High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it often has no symptoms or warning signs.
Because of this, experts say many people live with the dangerous condition for years without ever knowing it.
As the country marks National High Blood Pressure Education Month, the most common risk factors and offers tips on keeping those blood pressure numbers in a healthy range.
Lennie Tinsley, age 67, found out she had high blood pressure — hypertension — after a routine visit to her eye doctor.
“The optometrist told me that i needed to see a hypertension specialist because when she viewed in my eyes, it showed that I was hypertensive,” Linnie says.
Lennie is now monitored regularly by a cardiologist. She says she thinks stress and diet contributed to her high blood pressure but the cause of hypertension is often unknown.
You can have it for years and never know it because, usually, there are no symptoms. That’s why it’s called the silent killer.
There is no cure, and left untreated, “You will end up clogging up your arteries, leading yourself to a heart attack and stroke, loss of memory from the brain cells that are lost, kidney damage, damage to the heart muscle that will eventually lead to something that we call congestive heart failure.”
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the arteries when the heart beats and is at rest. It’s measured by two numbers.
The top, or systolic number, and the bottom, or diastolic number.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the normal blood pressure for adults should be no higher than 120 over 80.
It’s most prevalent in African Americans, middle aged and elderly people and those who are overweight or obese.
There are good medications for treating the disease, but eliminating salt from your diet, exercising and losing weight will also help lower your blood pressure.
