What is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Unless otherwise noted, blood pressure refers to systemic arterial blood pressure. Systemic arterial blood pressure is the pressure in the large arteries that deliver blood to any body parts other than the lungs. Blood pressure values are universally stated in millimeters of mercury or mmHg.
Blood pressure is always represented as a combination of two numbers, the systolic and the diastolic. The systolic is the pressure when the heart beats, or pumps blood. The diastolic is the pressure between heart beats, or when the heart rests.
What is Normal Blood Pressure?
It is normal for blood pressure to change substantially, numerous times a day. It is lowest as you sleep and rises when you get up. It can also rise when you are excited, nervous, or physically active. Still, for most of your waking hours, your blood pressure stays pretty much the same when you are sitting or standing still. If you have not yet been diagnosed with hypertension, or some other serious health condition, you do not need to be concerned about your blood pressure during sporadic situations. Your doctor will take your blood pressure while you are calm and remaining still. This blood pressure will most accurately reflect what your pressure is during the average of your day. Some patients become nervous when their blood pressure is taken at the doctors office, causing readings to increase. This condition is commonly referred to as white coat hypertension, or white coat syndrom. Taking blood pressure readings at home, with a machine, may help to determine a persons true range of blood pressure readings. Normal blood pressure in an adult is typically 120/80 mmHg.
What Should You Do if You Have High Blood Pressure?
Higher blood pressure causes your heart to work harder, and your arteries take a beating, which increases your chance of a stroke, heart attack, or kidney problems. If you have high blood pressure you should consult your physician immediately.
There are four categories used to classify blood pressure in adults, normal, pre-hypertension, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension. There really should be a fifth, sub-normal, but you never see it listed anywhere. If your blood pressure is sub-normal, you will be falling in and out of consciousness.
· Normal is just like it sounds, you do not have high blood pressure. You should use exercise and diet to maintain a healthy pressure.
· Pre-hypertension is somewhat deceptive. Although you do not have hypertension, you do have high blood pressure. With Pre-hypertension you should use exercise and diet to try to lower your pressure.
· Stage 1 Hypertension means that you are at risk of heart attack and stroke. With Stage 1 Hypertension, like Pre-hypertension, you should try to lower your pressure through exercise and diet. If after 6 months, your pressure still falls in the Stage 1 category, one or more prescription medications should be used to lower the pressure.
· Stage 2 Hypertension means that your blood pressure is out of control. You may even be hospitalized and monitored, until the pressure can be lowered. Stage 2 Hypertension usually requires a minimum of two prescription medications to lower the pressure to acceptable levels. You will also need to use exercise and diet to keep the pressure from coming back, and to maximize the effects of the medication.
Below is a chart that shows the different categories, and the blood pressure ranges for each.
Categories for Blood Pressure Levels in Adults in mmHg
Category
Systolic
Diastolic
Normal
90 – 120
50 – 80
Pre-hypertension
120 – 139
80 – 89
Stage 1 Hypertension
140 – 159
90 – 99
Stage 2 Hypertension
160 or Higher
100 or Higher
Note: When systolic and diastolic blood pressures fall into different categories, the higher category should be used to classify blood pressure level. For example, 160/80, or 150/100 would be stage 2 high blood pressure.
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5 comments ↓
mystery diagnosis..palpitations, fatigue, blood pressure swings, chest pain?
4 months ago, my chest wall started feeling very heavy most of the time, my blood pressure began swinging all over the place, I’ve seen it as low as 52/40 and as high as 170/95 on the extreme ends..Sometimes though it stabilizes at my usual 125/70, eating seems to stabilize things.
At first, I was having alot of tachycardia, but that has died out and been replaced by severe lightheaded spells, worse chest pain, a distinct nausea/breathless feeling, mental confusion, and palpitations which are often brought on by movement (originating from the area about 3-6" below the heart) and fatigue beyond belief.
I have had an EKG during the chest pain and it was normal. My echo was normal. Stress test normal. Labs all normal. Chest xray normal. MRI brain normal. I have also o2 desaturated briefly a number of times into the mid 80′s. while in the ER
I have been totally disabled by this…totally..no exaggeration, I am purely devastated as I can no longer even drive due to the unpredicability of the symptoms.
I am a 30/male 50 pounds over weight, my doctor says he sees evidence of something physical wrong but is hard pressed to figure it out, I’ve seen both a cardiologist and neurologist at a university hospital and they both feel it’s not cardiac/neuro related, my doctor said he’d think about what to do next, maybe an Endo doc, or some other tests, please can you add some input?
Note, I do have a history is intermittant gastritis, sometimes I do get chest pains which are semi-relieved by burping, but I know this can’t expain everything else..except maybe just maybe the constant nausea/breathlessness? I’m so lost and devastated, please think hard, what could this be?
