Under Pressure

High blood pressure is often referred to as the “silent killer” this is because one in five adults has high blood pressure but don’t know it yet. Unfortunately there are usually no warning signs that alert you that you have high blood pressure. The only way to find out is to get a medical check up and get it measured by your doctor, nurse or heart specialist.
You can reduce the risk or cardiovascular diseases (heart attack or stroke) just by lowering your blood pressure.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is a measured how hard the heart has to work at transporting blood around the body. A blood pressure reading gives you two readings, systolic and diastolic pressure. The top reading systolic is the peak pressure on your arteries when your heart contracts, the bottom reading, diastolic is the pressure on your arteries when your heart rest between beats. Both readings are important!!
An ideal blood pressure reading is 120/70
Many things can affect your blood pressure, it is normal for your blood pressure to increase during physical activity or when you are excited, angry, anxious or afraid. These are usually short lived peaks in blood pressure. However, long periods of high blood pressure at rest are a cause of concern.

What is high blood pressure?

In most people we don’t know what causes high blood pressure, but high blood pressure often runs in families. Occasionally kidney or glandular diseases mat be responsible. Being overweight, excessive alcohol intake, a high intake of salt and lack of physical activity can also contribute to high blood pressure.

Why is it important to control high blood pressure?

Normal blood pressure delivers an effective supply of blood to all parts of the body without any damage to sensitive organs. High blood pressure means that your heart has to work harder to transport blood around the body; this can cause permanent damage to your eyes, kidneys and even your brain.

HOW CAN I LOWER MY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE?

Simple life style modifications are important for the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure, including:

• Having your blood pressure checked by your doctor, nurse or health professional
• Following a heart healthy dietary program that includes eight servings of fruit and vegetables using all the different colours: reds (tomatoes, red peppers or red skinned apples etc). Orange: (carrots, pumpkin etc). Brown/white: (cauliflower, potatoes). Green: (broccoli, peas etc), blues/purples: (egg plants, beetroot etc).
• Lowering your salt in-take choose low sodium foods and add less salt when cooking.
• Losing weight if you are overweight.
• Maintaining an ideal body weight.
• Moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day.
• If you smoke, seeking help to stop.
• Restricting your alcohol in-take

So what’s the best type of exercise shall I do to lower my blood pressure?

Cardiovascular training is still the best way of lowering your high blood pressure, low-medium intensity longer duration 20 minutes+ is better*, remember to seek a medical clearance from your doctor first if you haven’t taken part in any prior exercise plan before.
Although resistance training has shown some BP lowering effects, cardiovascular endurance development is still the main exercise of choice.

* see a qualified trainer to find the right intensity for you as everyone is different, (see contact details on our website).
If your doctor has prescribed medications to help lower your blood pressure, take as directed.