“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” a quote by Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, which somehow, makes sense when a person is suffering from hypertension. In the last couple of blogs, we tried to highlight the issue of hypertension, or high blood pressure, which is slowly and steadily growing its roots in different parts of India, majorly in Punjab. We also tried to focus on the fact that any individual, across the globe, is vulnerable to hypertension and its later fatal effects. Let us assume that we have created an understanding on who is our enemy, however, it is not yet apparent whether we really know hypertension or not?
Our rigorous emphasis on the term, SILENT KILLER, is indeed no joke but a reality, mostly unknown to most of our readers. Going through the facts shared by World Health Organisation (WHO) on its official website, one can find out that a total of 1.13 billion people who are suffering from hypertension globally. In 2015, it was found that 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women had hypertension. The figures that shocked us most were that less than 1 in 5 people with hypertension were fortunate enough to have the problem under control.
Well, if these figures don’t set your alarm on fire then God knows what will. India, especially Punjab, is fighting with the problem of high blood pressure, and that will cost it a fortune in the future. Thus, it is really important to understand the blood pressure readings and comprehend what they mean.
How Hypertension is defined?
Giving a brief on blood pressure, the WHO defines that it is recorded as two numbers usually written one above the other.
It adds that the upper number is the highest pressure (systolic blood pressure) in blood vessels and happens when the heart contracts. The lower number is the lowest pressure (the diastolic blood pressure), –in blood vessels in between heartbeats when the heart muscle relaxes. Various levels of blood pressure as mentioned by WHO are:
Normal adult blood pressure:
- Systolic BP: 120 mm Hg
- Diastolic BP: 80 mm Hg
Elevated range
- Systolic reading: 120–129
- Diastolic reading: Below 80
In the elevated stage, a person is most likely to develop hypertension if he/she doesn’t take immediate steps to control it.
Hypertension: Stage 1
- Systolic reading: 130–139
- Diastolic reading: 80-89
In this stage, a person is prescribed to follow a particular diet and recommended some lifestyle changes. Blood pressure medications are also prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Hypertension: Stage 2
Blood pressure readings that are 140/90 mm Hg or higher. In this stage, blood pressure medication and lifestyle pattern can only help a person to lower their blood pressure.
Hypertensive crisis
Blood pressure readings that are 180/120 mm Hg. It is the most dangerous stage, in which, a person may experience organ damage if the readings continue to remain high for more than 5 minutes.
Speaking comprehensively, the two numbers — Systolic and Diastolic — indicate the amount of pressure the blood exerts against the walls of arteries. While systolic number indicates the amount of pressure blood exerts against the artery walls as the heart contracts, diastolic is the same pressure when the heart relaxes. Both the numbers are equally important as they indicate whether our heart is doing well or not. Also, the medicos pay more attention to the systolic blood pressure as it is one of the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease in most of the people.
At times, people confuse blood pressure with pulse, but both of them are the indicators of your healthy heart.