Chronic intermittent pancreatitis.
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boy you sure have a lot of trouble but very edcatued on all area, maybe heart specialest i hope you start feeling better soon.
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Geez buddy, stress and diet can do some wicked things to our bodies if we let it.
It is possible that you are suffering from a Vitamin B6 deficiency ~ this will produce terrible dry mouth which cannot be resolved no matter how much water you drink, night time muscle spasms, leg cramps, excessive urination, nausea and vomiting, numbness and tingling and prickling sensations in the outer extremities …………….. vitamin B6 is needed for the effective assimilation of Vitamin B12 so if you are deficient in B6 (pyridoxine) then you will also be displaying symptoms of vitamin B12 (cycoanobalamin) deficiency ie: headaches and migraines, irritability and moodiness, inability to think clearly,excessive sweating, chest pains and heart palpitations, depression, constipation and insomnia……….. vitamin B12 is needed for effective iron assimilation, so if you are deficient in B12 then you would also be displaying symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia ie: fatigue and exhaustion, dizzy spells and fainting and loss of balance and paleness of skin. A quick way to check if you are iron deficient is to pull down the bottom lid of your eyelids and check the color. If it is red or dark pink then you are healthy but if it is pale and pasty white looking then you are more than likely iron deficient.
Eat more foods rich in Vitamin B12 ie: organ meats such as lambs fry and kidneys, skimmed milks and cheeses, fish and eggs.
Eat more foods rich in vitamin B6 ie; wheat bran, wheat germ, liver, fish, cantaloupe, cabbage, blackstrap molasses, unmilled rice, oats and eggs.
Eat more foods rich in iron ie: Pork, beef, liver, red meat, clams, dried peaches, farina, egg yolks, oysters, nuts, beans, asparagus, molasses and oatmeal.
Iron assimilates more effectively when consumed with foods rich in vitamin C ie; citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges, tomatoes and potatoes, leafy green vegies and red and green peppers.
If you are lactose intolerant or vegetarian then it is really important that you supplement your diet with a multi B complex tablet on a daily basis.
Things that could be robbing you of your precious B complex of vitamins are :- eating too much protein, alcohol, eating too much tinned food, antiobiotics, antidepressants, penicillin, prednisone and aspirin, diuretics and laxatives will rob you of your B complex of vitamins and vitamin C.
Also, try to cut back on drinks such as caffeine, tea, sodas and soft drinks as they are all B complex thieves…….. as well as being great at dehydrating you.
Take a multi B complex tablet including all the B’s ie: B1, B2 B3, B5, B6 and B12 as they work best synergistically (together). Don’t buy any of the B complex of vitamins individually but rather as a whole group unless a nutritionally oriented physician or naturopath instructs you to.
The B complex of vitamins is essential for healthy neural, digestive and immune system functioning.
The B complex of vitamins is a water soluble complex and as such our bodies can neither store or produce them. Therefore we need to ingest them on a daily basis or suffer the consequences as you unfortunately are………
When you take your daily supplement bear in mind that B12 (part of that complex) needs enough calcium and vitamin D in your body to be effectively assimilated…. cold water fishes such as tuna and salmon are rich in both… These cold water fishes are also a rich source of magnesium (known as the antistress mineral) which is probably another thing you may need to focus on as well ~ your stress levels…. stress could also be depleting your B vitamins. Quite a handfull of information here …….. sorry it’s a bit long winded but you need to know all this.
Other foods rich in calcium are ~ milk and dairy (if you can tolerate them), tofu, sardines, dried beans, kale, broccoli, collard greens, leafy greens.
Getting enough vitamin D on a daily basis can be as simple as getting 10 – 15 minutes of safe sun exposure daily… vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin.
When our bodies are placed under added stress such as sickness, relationship dramas, new job, school studies or just daily life really, the B complex of vitamins are usually the first group to get used up and we therefore need to adjust our intake accordingly.
When you are getting any stress related symptoms or any of the above mentioned symptoms simply take another B tablet. As they are water soluble our bodies will simply excrete any excess in our urine.
Drink loads of fresh filtered water too as the happiest and healthiest body will always be the most hydrated one.
Symptoms of dehydration are ~ puffy bags and dark circles under your eyes, headaches and migraines, irritability and moodiness, inability to think clearly, digestive troubles such as constipation, bloating and cramping.
We need at least 2 litres of water per day just to maintain aspiration (to breathe)!! so drink up buddy, maybe that’s why you’re so breathless ♥
I sincerely wish you the best of health & vitality buddy♥
i hope this info helps you a bit mate ♥
CHEERS
♥
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naturopath in training
I would have them look at adult onset asthma or type 2 diabetes. I hope you figure it out soon.
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RN