We are often hearing about the dangers of having high blood pressure, but can you honestly say that you know what blood pressure is or what blood pressure measurements actually mean?
Are you aware of the medical risks connected to having high blood pressure? Do you know how you can help to lower your blood pressure? If you have shrugged your shoulders and answered “not really”, read on.
Let’s start with what blood pressure actually is. Your blood is transported from your heart to your brain and to the rest of your body through vessels called arteries. Pressure is needed to get the blood to circulate round your body.
Your blood pressure is at its highest when your heart pumps blood out into the arteries (systolic pressure), and your blood pressure lowers again as the heart eases and relaxes before it pumps out blood again (diastolic pressure).
When you have your blood pressure measured it is written like this – 120/80mmHg, The first number is the systolic pressure and the second is the diastolic pressure.
A healthy blood pressure is 120 over 80 or less, but the lower you can get it, the better.
If your blood pressure is too high over a period of time, it can damage the walls of your arteries and can put a strain on your heart. If blood pressure remains high and is not treated, then you will be at increased risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure.
High blood pressure (known as hypertension) is also a risk factor for kidney disease and some eye conditions.
If a single blood pressure measurement is high, then it will be monitored over a period of time to check that you really do have high blood pressure.
People with high blood pressure may not have any symptoms and so the only way to know if you have a healthy blood pressure is to have it measured.
Recent research has showed that sometimes people can feel very nervous whilst visiting their GP to have their blood pressure checked, and this can lead to a high blood pressure reading. This situation is known as “white coat hypertension” and it is thought to lead to too many people being wrongly diagnosed as having hypertension. It is proposed that those patients who have a high reading in a clinical setting are then monitored at home to make sure they receive a correct diagnosis.
If you are concerned about your blood pressure then why not speak to the medic on your rig/offshore production installation, or your company’s doctor onshore.
If you then have your blood pressure checked, you should be able to avoid “white coat hypertension”, as you will have a relaxed relationship with your medic.
High blood pressure can be treated and often prevented, and there is lots you can do to lower your risk. We should all be adopting a lifestyle that will help lower our blood pressure whether we have high blood pressure or not. Diet, activity levels and weight will have a significant effect on blood pressure.
There are a number of valuable self-help measures such as: cutting down on salt intake – too much salt will raise your blood pressure; ensuring you eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetable per day – more is even better; drinking alcohol in moderation; exercising for at least 30 minutes a day and losing weight.
Set yourself some realistic goals towards enjoying a healthy lifestyle and you’ll help maintain healthy blood pressure. If you do have high blood pressure, making these changes can help to bring it down.
Val Grant is a senior occupational health nurse at specialist consultancy Abermed of Aberdeen