Fight Hypertension

According to the medical establishment 120/80 represents healthy blood pressure. Of course nobody consistently has a blood pressure (BP) of 120/80. That would be like winning the lottery time after time. It's simply not realistic.

So what is healthy blood pressure in the real world? It's a range that hovers around 120/80 but don't get too fixed on those exact numbers. If you want to find out where you are in that range then learn to take your own BP at home. (Readings taken at doctor's office are often higher than normal due to our unconscious reaction to the place and people.)

First get to know your real BP, not just the occasional reading taken at the doctor's office. Take BP readings sitting down, with the cuff on you left arm, one inch above your elbow joint. Rest this arm on a table keeping the cuff approximately the same level as your heart. If your arm is too low it can result in a reading that is falsely high.

There are two numbers in a BP reading.

The higher one is the systolic which measures your BP after the heart contracts and blood is pushed through your arteries. The lower number is called the diastolic and measures your the pressure as your heart expands and draws blood into its chambers.

The healthy gap between the systolic and diastolic is approximately 40 points. In other words, systolic BP is usually around 40 points higher than diastolic pressure.

Looking at it another way, you could say that your pressure in your arteries fluctuates some 40 points back and forth 60 to 70 times a minute, (or 95,000 times a day). No worries - it's normal.

If you've been reading up on what is considered the best BP numbers you have probably comes across the figures 120/80. That's what is now considered healthy blood pressure. But it wasn't always this way.

Previously, healthy blood pressure numbers were calculated from the formula "100 systolic plus your age". This formula took into account that blood pressure tends to increase with age.

Indeed, it's a fact that as we age our arteries tend to narrow and harden pushing our BP up. (Mind you, it's not inevitable that our arteries narrow as we age. This process can be halted and even reversed.)

What the new formula of 120/80 for everyone has done is pushed millions of older people into the high blood pressure camp. Previously our high BP readings would have been regarded as the normal outcome of aging. Today it's regarded as a disease that needs treating.

The shift from '100 plus our age' to '120 for all' has had both good and bad effects on us 'old-timers'. But I'll get to that later.

For now let's talk about what the numbers mean to you and me.

120 systolic over 80 diastolic is an ideal. I don't recall ever have a reading of exactly 120/80. I've had readings 123/79 and 116/84 and so on. These are good healthy blood pressure reading as far as I'm concerned but you simply cant regulate your BP like you regulate the pressure in your car's tires.

On top of that, BP readings aren't exact. If you take two readings, one after the other, they will probably come out slightly different, although they should be within 5 or so points of each other if your monitor is working properly. It's the BP range it measures. Remember we're talking about a human body here, not a machine.

Also, BP isn't constant. It will goes up and down in a day. Your BP in bed after a peaceful nights rest may be considerably lower than your BP after working in the garden.

Judge your BP when at its lowest. How low does your BP go? - is the important piece of information you need to know.

For me the evening after relaxing with a soothing cup of chamomile tea is the best time to gauge my true state of my BP. That's when it reaches its natural equilibrium free from agitating factors that would give it a temporary rise and false reading.

Find the true measure of your blood pressure health by taking a reading when your relaxed, not agitated.

I accept 120/80 figure as an ideal of healthy blood pressure. But I don't think I've ever had that identical reading. Sometimes its higher, sometimes lower. But that need not be a worry because BP readings simply aren't that accurate.

So what are the numbers you should be concerned about? Ultimately that's up to you but my common sense approach goes like this:

If you are over the age of 40 and your BP is consistently over:

* 130/90 you should consider introducing some dietary changes to ensure it doesn't keep creeping up

* 140/100 you should seriously consider introducing lifestyle changes to bring it down.

* 160/120 time to saddle the horses and throw everything available at it. You can get you blood pressure back to a healthy range but it's going to take time and dedication.

(If you're under 40 years of age you could reduce the above figures by 10 points.)

The range of BP figures used above refer to when you are relaxed and your BP readings at its natural lowest. Remember, healthy blood pressure is a range between 115/75 to 130/90 with the reading taken when you are relaxed.

Simon Foster was a sufferer of dangerously high blood pressure but has now achieved healthy levels through exercise and diet without the use of medications. His mission is to share this knowledge and techniques with fellow sufferers of acute hypertension.

blog: http://highbloodpressurebegone.com