What is blood pressure in human arteries, veins, and vessels?

Blood pressure affects the walls of all blood vessels, which completely affects a person’s lifestyle.

The minimum prevention recommended for all people over 30 years of age is regular blood pressure measurement.

Letters from our readers

Topic: Grandma's blood pressure has returned to normal!

From: Christina ( [email protected] )

To: Administration otgipertonii.ru

Christina, Moscow

My grandmother’s hypertension is hereditary - most likely, I will have the same problems as I get older.

I accidentally found an article on the Internet that literally saved my grandmother. She was tormented by headaches and had a repeated crisis. I bought the course and monitored the correct treatment.

After 6 weeks she even started talking differently. She said that her head no longer hurts, but she still takes pills for blood pressure. I am sending a link to the article

What is blood pressure? How is it measured?

Blood pressure is the pressure or force of blood that moves through your circulatory system. It is most often measured using an instrument called

sphygmomanometer. You may have used one of these tools before, even if you don't recognize the name.

It uses an inflatable cuff that puts pressure on the artery to measure the systolic and diastolic pressure on your blood vessels.

To obtain these readings, blood pressure monitors use a sensor with a unit of measurement called millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Your blood pressure is measured using two standard numbers, systolic and diastolic.

Blood Pressure Ranges

After you take your blood pressure, you'll probably want to know if it's healthy or not. Depending on the number, your level may be considered normal, elevated, or high. Before you come to a conclusion based on one test, you should be aware that several factors can skew your results.

Your emotional state, your morning coffee, and even the temperature in the room can change the results. Your doctor can help minimize these interruptions for a more accurate reading.

Acceptable blood pressure ranges and their values.

• Normal: systolic less than 120 and diastolic less than 80
• Elevated: systolic between 120-129 and diastolic less than 80
• Stage 1 Hypertension: systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89
• Stage 2 Hypertension: systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90
• Hypertensive crisis: systolic over 180 or diastolic over 120

Fighting the problem

Any drug to normalize blood pressure should be prescribed by a professional physician - this will minimize the likelihood of error and ensure maximum results.

If you prefer to treat your blood pressure without using chemicals, you should know that there are many natural ways to combat this problem.

To increase blood pressure, it is good to use regular coffee, strong sweet tea or red wine in small quantities. It is good to combine this with hard cheese. Ginseng tincture, tea with rose hips and St. John's wort help to increase blood pressure.

As for the reverse process, the use of hawthorn infusion, chokeberry, beetroot and lingonberry juice, and cranberries helps lower blood pressure.

If we talk about blood pressure therapy with medications, first of all it should be noted that self-medication in this case is not the answer. The degree of hyper- or hypotension should be determined by a specialist who can prescribe adequate treatment. As a rule, in case of high blood pressure, doctors prescribe drugs like Capoten or Enalapril - inhibitors. Such drugs are taken in courses (usually 2 weeks) with breaks.

For an urgent fight against poor health, blockers like Atakanda, Micarda or Cardosal are better suited, allowing you to stop the symptoms and alleviate the condition.

Drugs such as Gutron, Ecdisten or Heptamil will help cope with low blood pressure. Again, the course of treatment and dosage should be determined by the doctor in accordance with the characteristics of each specific case. Improper use of drugs can lead to the most unpredictable consequences.

What is hypertension?

Hypertension is a medical prescription for people with persistently high blood pressure. This diagnosis usually does not occur until a person has had consistently high blood pressure readings for several weeks or months. One case of high blood pressure, while not ideal, does not always mean you have hypertension.

In casual conversation, high blood pressure and hypertension are often used interchangeably. Even your doctor may say that you have high blood pressure instead of the more technical distinction of hypertension. You should be aware of the differences.

History of the study

Humanity intuitively knew about the existence of blood pressure and the possibilities of influencing it back in ancient times. The famous bloodletting procedure, although covered in a veil of mystical meanings, was actually intended as a way to improve a person’s well-being. Another thing is that these actions were not always carried out as intended, but this does not negate the fact that the outflow of blood often helped to reduce headaches and subsequent increase in body tone.

The first complete measurement of blood pressure was carried out only in 1733. The experiment was carried out by the English naturalist Stephen Hayles on a horse by inserting a tube connected to a glass vessel into the artery. The researcher repeatedly repeated his experiments, using various methods of implanting tubes.

Further, in 1828, they became interested in this issue again. Numerous experiments using various equipment eventually led to the creation of the so-called kymograph - a device that allows more accurately observing changes in blood pressure. It was then that the concept of “blood pressure” confidently entered medicine.

Subsequently, the device for measuring indicators was improved more than once, until in 1899 it became the tonometer already familiar to us, the inventor of which is considered to be G. Gartner.

We owe the modern method of measuring arterial and venous pressure to Scipione Riva-Rocci and military doctor N.S. Korotkov, who made the system final. Naturally, in this case we are talking about the good old mechanical method of measuring pressure, which today is fully equivalent to the electronic one.

Hypertension types

There are several types of hypertension. Here are the most common varieties.

