How long have you had high blood pressure?
So I’ve moved from the bedroom to the living room - with a lot of help - after waking up and realising I’d had a stroke, and we’re waiting for the ambulance to arrive. My wife asked me if I was doing OK.
I told her I’d like a cigarette. She reminded me that we don’t smoke in the house and that I would have to go outside to smoke. Which she knew I couldn’t do.
Now let’s be honest here - what kind of dumbass wants to smoke a cigarette straight after a stroke? Answer - one who probably wouldn’t be here now if he’d had one.
The paramedics arrived and took my blood pressure (amongst doing many other things). It was off the scale.
“How long have you had high blood pressure” I was asked.
I had no idea. So I answered in the way that only a smarty pants can - “About half an hour I think”.
Somehow, I don’t think so. I’d had it for quite a while.
High blood pressure is a silent killer. It could have killed me but fortunately it didn’t.
Make sure it doesn’t kill you.
5 diet changes that will lower blood pressure
If you need to lower your blood pressure, but you’d rather lower your blood pressure naturally and not use medications, the first step you should take is to make some changes in your diet. There are small steps you can take that together can add up to make a very big difference to your blood pressure.
Here are five changes to your diet to try.
Cut Back on Salt. If you want to lower your blood pressure then this is probably the single most important change you can make to your diet . Instead of pouring salt all over your food; try experimenting with different spices, sauces, and other seasonings. Just be sure to read labels and check the amount of sodium in the food you are buying. Try cutting back on packaged foods that are higher in sodium and search for less salty options.
High Blood Pressure - Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure
The incidence of high blood pressure is becoming more common in today’s society and it’s not really surprising - high stress environments and poor unhealthy diets make for a pretty lethal combination.
If it’s left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can cause very serious health issues indeed, which is why it’s important for you to know not only how to treat your high blood pressure, but also what steps you can take to prevent yourself from ever having high blood pressure in the first place.
It’s also advisable to be aware of the risk factors associated with high blood pressure.
Here are some of the risk factors for high blood pressure that you can’t do anything about, but that you need to be aware of.
Hypertension and Heart Disease
Some people mistakenly believe that hypertension means that an individual is hyperactive, nervous, tense or very stressed out. That is not what hypertension is. Hypertension is the medical or scientific term for high blood pressure.
In fact it is very possible for a person to feel very calm and relaxed but still have hypertension even though they don’t show any obvious symptoms. This is why hypertension is quite often referred to as the ’silent killer’. The only way to know for sure whether or not you have hypertension is to have your blood pressure checked by a healthcare professional.
Hypertension can be deadly and should always be taken seriously. It causes the heart to work beyond its normal capacity, which means that both the heart and the arteries are more likely to be damaged. High blood pressure raises the potential for both heart attacks and strokes to occur. It also paves the way for congestive heart failure, atherosclerosis, kidney failure, and damage to the eyes.
If hypertension is left untreated, the heart is then forced to work harder than it should to pump enough blood and oxygen to the organs and tissues of the body. A heart that is forced to work beyond its normal capacity over an extended period of time will enlarge to an abnormal size and become weaker. A heart that is only enlarged a small amount could possibly still function adequately , unlike a seriously enlarged heart that will not.