Well if you did, I have got the answer for you. And that too, without using any technical, difficult and medical jargon!

Actually, it’s not that difficult. And nothing likes rocket science or something. In fact it’s quite interesting and people who are not related to the field of medicine can also easily understand and benefit from it. We all have heard about terms like High blood pressures, Low blood pressures, Hypotension, Hypertension etc, and this is because these terms are quite commonly used by people around us. Even from those who do not have any medical background so it would be wise to get into a bit detail of a much-talked-about term, blood pressure.

Considering the above mentioned definition, one would wonder how we can determine the exact value of a person’s blood pressure. It’s very simple. By using a device, known as “Sphygmomanometer,” we can easily note down the blood pressure values. (The best way is to take 2 or three readings at a time and then taking out an average for a much authentic value.)

One single blood pressure reading consists of two separate values that represent the pressure of blood during two different times; first, when the heart is beating and second, when it is in a rest state.

This brings me to the definition of Diastolic Blood pressure, which is:

“The measure of the pressure with which the heart pushes blood to the blood vessels when the heart is in a relaxed position (in between heartbeats) is called the diastolic blood pressure.”

How can we measure Diastolic Pressure? Let me explain this in a step-by-step process.

- Get hold of the Sphygmomanometer device along with the combination of a Stethoscope.

- Wrap the cuff of the fabric around the arm of the person.

- Attach the gauge to the fabric cuff to show the pressure reading.

- Inflate to a certain level (above 120) and then release the air slowly.

- Note down the top (systolic) and the bottom (diastolic) pressure reading.

- Repeat the process 2 to 3 times and take out an average.

Several factors affect our Diastolic Pressure such as:

- Posture

- Amount of exercise undertaken

- Stress and tension

- Use of nicotine and such compounds

If a constant abnormal diastolic value is seen, then it is very important to take the essential precautions and a healthy lifestyle along with expert medical advice is required to ensure normal Diastolic pressure.

Blood pressure (also known as BP) is the force that the blood exerts against the walls of arteries while circulating in our body. This pressure varies from person to person depending upon factors such as:

- Age

- Sex

- Health

- Diet

- Environment

We often get to hear from people (usually middle and old-aged ones) that, “My BP is high.” Or in other cases, “My BP got low.” Now how do they come to know of this? Although most of them tend to infer it on their own based on certain signs and symptoms like pulsating headaches for a High Blood pressure, dizziness, feeling like the earth is moving beneath you, fainting and feeling cold all of a sudden for a Low Blood pressure, there are certain medical devices to calculate the values in order to get the true picture.

The most commonly used device, both by doctors and also at domestic level is known as “Sphygmomanometer” along with the combination of a Stethoscope. It’s very easy to use and almost anyone can learn to operate it. (I remember the first time I used it on my father when I was still 13 or 14… and that too correctly!) While measuring the blood pressure with a Sphygmomanometer, we got to note down “two” values.

The first value is taken when the blood pressure is at its highest while the heartbeats, pumps the blood and represents the maximum force exerted on the blood vessels. This is called the Systolic blood pressure. It is:

- Always measured on millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

- Always written before the other value (the lower value).

- Also known as the Top value.

Very significant in measuring High blood pressures as this value determines if a person has a high BP. (Usually values exceeding 120 are considered to show high BP’s)

The importance of the Systolic Pressure can be determined by considering the following example:

Let’s assume that the human heart is like a tree and the several branches coming out of that tree are the blood vessels. Now to ensure the uninterrupted flow (of blood) to all the branches and each and every cell in those branches, the tree (heart) needs to exert some force or pressure, which is done by the rhythmic beating. This process also helps in removing the cells’ waste product and giving them all the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Thus it is very important to keep taking several blood pressure readings and taking out an average to ensure the correct reading, along with keeping in mind factors like overall lifestyle including health, food habits, and family history as they have a very significant influence.

Proper and well maintained diet is the only way to keep you blood pressure in normal range if you want to avoid medication. This is the most effective and common manner that most doctors will also advise you to control and take care of your blood pressure rate by keeping a close eye on what you eat and how much of a particular food you may also eat in the whole day. That has a lot of a contribution when it comes to keeping a balance in your blood pressure.

Another most important thing you need to avoid from your diet is salt. Reduce Sodium from your diet as much as possible, as if you take more and more salt in your body, it will attract more water molecule, and in result there are no free water molecules in the blood to flow. The whole process will make blood thicker and in result heart has to work harder to pump blood result in high blood pressure. To reduce intake of salt, you have to avoid cooked and processed items, and eat fresh items but do avoid some food items which naturally carry sodium in them.

