Blood travels through your body by flowing through
arteries, carrying oxygen-rich blood from your heart
to other tissues and organs. Once oxygen is delivered
to your tissues and organs, oxygen-poor blood travels
back to your heart through your veins. Your heart
then pumps this blood into your lungs, where it
is replenished with oxygen. After returning to your
heart, the blood is pumped out into your arteries
again. Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood
against artery walls as it circulates through your
body. This is what is measured at your doctor's
office.
Your body monitors and adjusts blood pressure
through a complex interaction between your heart,
blood vessels (arteries and veins), nervous system,
kidneys, and several hormones, in response to
various stimuli.
Many things can cause blood pressure to rise.
When you are asleep, your blood pressure is low
because your body needs less oxygen-rich blood
when it is at rest. On the other hand, when you
are exercising, your body's demands are greater,
and so your blood pressure increases.
It is perfectly normal for your blood pressure
to rise and fall in response to your body's needs
throughout the day. Remember, hypertension is
when your blood pressure is sustained above your
normal range.
There are several risk factors that may contribute
to whether or not you develop hypertension. Some
of these, such as weight, diet, and lifestyle,
are examples of risk factors you can control.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking,
which cause blood pressure to rise, are examples
of risk factors you have the power to eliminate.
Other risk factors, such as age, heredity, race,
and gender, cannot be changed.
Hypertension or high blood pressure, results
from either an increase in the amount of blood
that is pumped by the heart or an increased resistance
to blood as it flows through the arteries. In
other words, the flow of blood travels through
narrowed arteries, requiring your heart to pump
harder just to keep the blood flowing.
Remember, as blood pressure increases, the strain
becomes greater on your arteries as well as on
your heart. This increased strain means that your
heart must work much harder all the time. The
result - an enlarged heart that is increasingly
less effective in pumping blood throughout your
body.
It is possible to have hypertension and not know
it. Many people with this condition do not have
any obvious symptoms, meaning they are "asymptomatic".
It is, therefore, very important to have regular
check-ups with your doctor and follow his or her
instructions; left untreated, hypertension can
result in serious complications.
