National high blood pressure education month provides awareness regarding hypertension. Many people don’t even know they have high blood pressure. Symptoms of hypertension often go unnoticed, and if left uncontrolled, the risk of heart problems such as stroke or heart attack increases.
High blood pressure education month encourages people to look at various lifestyle factors that may be contributing to high blood pressure. It is well documented that high levels of sodium (salt) are linked to high blood pressure. It’s important to know your numbers. When blood pressure is measured, the upper number (systolic pressure) measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The lower number (diastolic pressure) measures the pressure between heartbeats. For most people, a normal blood pressure is less than 120/80.
The incidence of high blood pressure is about the same in men and women. However, there are gender differences between age groups. In people under the age of 45, the incidence of high blood pressure is higher in men whilst in the over 65 year age category it is higher in women. Lifestyle changes which can help reduce blood pressure, include maintaining a healthy body weight (check with our BM1 Calculator), regular exercise, quitting smoking and following a healthy low sodium diet rich in fruit and vegetables. There are many affordable blood pressure monitors available for the consumer making it convenient to monitor your blood pressure at home.
Check out the following links for more information: (http://www.whathealth.com/awareness/event/highbloodpressureeducationmonth.html)
(https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-blood-pressure-education-month-may/)
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