Today is World Hypertension Day

World Hypertension Day might sound like an intensely stressful day, which causes high blood pressure, but it is in fact an educational event, designed to prevent instances of hypertension.

Created by the World Hypertension League in 2005, the day is intended to increase awareness of the condition and issues surrounding it. Awareness of hypertension is considered to be vitally important, due to the number of deaths linked with associated heart attacks, kidney disease and strokes. There is also a perceived lack of awareness about hypertension amongst the general public, which the WHL hopes to change.

The day generally takes on a specific theme. For example, in the past, one of the themes was ‘Healthy diet, healthy blood pressure’, which aimed to improve people’s understanding of how poor diets can contribute towards high blood pressure and how a more healthy diet can help to rectify the problem.

I shall keep taking the tablets

 

Is 180/90 bad??

 

Don’t tell Barry Haynes about those tablets , what tablets ?

 

I was hyper yesterday trying to get my phone sorted and saying goodbye

 

Yes. Normal is 120/80 or thereabouts.

 

I bet mine would read like a tyre size 249/65/r15.

 

Does your GP shout “ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!” when he takes your blood pressure?

 

What’s a GP? I’ve not been able to get an appointment with mine since 1998.

But when I could get to see them they’d usually shout something about locking the meds cupboard

 

180 also represents the flat line soon to be seen on the cardiac monitor, and your body position thereafter .... So 120 is preferable being more of a sort of sun lounger position, and 110 is a driving position (unless you're Italian, in which case see above)

 

You wait 3 weeks for a GP appointment and they take your blood pressure and its a bit high, one isolated and random test is worthless. Home monitoring is the future. Pharmacies sell inexpensive home monitors, so can easily check yourself from time to time and get a much better idea. The monitor would show 100/80 for example, 100 being the first higher number, and 80 the second lower number. Also shows pulse, heart rate in beats per minute.

Google the readings to see if within the normal range. Over 120 seems to be considered early Hypertension. Visit the GP if the readings are not within the 'normal' range and if the heart rate is low.

I am used to self testing blood glucose and injecting insulin, so occasional blood pressure check is just as easy and worth doing.