We had an amazing class in which we learned more about what happens when someone has high blood pressure, as well as risks for it, testing, treatment, and things that can be done to lower your blood pressure.
If you missed it ... here are some of the things we learned. And we hope to see you next time...
Our next class will be
June 18th 5:15pm Choose to lose (weight loss)
June 18th 6:00pm Zumba
Blood pressure is also called hypertension and it refers to "blood pumping against your artery walls with too much force".
High Blood pressure doesn't usually have symptoms. So it is important to check with your doctor every few months.
Some factors can increase your risk:
*age--your risk increases as you get older
*being overweight
*family history
*race-more common in African Americans
*not being physically active
*smoking
*eating high sodium or low potassium diet
*drinking too much alcohol
*certain medicines-birth control pills, some over the counter cold medicines, and pain relievers
Your blood pressure is divided in Systolic and Diastolic pressure.
Systolic pressure: is when your heart beats and pumps blood out of your heart and into your arteries.
Diastolic pressure is when your heart rests between beats.
Here are the guidelines to help you understand your numbers:
"The most important step to lower high blood pressure is making healthy lifestyle changes, but you might also need medicine"
What you can do:
>> Reduce anxiety and stress
>> Lose extra weight
>> Limit alcohol
>>Try a well-rounded eating plan
>>Eat less sodium
We went into depth talking about why sodium is one of the most important things to watch for. First, we need to remember that "Sodium (or salt) makes your body hold on to extra water, so your heart has to work harder and your blood pressure goes up."
Eat less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day (about 3/4 teaspoon)
Here are some examples of how much salt you can find in canned/processed food.
Don't forget to read the levels before deciding which food to buy!
Instead of buying regular canned food ... look for Low sodium or Not Salt added food. In the example below we have regular Canned Diced Tomatoes (200 mg of salt) versus Canned Diced Tomatoes-No Salt Added (50 mg of salt).
Always make sure to read the labels before choosing what you are going to buy, keep in mind that all processed foods and food prepared in a restaurant contain high levels of sodium. Do everything you can to control your daily Sodium intake. This will help you lower your high blood pressure!
If you have any questions please leave a comment. And just to give you a heads up ... in our next Blood pressure class that will be in about 4 months, everyone who attends will be able to have their blood pressure checked as part of the class. Don't miss it :)
Reference:
High Blood Pressure
Reaching Health Numbers
PatientPoint 2014, LLC.
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