Hypertension

What is so bad about high blood pressure?

Your blood pressure has 2 numbers, a top and a bottom.  The bottom number means how much pressure your heart is feeling on it between beats when it is resting.  The top is how much pressure it feels when it squeezes.  So what?  Well…..

Your heart is a muscle, like any other muscle in your body.  When it pumps, it’s like when you lift weights.  If you lift heavy weights, you get tired out quickly and have to stop.  If you lift lighter weights, you can go much longer.  Your heart is the same.  It can’t pump against high pressure (heavy weight) as long as against low pressure (light weight).  Your arteries are those weights!  The more gunk they have in them and the smaller they are, the more pressure your heart has to push against with every beat.  That is the top number in your blood pressure reading.  The bottom number is how much pressure (weight) it feels pushing on it while it’s resting.

That’s why high blood pressure is so bad for you.  All of that hard work wears out your heart faster, like when you lift heavy weights.  The higher the pressure, the harder your heart has to work and the sooner it wears out! 

You have to give your heart a break!

There are lots of ways to lower your blood pressure.  Come see us and we can discuss the options best for you.  Let’s keep that heart pumping a lot longer! Call 918-398-9663.