In 2017, the standard blood pressure guidelines were revised. A reading of 120/80 is normal and 130/80 is now considered high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).  Under the new guidelines, more than half of African-American women would have high blood pressure. At least one in three adults worldwide do. Black adults are more likely to have high blood pressure than other racial groups. Generally, as women age, their blood pressure tends to rise, either because of hormonal changes or weight gain associated with menopause. No matter what your unique combination of factors is, high blood pressure is a serious issue. Even more serious many people do not even know they have high blood pressure.

If you are like me, you know many people who have had high blood pressure. My father was diagnosed with hypertension when he was fairly young and took medication for decades. The only changes in his life were that he went through life with a prescription and grumbled about his doctor’s calls for him to maintain a low-sodium diet. While I knew hypertension was bad, from my youthful eyes, it seemed survivable enough–in his case it was more of an annoyance than a lethal disease. My dad was slender, vibrant and by all outward appearances, healthy. Plus so many people had it! In my early teens I did pick up two very important things from my father’s hypertension diagnosis. First, I learned that I most likely inherited from him an increased risk for this condition. Second, although hypertension is associated with obesity, lifestyle, heredity and age, it affects a wide range of people and has no outward symptoms.

What is blood pressure? Blood pressure is a measure of the force exerted upon the walls of your arteries. Its unit of measure is millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). In a reading, there are two numbers: the systolic number is the top number and it measures the pressure exerted at the moment the heart is engaged and working to pump blood, at the bottom is the diastolic reading, which is the pressure of the heart at rest.

And what is the big deal about high blood pressure? High blood pressure is a cause of damage to the heart and blood vessels. Hypertension is associated with a number of severe acute and chronic illnesses including stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, vision problems and dementia. Not attending to high blood pressure has dire consequences and can negatively impact your body, your finances, your time and most importantly cost you your life.

For example, stroke can permanently impair the use of your limbs and affect cognition and speech. High blood pressure can also damage your kidneys. Kidney failure can involve dialysis, a sometimes painful, time-consuming and life-altering. treatment. Hypertensive retinopathy results when high blood pressure causes irreparable damage to blood vessels in the eye leading to vision problems or blindness. Blindness is a side effect of many conditions associated with high blood pressure.  

Don’t wait until you or someone you know suffers the devastating consequences of long-term or untreated high blood pressure! Hypertension is serious and there are actions you can take to face iit, manage it and achieve a reading in the range that your doctor considers normal for you. Here is a list of ways you can control your own risk of hypertension. It is by no means all-inclusive, and you should work with a licensed medical provider to find out how to include them in your life.  

1. Find out what your blood pressure is. There is no substitute for medical treatment. If you haven’t seen a licensed medical provider in the last year, make an appointment. Even though your clothes fit, for example, you may have hypertension but not even know it.
2. Medication. If you have been prescribed medication, dutifully take it. You are probably busy, so structure your life so you don’t miss doses. If you are traveling or away from home for long stretches, plan to take it with you at all times. Be honest with your medical provider if you cannot afford the medication. She may be able to connect you with programs to help you pay or find a lower cost alternative.
3. Be mindful of what you eat and maintain a healthy weight. Eat as cleanly as you can and pay attention to the effect of the food you eat on your blood pressure. Look at the labels of condiments and packaged foods which often contain surprisingly high amounts of added ingredients. Eat more whole grains and vegetables and limit alcohol. Don’t smoke.
4. Move your body. Remember those old-timey exercise contraptions with a belt that was apparently meant to keep you in tip-top shape? Or those mail-order supplements described as “exercise in a bottle?” You already know that those have not been proven to work. Whether you hate to exercise or really hate to exercise, unless a medical provider tells you otherwise, you  need to do some form of regular physical activity above and beyond your usual daily activity level. Taking brief walks throughout the day, following along with guided routines on YouTube count as well.
5. Develop a plan to offset stress. In moments of stress, raised hormone levels cause blood pressure to rise.. A stress-free life is unlikely, so develop a plan to offset it. If you can, spend time with people you enjoy, mediate. Talking to a mental health provider can help you identify practices or activities to help you if you don’t know where to start.
6. Get enough sleep regularly. Sleep deprivation has been associated with higher blood pressure. If you snore, you may have sleep apnea. Talk to your medical provider about how to either rule out the condition or treat it should you have it.. Even if you don’t manage to get enough sleep every night, prioritizing restful sleep will help.

Make no mistake, hypertension may be widespread, but it is a big deal. You may be up against some factors that you cannot control, but you and a doctor can work to identify lifestyle choices you can make and medical tools that can be used to address high blood pressure.

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