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A study based on observing more than 2,000 seniors, published in the online archive of the journal Internal Medicine, found that high blood pressure is actually good unless you are a frail older person. In that case it really is a serious problem.
Even if your blood pressure is normal, you should consider lifestyle changes to prevent the development of high blood pressure and protect your heart health, in order to preserve the health of the whole body.
To avoid any doubts: High blood pressure represents a real health risk.
The reason is that it damages the heart’s arteries, the kidneys and the whole body, which can lead to a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and many other serious health problems.
Treatment to lower blood pressure is often fairly aggressive using medications, many of which can have serious side effects on your body.
Medication use tends to be long-term, often lifelong, from which profits flow to pharmaceutical companies and to doctors in the form of commissions. That is also a reason why many doctors recommend such drastic measures to lower high blood pressure.
However, the latest research shows that what works for one person does not work for everyone.
This means that blood pressure treatment for a 50-year-old person is different compared to the treatment appropriate for a frail 80-year-old person.
Below we provide a table showing the values for ideal blood pressure depending on a person’s age:
Diagnosis of high blood pressure
According to the American Heart Association, beginning at age 20, if your blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg, you should have a blood pressure screening at a regular health checkup, or once every 2 years.
Each heartbeat raises blood pressure and it falls when the heart relaxes between beats.
For this reason, your blood pressure can vary from minute to minute with changes in posture, during exercise, with stress or sleep.
However, its usual value should be less than 120/80 mm Hg (less than 120 systolic pressure and less than 80 diastolic pressure) in adulthood, i.e. 20 years and older. Results, however, show that as many as one in three adults has high blood pressure!
Goodbye high blood pressure
A single high reading does not necessarily mean you have high blood pressure.
If you are one of those whose blood pressure reading is higher than the usual value, the doctor may take several measurements over time before diagnosing you with high blood pressure.
However, if your blood pressure values remain at 140/90 mm Hg and above (systolic pressure 140 and above or diastolic 90 and above) over time, then it is the right time to make some lifestyle changes.
For those who have blood pressure values of 140/90 mm Hg and above, the doctor will prescribe the necessary medications.
Also recommended: Natural treatment for high blood pressure
Stages of high blood pressure
The following table shows the range of blood pressure category values for systolic and diastolic pressure (commonly called the upper and lower):
If you get a systolic pressure reading of 180 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic pressure reading of 110 mm Hg or higher while monitoring your blood pressure, you should have it rechecked after a few minutes.
If the second results prove to be the same, or above this level, you should seek immediate medical attention for a hypertensive crisis.
Many people with hypertension have thus been able to lower their blood pressure to normal levels relatively quickly.
