Effects of High and Low Blood Pressure on Your Body
Blood pressure indicates the force exerted by the blood against the blood vessel walls. Blood pressure is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries and is regulated by the response by the arteries to the flow of blood. The blood pressure of an individual is expressed in two ways – systolic and diastolic blood pressure. For instance if the blood pressure reading is shown as 120 / 80, then the systolic blood pressure (the top number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart contracts and pumps blood into them and the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart relaxes after it contracts.
Blood pressure always is higher when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxing. Blood pressure represents one of the principal vital signs of life, which include heart beat, rate of breathing, and temperature.
It is seen that the systolic blood pressure for most healthy adults ranges between 90 and 120 millimeters of mm Hg and the diastolic blood pressure falls between 60 and 80 mm Hg. Blood pressures reading over 130/80 are considered as high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of developing cardiac problems, kidney disorders, hardening of arteries, eyesight problems, paralytic stroke etc. Low blood pressure, known as hypotension, is due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. When the flow of blood is too low and fails to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidney, the organs are not able to function normally and get permanently damaged.
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