Don’t Let the “Silent Killer” Sneak Up On You
Senior Care Los Angeles, CA
If 1 in 3 American adults has high blood pressure, then chances are you know someone who is living with this condition. Is it your mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend? Is it you? Many people are not even aware that they have high blood pressure.
The “silent killer” is what it is sometimes called, but it is by no means a term of endearment. High Blood Pressure, also known as Hypertension is referenced as being a “silent killer” because oftentimes there are no warning symptoms of the condition.
According to the American Heart Association, there are myths of symptomatic headaches, nosebleeds, and other inconclusively related symptoms such as blood spots in the eyes, facial flushing, and dizziness. Unfortunately, it is not until blood pressure readings have already soared to life-threatening high levels, a systolic reading of 180 or higher or a diastolic reading of 110 or higher, that these symptoms may occur. But at that point, it is considered a state of hypertensive crisis which usually requires emergency medical treatment.
Don’t let the “silent killer” sneak up on you. There are several things that you can do to reduce your risk of high blood pressure:
- Get your blood pressure checked regularly.
- Eat a healthy diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Be physically active
- Limit alcohol use
In efforts to help you commit to being physically active, we encourage you to participate in the Walk to LIVE WELL Challenge!
References:
http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/faqs.htm