High blood pressure can be very dangerous and it is always better that you keep an eye on it instead of letting it get out of the hand and becoming fatal for you in the long run. There are many high blood pressure diets available that a person can follow to ensure that the situation is kept well in control and that the condition doesn’t get messed up too much for a person’s health and well being. Salt and salty food are the main essence that makes a person’s blood pressure reach sky high like a rocket and hence a good high blood pressure diet will have salt out of it completely.

Salt monitoring, meal planning, physical activity, proper medications and liquids, help control blood pressure levels. It is very important that you keep an eye on any symptoms that showed up and take necessary action before things go from bad to worse. Always keep in touch with your consultant if you have any symptoms or sign related to high blood pressure.

Blood and blood flow is what acts as a petrol or gas in a car and it requires a good and proper care to be maintained at all times so as to ensure the correct functioning of the body. However similar to a car when there is a slight imbalance in the petrol and its flow it shuts down, the same way when there is some kind of an imbalance in the flow of blood and its pressure within the body , it causes the body to have many problems. The body has many parts and each part needs a specific type of blood pressure to come in to it and leave it to make sure there is correct functioning.

There could be many reasons for high blood pressure, though the primary reason is still unknown yet there are many secondary reasons for it. You can be a victim of high blood pressure if you have some kind of kidney disease or your kidney is not working in a proper way. Age could be another reason for it, as you passes the 50th benchmark, you would be more prone to get high blood pressure. Family history and ethnic background play a certain role in it as well. Your eating habits and life style can also be a cause of high blood pressure, as stuff like salt, alcohol, cigarette, high fat diet or mental stress can add insult to the injury.

The causes of high blood pressure can include a sudden imbalance of hormones in the body. This is usually due to some kind of tension or stress in home or office. Then high blood pressure can also be caused due to some kind of a food item that may cause and imbalance within the person’s body and its basic chemical content foods that are salty are usually the culprits when it comes to getting high blood pressure.

Today many people are victims of High blood pressure and the main reason behind all that is their life style. These days’ people don’t follow healthy eating pattern rather they go for junk food most of the time as it is easily available. People these days have limited physical activities either because of lack of time or availability of transportation at every place. Another factor that can cause high blood pressure is the intake of lot of alcohol and smoking.

If you want to reduce your blood pressure, you have to take a few steps and your aim should be to take your blood pressure to 140/90. You have to maintain a healthy eating along with a healthy life style and donating proper time for daily exercise. This routine will help you in two ways; it will reduce to blood pressure if you already have high BP, or will keep in control if you are not victim of it. You have to be very careful while eating or choosing your food, make sure you choose food which is lower in salt and Sodium.

Medication is a big factor that plays a role in the way you reduce this and your own high blood pressure treatment. Eating healthy is the most important part of having a normal blood pressure. That way you will best be able to control and treat high blood pressure. Many people tend to develop a great amount of problems when they are faced with health issues and blood pressure is the number one cause. For the most part eating stuff that can reduce your blood pressure is the best way to regulate it so that you do not suffer from any high pressure or blood pressure related health problems either.

Medication is also at times helpful for the control and treatment of high blood pressure. It might take trial and error to come up the right medicament or combination of medicines that will help control high blood pressure. It is crucial to take the medicines as prescribed and only stop them on the advice of your doctor. There are many medicines available in the market so you have to get the right combination to control it

Treatment should nonetheless by carried on the side, as high blood pressure if left untreated is known to cause irreparable damage to sensitive organs of the body like the kidneys, heart increasing the chances of a stroke, brain damage, loss of vision, and other serious illnesses that may prove fatal. According to various lab tests and medicinal surveys, it is suggested that supplements with Coenzyme Q10, abbreviated as CoQ10, in them helps in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Other remedies based on natural treatment for high blood pressure include additional diet supplements like garlic powder which have been shown to reduce both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of individuals suffering from mild hypertension. However, the intake of garlic powder should be closely monitored by a doctor as garlic is known to act as a blood thinner much like the functions of aspirin.

Garlic in the blood stream is known to interfere with drugs like Coumadin, Pentoxifylline, aspirin and other blood thinners. It is also known to interfere with the functions of vitamin E and gingko. Therefore patients should consult health physicians before increasing the intake of garlic their diet, especially those patients who are about to, or just recovered from a surgery. Hawthorn, a herb is used to curb high blood pressure in hypertensive patients using traditional methods. Hawthorn has the advantage that it does not interact with any drugs and is safer for use as a diet supplement by people suffering from very high blood pressure. Natural high blood pressure remedies also include fish oil which is known to lower the blood pressure modestly. Fish oil contains DHA, docohexanoic, acid and EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid.

