Knowing your blood pressure can save your life
May is High Blood Pressure Education Month, a great time to remind everyone about the importance of regularly checking your blood pressure. High blood pressure— or “hypertension”—can cause severe and even fatal health complications, such as stroke, heart attack, and kidney disease. Knowing your numbers is not only quick, easy, and painless; it’s the first and most important step to keeping hypertension at bay.
Blood pressure is the force exerted on the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your circulatory system. If the pressure is too high, it can damage your arteries, making them less efficient at delivering blood and oxygen to the heart and potentially leading to a number of serious health problems like stroke, heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, sexual dysfunction, vision loss, and chronic kidney disease.
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer because it can cause serious damage for years without any symptoms. Hypertension contributes to nearly 1,000 deaths every day, according to the American Heart Association, and 1 in 3 adults with hypertension aren’t even aware they have it.
Symptoms do occur, but they’re indistinct and can be attributed to any number of other conditions. Facial flushing, dizziness, light-headedness, shortness of breath, headaches, nosebleeds, and eye blood spots are all possible signs of high blood pressure.
Nearly half of Americans over the age of 20— more than 122 million people—have high blood pressure, according to a 2023 report from the American Heart Association. The risk increases with age. Genetics and family history play a role, too. African Americans have a considerably higher rate of hypertension: 54 percent compared to 46 percent for whites, 39 percent for Asians, and 36 percent for Hispanics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While you can’t change your race, family history, or age, you can choose behaviors that support healthy blood pressure. First, focus on reducing salt. On average, Americans eat twice the recommended amount of salt daily, and excessive sodium intake is the highest risk factor for hypertension. So, consider a diet low in sodium, sugar, trans fat, and saturated fat to decrease your chances of developing high blood pressure. Being overweight or obese and lacking physical activity can raise your blood pressure over time. You might try the DASH diet, which is specifically designed to keep your blood pressure in check. (DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.) Limiting alcohol and tobacco use, including vapes and smokeless tobacco products like dip, also decreases your risk.
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) using a simple monitor that attaches to your arm with a cuff. There are two readings: systolic and diastolic. The systolic reading, which is the higher of the two numbers, is the pressure when your heart is working its hardest, contracting and pumping blood through your arteries. The diastolic reading is the pressure when your heart is at rest in between beats, which is why it’s lower.
Healthy adults typically maintain blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg. You may have prehypertension if your blood pressure is higher than 130/80 mm/ Hg. People with prehypertension are more likely to develop high blood pressure (anything higher than 140/90 mmHg). If your blood pressure is 180/120 mmHG or above, or if you feel like you’re experiencing symptoms of hypertension, you should visit the emergency room immediately. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Your blood pressure can go up and down as you age and as your diet and habits change throughout your life, so you should check your blood pressure at least once a year. Ideally, it is checked every time you visit a medical provider.
For the most accurate blood pressure reading, avoid drinking caffeine, eating, or smoking for at least 30 minutes before checking your blood pressure. It’s normal to be nervous, but try to relax. Some people are uncomfortable at a medical provider’s office, which can cause their blood pressure to rise while they’re there. If you have “white coat syndrome” (nervousness in the presence of doctors), consider buying an at-home monitor— make sure it’s in the U.S. Blood Pressure Validated Device Listing, which you can find online. Alternatively, pharmacies like CVS and Rite Aid have free monitors available for everyone to use. Ensure you get a cuff that goes on your upper arm, not your wrist.
Regardless of how you check your blood pressure, be sure you’re checking it often and consistently. Hypertension is serious—anything called “the silent killer” is something worth paying attention to. But it’s also manageable with lifestyle changes, including lowering your salt intake, eating a healthy diet, medication, and at-home monitoring. Start by checking your blood pressure, especially if you haven’t in the past year. Knowing your numbers could very well save your life.