High Blood Pressure Silently Leads to Heart Disease

High blood pressure is an extremely dangerous condition that can go undetected for years, doing damage all the while. Because there are frequently no symptoms related to high blood pressure, many people fail to bother with the simple blood pressure test that can save them serious problems down the road. Monitoring ones blood pressure is easy and painless. It isn't necessary to have it taken by a physician. It can be taken simply and in the comfort of your own home with a blood pressure monitor, which is relatively inexpensive.

Ongoing, untreated high blood pressure can lead to such serious conditions as heart disease or stroke. Think of your blood vessels as garden hoses. When you turn on the water in your garden hose and it is open at the end, the water flows freely. But if the end was blocked and the water pressure continues to increase, the hose could eventually explode, at its weakest point. High blood pressure will exist if the same basic situation exists with the body's arteries.

If the arteries are narrowed, it will cause higher pressure when the blood flows through. Each time the heart beats, blood is pumped into the vessels. The pressure rises giving us the top number, or the systolic blood pressure, which is best kept at 120, or less. While the heart's at rest, the pressure reduces. This is the lower number, or the diastolic blood pressure. Diastolic pressure should be 80 or below.

A small percentage, 5 to 10%, of the those with high blood pressure have it as a secondary condition brought on by another condition. Kidney or heart ailments are frequently involved. Adrenal gland tumors can elevate the blood pressure. Pregnancy can, at times, increase the blood pressure. Some medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter can contribute to high blood pressure, such as birth control pills, cold medicines, decongestants, and pain relievers. Avoid the risk of developing high blood pressure from chemically-laden medicines by replacing them with all-natural, herbal formulas. For example, use a natural plant formula for pain with ingredients of meadowsweet, white willow bark, feverfew, lavender flower, peppermint, gingko biloba, and wintergreen.

The majority of people who develop high blood pressure do so without actually having a cause that can be diagnosed. There are some existing factors that we have no control over that can contribute to the development of high blood pressure. Age is one. Many people's arteries begin to harden as they get older, making it more difficult for the blood to flow. Studies have indicated that high blood pressure does have a tendency to run in some families. It has also been documented that more men than women are plagued with high blood pressure.

Lifestyle can contribute greatly to many people's high blood pressure. These are things you can do something about. Take your weight, for example. Being overweight can contribute to high blood pressure. Excessive consumption of alcohol each day can increase blood pressure. Monitor the effects alcohol has on your blood pressure and adjust what you drink, accordingly. As a society, we consume way more salt than we need. Salt tends to increase blood pressure in some people. Exercise. Being a couch potato not only causes you to gain weight, but it also has a tendency to increase your blood pressure.

A diet of foods high in magnesium and potassium are excellent for keeping blood pressure at a healthy level. Some of the best sources of these are spinach, sunflower seeds (no salt), black, white, navy, lima, pinto, and kidney beans, baked white potatos, bananas, and soybeans. And, recent studies have indicated that our blood pressure benefits when we eat a small amount of dark chocolate a day. To ensure you have an adequate daily supply of magnesium, supplement your diet with an organic magnesium compound rich in ingredients such as wood betony, valerian root, gotu kola, alfalfa, nettle, red raspberry, and red clover tops.