Many years ago the measurement regarding hypertension was 100 plus your age for an acceptable systolic (top number) reading. Now the the accepted view is 120/80 for everyone regardless of age.
I think both methods have their drawbacks.
The previous ’100 plus your age’ failed to acknowledge that a balanced lifestyle can stave off the effects of aging and assist us enjoy a long and healthy life.
The current approach of 120 over 80 for all comes short in the opposite way. Using the same BP (blood pressure) ruler to measure a 20 year old and a 75 year old is silly.
Of course we can remain healthier and live longer through conscious choices – but that’s not the same as believing we can maintain the peak of a 20 year old’s vitality and BP forever.
Both methods do not to strike a balance.
But staying healthy is all about maintaining a balance.
Another problem with the 120 systolic 80 diastolic chorus is that it fails to take into account the dynamic nature of BP. Blood pressure is constantly changing.
It’s not a fixed number we should be stress over but the ranges that our BP moves in.
Blood pressure will naturally get higher when you push yourself, get in an argument, and so on. Blood pressure is usually the lowest at the end of a relaxing evening. And this is the best time to take your BP reading – at home, relaxed. Not at the local GP’s or after an argument with your partner.
If your blood pressure comes down to acceptable range (say under 135/ 90) then there’s no need to rush to the local surgery seeking an anti-hypertension medications,. It’s when your BP refuses to ever come lower than 130 / 90 that you should contemplate blood pressure reducing cures.
Why 135/90? That’s my acceptable range. You see I have a natural propensity for high BP. My parents suffered from hypertension. So if I can keep my blood pressure under 136 over 91 I’m alright.
You’ll have to figure it out for yourself what’s acceptable for yourself.
As a matter of fact, my actual BP reading sometimes go below the 120/80 ideal. That’s a direct consequence of lifestyle changes I’ve brought into my life. But I’m not going to ‘freak out’ if I get a reading of, say 133 over 89 or thereabouts.
When it comes to personal health worries, creating your own goals runs against the grain for for many. It’s easier to just listen to the official line and follow the directions.
The problem with this approach for hypertension is that it’s conceivable to be diagnosed with high BP and put on medications for life when in fact you blood pressure at home is in an reasonable range.
If you consider all the bad side effects linked with blood pressure medications, lowering your BP via a choosing a healthy lifestyle may not seem that crazy after all.
Also don’t forget that blood pressure changes. Think in terms of ranges, not fixed numbers.
Simon Foster was a sufferer of dangerously high blood pressure but has now achieved healthy levels through exercise and diet without the use of medications. His mission is to share this knowledge and techniques with fellow sufferers of acute hypertension.
blog: http://highbloodpressurebegone.com
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