How does blood pressure work

The moving blood pushes against the arterial walls, and this force is measured as blood pressure. High blood pressure results from the tightening of very small arteries called arterioles. Arterioles regulate the blood flow through your body.

As these arterioles tighten or constrict , your heart has to work harder to pump blood through the smaller space, and the pressure inside the vessels grows.

That means the real cause of the high blood pressure is not known, but a number of factors contribute. You are at increased risk if you —. Researchers have also found a gene that appears to be linked to high blood pressure. If you have the gene, you are more likely to develop high blood pressure, so you should monitor your blood pressure and eliminate as many of the other risk factors as you can.

The remaining patients with high blood pressure have what is called secondary hypertension which means the high blood pressure is the result of another condition or illness. Many cases of secondary hypertension are caused by kidney disorders. Other conditions that can cause secondary hypertension are.

Most people who have high blood pressure do not have symptoms. In some cases, people with high blood pressure may have a pounding feeling in their head or chest, a feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness, or other signs. Without symptoms, people with high blood pressure may go years without knowing they have the condition. A visit to your doctor is the only way to find out if you have high blood pressure.

This is the amount of pressure in your arteries during the contraction of your heart muscle. The second or bottom number is your diastolic blood pressure. This is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats. The numeric difference between your systolic and diastolic blood pressure is called your pulse pressure. Along with blood pressure, pulse pressure can also provide insight into your heart health.

In some cases a low pulse pressure less than 40 may indicate poor heart function, while a higher pulse pressure greater than 60 may reflect leaky heart valves, often as a result of age-related losses in aortic elasticity. If your blood pressure numbers exceed this range, it may indicate that your heart is working too hard to circulate blood throughout your body.

High blood pressure or hypertension can lead to various health complications such as heart attack and stroke. This is why maintaining a healthy blood pressure is so important to your overall health. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, healthy weight and exercising regularly are all important contributors in preventing hypertension. You may also need to be more mindful of your lifestyle if high blood pressure runs in your family.

The only way to determine if you truly have hypertension is to have your doctor track your blood pressure readings over time. Having one high reading may not mean you have high blood pressure. What determines a diagnosis of hypertension is if your numbers remain high over a period of time. If you have a high reading, your doctor may suggest you make some healthy lifestyle changes including diet and exercise.

An oscillogram is generated based on the changing oscillation amplitude between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Since it is easier to detect the oscillation maximum than it is to start and stop it, the MAP constitutes the most reliable figure for automatic blood pressure measurement.

Using appropriate algorithms, systolic and diastolic blood pressure can also be calculated using the oscillogram and the MAP. However, there is still no uniform formula for performing this calculation. Consequently, differences in measurement between individual devices and manufacturers are possible. Regardless of whether they are performed digitally or in the old fashioned way, blood pressure checks are an important aspect of routine healthcare practices.

A significant proportion of the population will develop undetected arterial hypertension at some point during their life. If left untreated, this can cause permanent damage to the cardiovascular system, as well as to other organs such as the eyes and kidneys. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, which are the most common causes of premature death and disability. If detected early enough, however, arterial hypertension can be treated effectively with physical exercise, a change in diet and weight loss or medication, and the development of secondary diseases can be prevented.