What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is when blood is pumped against the blood vessels very hard for a long time. If you do not lower the pressure, it will cause long-term damage to your organs and blood vessels. Imagine high blood pressure as a fireman’s water hose. If someone pointed the hose at you, it would hurt you alot. That is the same when blood is pumped very hard inside of you. Also, you can have high blood pressure without knowing it. You can check with a blood pressure monitor or with a medical provider.
What causes high blood pressure?
Older age, Tobacco Use, Heavy Alcohol Use, Stress, Family history of High Blood Pressure, Not being active, and a High-Sodium diet
What can high blood pressure lead to?
Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Stroke, Kidney Disease, Aneurysm (weakened and/or ruptured blood vessels)
What can you do to prevent high blood pressure?
You can avoid getting high blood pressure by reducing the salt in your diet and eat healthy, balanced meals. It is also very important to be active, keep a healthy weight, drink alcohol less, and not smoking. With these positive changes, you can live a long and healthy life!
Resources
Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/basics/definition/con-20019580
WebMD http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/default.htm
Special Thanks
Derek Chang graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Utah. Go Utes! He was born and raised in Salt Lake City,Utah. He aspires to become a physician-entrepreneur to find and create new ways of improving overall patient health. He enjoys skiing, hiking, camping,reading books, meeting new people, and learning anything new.
