NIH Radio
National High Blood Pressure Education Month
Brief Description:
Learn how to manage blood pressure for a healthy heart during National High Blood Pressure Education Month.
Transcript:
Balintfy: May is National High Blood Pressure Education. Most people know what blood pressure is, but understanding the risks associated with high blood pressure, or hypertension is important to remember Dr. Lawrence Fine at the NIH's National Heart Lung and Blood Institute explains, with each beat of the heart, blood is pushed out of the heart through the arteries of the body, and that's what creates blood pressure.
Fine: Hypertension is generally considered when the blood pressure is over 140/90. The upper figure, 140, is the systolic blood pressure. That's the highest level that's reached after each heartbeat.
Balintfy: Dr. Fine points out that about 1 out of every 3 American adults has high blood pressure.
Fine: And high blood pressure is more common in people who are older so that by the time people are 60 to 70, probably as many as half the population may have hypertension.
Balintfy: He adds that people who are obese are also at higher risk for high blood pressure. And high blood pressure is a major contributor to common health problems.
Fine: People who have high blood pressure are at higher risk for heart attacks, for strokes, kidney disease, and some other vascular diseases.
Balintfy: But Dr. Fine reminds that high blood pressure is preventable.
Fine: Preventing the rise of blood pressure is really following good lifestyle habits.
Balintfy: These good lifestyle habits are maintaining a normal body weight, eating a diet that is not high in salt, and eating the right foods. He explains that an NIH-supported and research-based eating plan is designed specifically to help lower blood pressure; it's called DASH, short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
Fine: The DASH diet advocates that you should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, a lot of nonfat or low-fat dairy products, and also lean meat, chicken breast, things like that, so lean meat, and some nuts are also good. And the DASH diet actually can be as effective as blood pressure medications in reducing your blood pressure.
Balintfy: Dr. Fine says these same lifestyle changes that prevent high blood pressure can also lower high blood pressure. Other lifestyle factors are exercise and avoiding more than one or two drinks of alcohol a day. Medications can also be introduced to reduce high blood pressure. But Dr. Fine warns that blood pressure has to be measured.
Fine: So one of the important things about high blood pressure is that you can have high blood pressure without knowing it. So people have called hypertension the silent killer because when your blood pressure is high, it doesn't necessarily cause any symptoms at all, I mean until you have a heart attack or a stroke or kidney disease, et cetera. So for many years you can go on with high blood pressure without you physically knowing it. It's not like a bellyache or a headache that you obviously know that you have it. So that's why it's important to have your blood pressure checked regularly.
Balintfy: Dr. Fine adds that the blood pressure should be checked accurately as well.
Fine: You should be sitting in a comfortable position for five minutes before your blood pressure is measured. Probably your healthcare provider should measure your blood pressure two or three times and take the average of it.
Balintfy: And the cuff should fit correctly. For more information on measuring blood pressure, the risks associated with high blood pressure, and how to prevent or treat high blood pressure, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov. For NIH Radio, this is Joe Balintfy – NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health.
About This Audio Report
Date: 5/24/2012
Reporter: Joe Balintfy
Sound Bite: Dr. Lawrence Fine
Topic: high blood pressure, hypertension, blood pressure
Institute(s):
NHLBI
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