Before trying to do anything in your life, it is always vital to have a basic understanding of the subject, so that you can make an informed decision and direct your effort on the right path. 

Blood pressure or hypertension is an increase in your arterial blood pressure while you are resting. Normal resting blood pressure for an adult is 120/80mmHg. There could be a plus or minus 10mmHg difference between individuals and it’s completely normal. 

If you are looking out for yourself or your loved ones, take a minute and read through this entire article to find out basic things you need to know, to control your pressure and start leading a healthy life. 

key topics that I am going to explain in this read. 

What exactly is high blood pressure? 

Why do we get it? 

What happens if you don’t control the pressure? 

And finally, How to control the blood pressure? 

1. What exactly is high blood pressure?  

        Blood is a vital fluid that runs and powers all our different organs. Think of it like a fuel powering your car and in this case, your body is your car. Without adequate fuel, the vehicle cannot operate. Simple. Why do we need this blood? Well, all the food, medicines, and water that we consume, gets mixed with blood and reaches the target organs to produce energy. So, for the blood to travel through these blood vessels and reach almost all the organs in your body, it requires a specific amount of pressure to achieve this. This pressure for an adult is 120/80 mmHg. 120 is the systolic pressure and 80 is the diastolic pressure. Systolic is the measure of our arterial pressure when the heart beats, while diastolic is the pressure when our heart rests in between beats. If your pressure is more than 140/90 mmHg on two different occasions, you probably have hypertension. 

2. Why do we get it? 

         There are several reasons why someone might have high blood pressure 

       1. Obesity and lack of exercise 

       2. High salt intake 

       3. family history of hypertension 

       4. Drinking too much alcohol or coffee 

       5. Smoking 

       6. Lots of stress 

       7. Increasing age 

       8. Family history 

Sometimes, hypertension could be due to other underlying medical conditions. Like problems with your liver, kidneys, and thyroid organs. It is vital to get your body checked at least annually to find out if all the organs are functioning properly without any cause for concern. 

3. What happens if you don’t control it? 

        The high pressure inside those blood vessels will start damaging the inner layers of the arteries. Once it is damaged, our body starts to repair them. This is where It gets interesting. I am sure you would have been injured at least once at some point in your life. So after you get injured, you might have noticed that the body is trying to heal by forming scabs over that wound. Now, the same things happen inside. Platelets get deposited and also cholesterol gets stuck here. If the blood pressure remains high for a long time, these wound deposits might break off and start travelling with the blood. When the blood reaches near heart, the vessels get narrower and this broken-off piece might get stuck inside this narrow opening thereby stopping the blood flow abruptly. This can cause sudden blood supply loss, leading to heart attack. If the same thing happens near the brain, it can cause a stroke. 

Apart from these, there are many other complications like kidney disease, vascular dementia, heart failure etc. 

4. So how do you control this high blood pressure? 

         It is easier than you might think. Just look back at all the causes and start reversing them. Sure there are a few things like age and family history that you have no control over. But other than that, most of the cases are reversible if done right and at the right time. For example, if you are overweight and live a sedentary lifestyle, you can start your fitness journey by moving around. Make sure you walk for at least 30 minutes a day and stop eating outside/ processed foods. These two would be a great first step and can help your blood pressure come back to normal. Smoking and alcohol are other causes of high blood pressure and it is recommended that you completely stop smoking and reduce your alcohol level drastically. 

Some last words

As a physician, I would like you to always remember this phrase In your life “prevention is better than cure”. Join me in this journey of health awareness and I can make sure that you prevent most of the illnesses and live a happy and healthy life.