Hypertonic disease

About 95 percent of people with hypertension have this type. People are diagnosed with hypertension after three or more readings of high blood pressure. A key characteristic of essential hypertension is that there is no specific cause for high blood pressure.

Secondary hypertension

About 5 percent of people diagnosed with hypertension have secondary hypertension. The main difference between this and essential hypertension is that the secondary cause has one or more identifiable causes. In most cases this

The cause can be corrected by putting an end to high blood pressure. In 85 percent of cases involving children and hypertension, secondary hypertension is the diagnosis.

Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH)

In most cases of hypertension, the systolic and diastolic numbers increase together. However, there are times when only one will be abnormal. Whenever the systolic number that appears on top is greater than 140 and the diastolic number is less than 90, it is considered isolated systolic hypertension (ISH).

After age 65, people are more likely to develop ISH, and this is a red flag for many heart-related problems.

Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH)

Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) is similar to isolated systolic hypertension, except in reverse. This is where your systolic number remains in the normal range and your diastolic number is 90 or higher.

This type of hypertension is much less common than any other type. Those with IDH are more likely to have systolic readings over time.

High blood pressure causes

High blood pressure depends on many different factors. High blood pressure often develops slowly over time. Determining the exact causes may be difficult or impossible.

Some things cause a temporary increase in blood pressure.

These include:

• Alcohol, usually three drinks or more
• Anxiety
• Caffeine
• Some prescription drugs, including birth control pills
• Illegal drugs such as cocaine & amphetamine
• Sodium
• Smoked meats
• Stress
• Toxins such as BPA
• About 5% of people with high blood pressure develop it as a result of an underlying problem.

These risk factors include:

• Adrenal problems
• Toxic metal poisoning
• Kidney disease
• Obesity
• Pregnancy
• Sleep apnea
• Thyroid diseases
• Tumors

What blood pressure is considered normal for an adult?

What affects blood pressure? In an absolutely healthy person, blood pressure levels may change. This happens under the influence of many factors.

• A decrease in blood pressure can be observed in the summer, in the heat, when the mechanism of reflex vasodilation is activated so that the body does not overheat. Some people often experience the so-called orthostatic effect, that is, a decrease in blood pressure when suddenly rising from bed. The blood vessels and heart cannot rebuild themselves so quickly and the person experiences tinnitus, darkening of the eyes, goosebumps, short-term weakness, that is, symptoms of low blood pressure.
• With significant physical activity and sports, the work of the heart increases, and accordingly, blood pressure increases.
• The blood pressure of a healthy person depends on regulation by internal mechanisms - the central nervous system and hormones (adrenaline, cortisol). Therefore, the indicators change throughout the day. During rest and sleep, blood pressure decreases; during wakefulness and especially during periods of stress, it can increase.

Optimal pulse pressure

Based on the pulse pressure figure, the cardiologist can easily determine the condition of the patient’s vessels: their lumen, the elasticity of the walls, whether there is stenosis (narrowing), spasms or inflammatory processes. Normal pulse pressure is 35 mmHg. Art. Up to 40 years of age, numbers of 25–40 are allowed, at older ages - 50 mmHg. Art. Significant deviations from these figures indicate pathological processes in the organs of the cardiovascular system, even if the systolic pressure is normal and amounts to 120–130 mm Hg. Art.

PD below 30 is a clear signal of a serious problem. We can talk about serious diseases:

• large blood loss;
• heart failure;
• left ventricular stroke;
• myocardial infarction;
• myocarditis;
• cardiosclerosis.

An upward deviation of the indicator—more than 60—indicates no less serious problems.

Cardiologists say: increased pulse pressure is worse than low, as it indicates a heavy load on the heart, which most often happens with a high degree of hypertension. In addition, other diseases may be the cause:

• atherosclerosis;
• intracranial hypertension;
• thyroid diseases;
• anemia;
• endocarditis;
• chronic failure of internal organs.

It happens that PD changes upward in absolutely healthy people. The reason may be heavy physical labor, very fast running. In this case, the indicator should return to normal a quarter of an hour after stopping the load. If this does not happen, then you should be wary. It is interesting that a decrease in pulse pressure, even short-term, is never observed in healthy people.

Norms

Modern doctors use standards that can be applied to any age. However, most often the averaged optimal values ​​for certain age groups are taken into account.

The modern medical classification of normal blood pressure in adults looks like this:

• optimal pressure is below 120/80 mmHg. Art.
• normal pressure is 120/80–129/84 mm Hg. Art.
• high normal blood pressure - 130/85–139/89 mm Hg. Art.

All indicators within these figures are considered normal. The normal limit for low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60. If the tonometer produces numbers lower than these, then the question of hypotension, that is, a pathological decrease in blood pressure, arises.

Normal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 mm. rt. st

Normal values ​​can vary significantly among different healthy people.

With age, certain changes occur in the body and indicators gradually shift from optimal to normal, and then to normal high. Since changes in the heart and blood vessels occur very slowly, the body has time to adapt and the person does not feel this age-related increase in blood pressure.

In addition to age, the norm of pressure for each individual person is influenced by his gender and constitutional characteristics - height, weight.

Therefore, special formulas were created designed to calculate the normal pressure for a particular person, taking into account his age and body weight.

