What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the measure of the force that your heart utilises to pump blood around your body. There are two numbers that comprise your blood pressure. The top number is your systolic blood pressure, or the pressure in your arteries during the contraction of your heart muscle. The bottom number is your diastolic blood pressure. This is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches when your heart relaxes between beats. Your pulse pressure is derived by subtracting the bottom from the top number.
What is normal blood pressure?
A healthy blood pressure is a top/systolic pressure between 90 and 120, and a bottom/diastolic pressure between 60 and 80. Your pulse pressure should be no higher than 40.
What is low blood pressure?
Low blood pressure is a reading of 90/60 or lower and is also called hypotension. Hypotension comes with a unique set of risks and health issues.
This could indicate a number of things and not enough oxygen will be getting to your brain. Persistent low blood pressure can be a result of hearth issues, anaphylaxis, infections (sepsis, for example) or even some medications.
What is high blood pressure
High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. This indicates that your heart is working harder to pump blood around your body. If you ignore high blood pressure, it can lead to heart attack or stroke. It can also lead to kidney or heart failure as well as vision issues and vascular dementia.
Blood pressure naturally goes up and down throughout the day. But if you have a consistent low or high reading, you may need to take steps to get your blood pressure under control. This could involve medications, and will likely involve lifestyle changes.
Anna Pharmacy is now offering blood pressure monitoring and services in Croydon, Sutton, Hackbridge and in the UK.
