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Protecting Your Heart
Is Your Blood Pressure Too High? What Causes High Blood Pressure?Your risk for hypertension goes up if you have Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or a family history of heart disease; are over age 60 or past menopause; are African-American; are overweight and sedentary; or if you drink heavily or smoke. Having more than one risk factor raises your risk dramatically. There also appears to be a link between kidney function and high blood pressure, says Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network nephrologist (kidney specialist) John Fitzgibbons, M.D. “In some people, probably for genetic reasons, the kidneys can’t excrete salt and water well enough to keep blood pressure normal,” he says. “With genetic testing in the future, we may be able to identify and address this problem while the person is still very young.” “Once you’re past school age, it’s quite common to go for decades without getting a blood pressure test,” says cardiologist Robert Biggs, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, “and there are no symptoms to alert you to the problem.” Ignore your blood pressure and you take big chances with your health: hypertension (often called “the silent killer”) is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Just what is blood pressure? It’s the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries, as measured in millimeters of mercury. When the heart contracts, blood pressure goes up (systolic pressure, or the top number on the reading). When the heart relaxes between beats, blood pressure goes down (diastolic pressure, or the bottom number). “Blood pressure fluctuates with your natural body rhythms— for example, it’s higher in the morning,” Biggs says. “It also goes up when you exercise or get excited.” How accurate can a blood pressure test be? “It depends on the method,” says Biggs’ colleague, family practice physician Elizabeth Stanton, M.D. “A quick finger or wrist test, such as you might find in a drugstore, may not be as finely calibrated as the cuff-and-stethoscope method. But if it raises the alarm and gets you to the doctor, it’s done what it needed to.” To ensure accuracy, Biggs takes a patient’s blood pressure at the beginning and end of two separate office visits. “We have you sit quietly and relax for five minutes first,” he says. “If you’re a very large or small person, we use a different-sized cuff.” And if you find you have hypertension? The first line of treatment is lifestyle change. These guidelines also will help you prevent high blood pressure:
Want to try the lifestyle improvement route? “Take it in small steps,” Stanton says. “You can’t expect to change overnight. Do a short walk; cut out one fast-food meal. Once you see it’s possible, the changes will snowball and you’ll feel better and see results.” 
Want to Know More about how to control blood pressure through diet (including the minerals you need and information about the DASH diet)?
Call 610-402-CARE This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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