. Twenty-five percent are on medication but their pressure is still above safe levels.

Here are some interesting facts about managing and preventing high blood pressure.

The amount of Americans who have high blood pressure has continued to rise, up 25 percent since the early 1990s.

If you think high blood pressure is a condition only other people have to deal with, think again. Even if your blood pressure is normal at the age of 55, your life-time risk of developing hypertension is close to 90 percent.

"Normal" blood pressure might not be good enough any more. Experts recently defined "normal" to mean a blood pressure of less than 120 over less than 80. A pressure of 120/80 used to be called "optimal."

Anyone with systolic blood pressure (the upper number) of 140 or more or diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) of 90 or more has high blood pressure. Everyone in between "high" and "normal" has pre-hypertension.

Changing the definition of high blood pressure is not meant to scare people. Instead, its goal is to motivate people to improve their lifestyle.

The goal, also, isn't just to postpone drug therapy. Stiffness and other damage to arteries worsen with age and makes high blood pressure more and more difficult to treat.

If you are older than 50, systolic blood pressure matters more than diastolic. Systolic pressure measures how hard the blood presses against your artery walls when your heart beats. Diastolic pressure measures how hard the blood presses against artery walls between heartbeats.

The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.

If that is not enough to motivate you, researchers have added dementia to the list. Thinking ability declines because high blood pressure impairs blood flow to the brain. Brain cells that get too little blood can die.

The first step to managing high blood pressure is to make dietary changes.

Weight loss can have a dramatic effect on blood pressure. If you are overweight, systolic blood pressure drops about one point for every two pounds you shed. Besides counting calories and exercising, sodium intake also needs to be monitored.

Taking your blood pressure only when you visit the doctor might not produce accurate results. Stress and anxiety in the doctor's office might elevate your readings.

Accurate blood pressure readings are best done when the patient is seated and relaxed. Inexpensive blood pressure devices are available everywhere and can help you keep a journal of your own pressure readings.

High blood pressure is easily treatable and can help prevent the onset of other diseases. Take care of yourself and your arteries.

Kim Springer and her husband, Mike, are certified personal trainers and owners of Springer Training. They can be reached at 233-9442 or at their Web site www.springertraining.com.


<<--[back]