Evidence suggests that DHA contributes in lowering high blood pressure. Diet supplements like folic acid may also contribute to the lowering of high blood pressure by decreasing levels of homocysteine in the blood. Folic acid is a form of vitamin B which is responsible for the production of red blood cells. A study carried out on people who smoke cigarettes indicated that administration of folic acid their blood helped lower their blood pressure significantly.

High blood pressure or hypertension is when the heart pumps blood into the vessels, the blood flows against the wall of the arteries. Blood pressure is measured with a blood pressure apparatus and recorded as two numbers, such as 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury), in which the top number is the systolic pressure reading and corresponds to the pressure in the arteries as the heart contracts and pumps blood forward into the arteries; the bottom number is the diastolic pressure reading which represents the pressure in the arteries as the heart relaxes after the contraction.

Many people have high blood pressure or hypertension without them knowing it because not all hypertensive people exhibit signs and symptoms. Unfortunately, uncontrolled high blood pressure or hypertension is responsible for many deaths or disabilities such as heart attack, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, peripheral artery disease, and aortic aneurysms (outpouchings of the aorta). Because of these, many people are now aware of these dangers. Dying of heart attack is connected to blood pressure especially systolic blood pressure. Complications caused by hypertension are often called end-stage organ damage. Early detection of high blood pressure is very important to prevent complications.

Any level of physical activity is what causes high blood pressure and high pulse rates. Blood pressure responds differently to several types of activities.

During any physical or strenuous activities, the blood pressure reacts accordingly to the intensity of the movements. Pulse rate may fluctuate during static or dynamic exercise. Therefore, both pulse rate and high blood pressure are influenced by the person’s level of activities because these affect the blood flow, heart rate and oxygen levels. It is recommended to monitor cardiovascular activity and oxygen consumption by measuring pulse rate before, during and after exercise to help you control your blood pressure.

In order to accommodate intense activity, heart rate must increase its level of functioning, as systolic pressure rises progressively. Diastolic pressure remains the same or perhaps decreases. Therefore, increase in systolic pressure causes high pulse rate; allowing blood flow to increase.

Early detection or prevention of what causes high blood pressure and high pulse rates lowers the risk and complications. Eating a low fat and low salt diet, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy weight, avoiding drinking of alcohol or drinking alcohol in moderation, monitoring blood pressure regularly, taking blood pressure medications regularly, avoiding stressful activities, and practicing relaxation techniques (such as breathing exercises, Yoga, Pilates and many others) all help to prevent high blood pressure and organ damage that it may cause.

There are various characteristics of a diet that can help lower blood pressure dramatically. First off it should be low in salt and low in saturated fats and cholesterol. However your diet should be loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and potassium and magnesium.

Foods that Lower Blood Pressure

Suffice it to say that a healthy diet is what is needed in order to maintain a healthy blood pressure level. Of course this doesn’t mean that you’ll have to let go of all the good stuff and be content instead with just steamed vegetables. Knowing the healthier choice is always important. If you must have some potatoes for example, go for baked potato rather than fries. If you must have a hamburger, consider going for a chicken sandwich instead.

1st Tip: Choose Home Cooked Meals

If you really want to successfully get hold of your soaring high blood pressure, it is important for you to consume fresh produce and cook them at home rather than eat your meals from prepackaged boxes. Many of these precooked meals are loaded with sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat. However you won’t get any sort of nutrients from them. While cooking at home can be time-consuming, you can find some tasty and nutritious recipes that only take about 15-20 minutes cooking time.

For people suffering from high blood pressure, sodium intake should be kept at a minimum of 3000 mg per day. For many Americans and their high-fat diets, the daily sodium consumption can easily soar to 7000 to 9000 mg. If you really want to slow down on salt; you have to keep away from condiments such as soy sauce, tomato sauce, and other packaged stuff. In fact a single serving of tomato sauce has about 250mg of sodium, and if you consume a meal loaded with salt, you consume even more sodium. Even salad dressings have a lot of sodium.

