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High blood pressure
affects over 16 million people in
the UK.
Blood pressure is the pressure of
blood in your arteries. The higher
your blood pressure, the greater
your risk of stroke, heart attack
and heart failure.
Blood pressure varies constantly
with your level of physical
exertion, and with anxiety, stress,
emotional changes and other factors.
Obese people or those who drink
excessive amount of alcohol are more
likely to develop hypertension.
No one can afford to ignore raised
blood pressure, because its
complications cause more deaths and
severe disability than any other
group of diseases.
Hypertension has to be looked for
and every adult should have regular
blood pressure checks. Fortunately,
proper and effective treatment can
largely eliminate the additional
risk of these serious complications.
For many people change in eating
habits, regular exercise, a low-fat
diet, quitting smoking, and reducing
the amount of salt and alcohol
consumed will often be enough to get
blood pressure down to normal
levels.
If lifestyle changes are not
successful, then drug treatment may
be necessary. Your treatment would
be regularly reviewed. If you make
lifestyle changes and your blood
pressure returns to a normal level,
your GP will be able to advise you
about coming off your medication for
a trial period.
Please feel free to book in to see
one of our Health Care Assistants
for a routine blood pressure check
or better still a well person check.
To help us make an accurate blood
pressure reading you should:
Do
- ARRIVE in
plenty of time for your
appointment at least 10 minutes
before
- SIT quietly
in the waiting room prior to
your appointment
- EMPTY your
bladder
Do Not
- DRINK
caffeine 1 hour prior to
your appointment
- DRINK
alcohol 1 hour prior to your
appointment
- SMOKE a
cigarette 1 hour prior to
your appointment.
- CHAT to
the nurse/GP when having
your BP taken
HOW
BEING OVERWEIGHT CAN AFFECT
YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Being overweight commonly
leads to increased blood
pressure as well as to many
other health problems. For
example, if you are
overweight you are more
likely to develop diabetes,
heart disease and some
cancers. The health risks
from being overweight are
much greater if you also
have high blood pressure,
diabetes or high
cholesterol. Symptoms like
back pain, tiredness and
breathlessness are also
caused or worsened by being
overweight. Losing weight
can help restore your
energy, mobility and
vitality so that you should
be able to lead a longer,
healthier life.
The more you weigh the
higher your blood pressure
is likely to be. If you are
overweight, then losing 22
pounds (10kg) can help lower
your systolic blood pressure
by 5 - 10mmHg. If you
combine weight loss with
other lifestyle changes,
like being more active and
eating less salt, you should
see even larger drops in
your blood pressure.
Everyone has an ideal
weight. Your ideal weight
will depend on how tall you
are and whether you are male
or female. If you are
overweight you should try
and get down to a weight
within the ideal range for
you.
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