Understanding Your Blood Pressure Reading

For some people diagnosed with high blood pressure, treatment may consist of something as minor as a change in diet and exercise, or may require medications to get those numbers under control. Your doctor will prescribe the proper course of action to take depending on what your blood pressure reading says. Knowing what a normal blood pressure reading is, and how you can get it will make things clearer to those diagnosed with borderline hypertension, or high blood pressure, as well as those in more severe stages of the disease.

Everyone knows the heart is the engine that makes the body run. The heart usually beats anywhere from 70 to 110 beats a minute, every minute, every hour and every day of your life. It carries vital oxygen to every living cell, tissue and organ throughout your body day in and day out. If the heart muscle, or the arteries that transport oxygen enriched blood are damaged or narrowed, the efficiency of that pump decreases, and can result in high blood pressure. While millions of people these days are walking around with high blood pressure and don't even realize it, they will soon enough. Left untreated, high blood pressure can causes aneurysms, or bulges, in blood vessels. If left alone, high blood pressure may also cause kidney damage as well as strokes and heart attacks. Knowing what your blood pressure reading is can literally make the difference between life and death.

Blood pressure is measured in two parts. Your heart usually makes a "lub-dub" sound with each heartbeat. The first sound, the "lub", is the sound of the heart valves opening to help the flow of blood from the heart into the aorta and from there to arteries that supply blood to the entire body. That pressure, known as systolic pressure, is measured as the force needed by your heart to push that blood into the aorta. The second sound, the "dub", is the sound of those valves closing. The exact moment the heart rests between beats. A normal blood pressure reading is around 120/80.

The top number shows the systolic pressure, the bottom the diastolic. These numbers may vary up or down by 4 to 6 numbers and you can still them consider them within the normal range.

Though the lower the better, which means your heart is strong and is able to pump efficiently with fewer beats.

If the blood pressure ranges from around 126 to 140, your doctor may tell you that you are "prehypertensive", or that you are heading into high blood pressure territory. Your lower numbers may read anywhere from 80 to 90, and again, may vary because of various circumstances. If you have a reading over 140/90, you have high blood pressure, and your doctor will try to lower it to prevent future complications. The best way you can deal with and either prevent or lower blood pressure is to get it regularly checked, either by your doctor or nurse, or by tracking it yourself.

Your blood pressure is what keeps you going every day, so make sure that you take it on yourself to know what it is.

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