2nd Tip: Choose foods which are loaded with magnesium and potassium

Now its time to focus on the foods that can help you get a healthier blood pressure. You will find many vegetables and fruits which are low in fat, sodium, and cholesterol. If you must choose vegetables and fruits however, make sure that you go for those rich in potassium and magnesium. These minerals are excellent for people suffering from high blood pressure. Some of the potassium-rich foods are apricots, potatoes, bananas, avocados, and figs. For magnesium-loaded foods, you may opt for scallops, broccoli, oysters, spinach, and soy milk.

3rd tip: Never fail to consult with your physician

A good physician will advise you on the best diet to follow, so you can enjoy a much healthier level of blood pressure. This is especially important if you are overweight and you need to lose some pounds through a healthy diet.

4th Tip: Choose foods that lower blood pressure naturally

If you really want to lose weight and to lower your risk for hypertension, you need to recognize the foods that lower blood pressure successfully. Hypertension is often inherited so if you have parents that suffer from high blood pressure you should be more careful.

It is seen that women who are chronic patients of high blood pressure are more at risk of developing complications when they conceive, putting the life and health of the forth coming baby at stake, compared to those who have normal range of blood pressure prior to the onset of pregnancy. Some pregnant women fall victim to high blood pressure only after conceiving, a condition which is commonly known as gestational hypertension.

Depending on the health of the expectant mother, the stage of pregnancy and the degree of blood pressure, high blood pressure can have mild to extreme effects. Very high blood pressure can cause damage to the kidneys of the mother as well as other sensitive organs, and may result in premature delivery or lower than normal weight of the baby.

And in severe cases, high blood pressure during pregnancy can result in, what doctors refer to as, toxemia of pregnancy. Also known as preeclampsia, this condition can prove fatal for both the developing fetus and the mother. The condition of preeclampsia results from protein discharge in the mother’s urine, which may be due to damage to the kidneys, and very high blood pressure of the mother. This gestational problem starts after the mother reaches her pregnancy’s twentieth week. Affecting the liver, brain, placenta and the kidneys of the mother, preeclampsia is considered life threatening.

Eclampsia is also related to high blood pressure in pregnant women, which includes seizures in addition to the symptoms of preeclampsia and is one of the most common causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths, and cases of premature deliveries in the United States. Doctors don’t have a cure for preeclampsia; they recommend the patients to be constantly monitored for levels of blood pressure, trying to keep it constant but the only way to really end this condition is for the mother to give birth. High blood pressure related issues affect about eight percent of pregnant women in the United States, out of which more than half of the patients are expecting a child for the first time.

It is to be understood that consistent blood pressure is essential for brain and all the organs of human body. If the flow of the blood is not sufficient enough, the organs do not function in a proper way and this could lead to all kinds of problems depending upon the individual organs and its malfunctioning effect.

In the case of brain cells with insufficient blood flow, a decreased amount of oxygen and other nutrients might be the resulting factor. Apart from causing enough damage to the brain cells, this state actually transforms to a person feeling dizzy headed and gradually getting fainted as well.

It is of great interest to know that when a person is standing the blood settles at the lower veins, and this can actually lower the blood pressure of a person with a low blood pressure history. The whole scenario can give rise to a number of low blood pressure symptoms like light headedness, dizziness etc. This is clinically called as hypotension and is a well recognizable symptom.

In the case of coronary arteries, a chest pain may result which eventually lead to heart attack as well because these arteries are the ones that essentially supply blood to the heart. Disrupting its flow naturally affects heart’s function and thereby not only an abnormal heart beat occurs but also all the organs associated with the functioning of heart will be extensively damaged and so many other bodily malfunctioning can happen as a direct result.

Similarly, kidneys in our body will fail to function when blood pressure is not consistent with it. A failed kidney will not dispose the wastes from out body. And when the wastes are getting stored in kidneys, kidney stones develop and kidneys might swell abnormally and slowly it might stop functioning at one point. Not only this but also all the wastes can be turned back into our body and they are likely to mix with our blood. A spoiled blood circulated through body like lungs, heart and liver and brain, is nothing less than a death blow. Added to this, a kidney failure is mortal for any human body.

Finally, the readily recognizable symptoms of this type of blood pressure are Light headedness, dizziness and gradual fainting. Nausea and abnormal breathing patterns and some times peculiar mental status accompanied with lots of confusion, impaired concentration, cold feeling, pale skins, depression, thirst and blurred vision can also be the cause of this type of blood pressure. Sometimes body can become numb and weak as a result of these. The nervous system can completely go out of control and can tire the body so much that temporary unconsciousness might result. Non-smokers and athletes are prone to this kind of blood pressure.