The Volynsky formula is intended to calculate normal blood pressure in people from 17 to 79 years of age. Indicators of upper (SBP) and lower (DBP) pressure are calculated separately:

SBP = 109 + (0.5 × number of years) + (0.1 × weight in kg)

DBP = 63 + (0.1 × years of life) + (0.15 × weight in kg)

A person's blood pressure is directly related to his body weight. As weight increases, blood pressure increases: an extra 10 kg on average increases blood pressure by 5 mm Hg. Art.

Table: Blood pressure norms depending on gender and age

It is interesting that the norms for men and women under 40 years of age are different - for men the rates are higher. After this age limit, the numbers change upward for women. This is due to hormonal changes in the female body. Blood pressure levels also differ in pregnant women. Until the 6th month, pregnant women have blood pressure within age norms. In the third trimester, under the influence of progesterone, most pregnant women experience pressure changes, which may increase to 130/80. If a pregnant woman’s blood pressure rises to 140/90, then this is an indication for additional examinations of the expectant mother.

Most often, blood pressure readings on the right and left arms are different. This may be due to the following factors:

• anatomical features;
• differences in muscle development in different arms;
• stress;
• disruption of the circulatory process;
• atherosclerosis.

If the indicators differ slightly, up to 5 mm Hg. Art., then there is no reason to worry. If the discrepancies are more significant, about 10 mm, then the presence of atherosclerosis can be assumed. The difference is 15–20 mmHg. Art. and talks more about more serious health problems:

• coronary heart disease;
• hypertension;
• cerebrovascular accident;
• vascular pathologies.

Common risk factors and signs for high blood pressure

Several risk factors increase your chances of developing high blood pressure. Most of them can be avoided, while others may be beyond your control. Here are the most common reasons why someone might develop high blood pressure.

Age and high blood pressure

Aging increases the likelihood of high blood pressure. Men over 45 and women over 65 are at higher risk.

Family history

Problems with high blood pressure usually run in the family. Check your family history to see if you are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure yourself.

Stress

If you are prone to hypotension, negative emotions can become a factor provoking a sharp and severe decrease in blood pressure. This is one of the main causes of hypotension. Therefore, it is important to maintain a stable emotional state and avoid stressful situations. This will help avoid not only problems with blood pressure, but also many cardiovascular diseases.

Signs of High Blood Pressure

If you have ever experienced noticeable signs of high blood pressure, you may have a serious health crisis. If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.

• Blood in your urine
• Blurred or difficult vision
• Buzzing in the ear
• Confusion & disorientation
• Dizziness
• Irregular breathing
• Extreme fatigue
• Severe nosebleeds
• Irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia
• Chest pain
• A pounding sensation in the chest, neck, or ears
• Severe headaches

Overweight people

A person's weight may play a role in the development of high blood pressure. Overweight people can lower their blood pressure by losing just 2 to 4 kg. For people who are overweight or obese, losing weight also helps reduce the risk of certain diseases, including:

• diabetes
• heart disease
• stroke

Pregnant women

Women may experience increased blood pressure during pregnancy. Three types of high blood pressure can occur in women during pregnancy:

1. Chronic hypertension
   : high blood pressure that develops either before pregnancy or before the 20th week of pregnancy.
2. Gestational hypertension
   : high blood pressure that begins after the 20th week of pregnancy. This type is usually not dangerous to the woman or fetus. For women who develop gestational hypertension, blood pressure returns to normal within 12 weeks after birth.
3. Preeclampsia
   : A rapid increase in blood pressure that is most common during the third trimester of pregnancy. Preeclampsia can damage the kidneys and liver, and this can be life-threatening for both the woman and the fetus.

Women should monitor their blood pressure regularly during pregnancy. They should talk to their doctor if their blood pressure readings start to rise or they experience symptoms of preeclampsia:

• Strong headache
• visual disturbances such as blurred vision or seeing flashing lights
• pain under the ribs
• severe heartburn
• nausea
• vomit
• sudden onset of swelling of the face, hands, ankles and feet
• excessive weight gain due to fluid retention
• feeling very bad

High blood pressure harm

Blood pressure is a good indicator of your overall health. As your blood pressure rises, your risk of other health complications increases. Typically the most severely affected area of ​​the body is the heart.

Here are some of the most common results of long-term high blood pressure, or hypertension.

• Aneurysm
• Damaged arteries
• Dementia
• Heart disease
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Stroke
• Loss of vision

How to lower blood pressure naturally

If you're worried about your blood pressure, here are three natural approaches that have helped others.

Change your diet

Managing your blood pressure with a healthy, plant-based diet can help. Here are some of the most popular diet options for those looking to improve or regulate their blood pressure.

DASH Diet

Developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Dietary Action to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet plan was developed to help people with hypertension. It limits sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day and encourages consumption of foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Sugar is also limited, and fruits, vegetables and whole grains are staple foods. Proponents claim that over time, people can lower their blood pressure by 14 points following the DASH diet.

Mediterranean diet

This diet focuses on consuming healthy fats and eating less red meat. It is high in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat. Typically, those who follow a Mediterranean diet experience fewer complications with their heart and blood pressure.