6. Understanding Blood Pressure

List any 5 factors that can affect blood pressure.

Activity and rest, temperature, diet, emotional state, posture, hormones, kidney health, and medications.

What are 5 symptoms of high blood pressure?

Headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, changes in vision/eyesight, and nausea. Having high blood pressure puts a person at more risk for strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, loss of vision, and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

What is hypertension?

It is the scientific term denoting High Blood Pressure. Physicians diagnose patients with hypertension if there systolic pressure is equal or greater than 140 mmHg, or their diastolic pressure is equal to or greater than 90 mmHg.

What does having high blood pressure have to do with the circulatory system?

It often involved the organs of the circulatory system (aka cardiovascular system) such as with abnormalities of the aorta (the main artery that carries oxygenated blood to the body), or a narrowing of certain smaller arteries.

Describe the three factors that may increase blood pressure.

Obesity - Kids and teens who are obese are at a higher risk for hypertension. Lack of exercise makes it easier to become overweight and increases the chance of high blood pressure. People who drink a lot of alcohol or take illegal drugs like amphetamines and cocaine are also at risk of developing the condition. In some cases, medications like steroids or birth control pills can cause high blood pressure.

Why do you think that high blood pressure is called the "silent killer?"

People can live with hypertension for many years without having any symptoms. That's why high blood pressure is often called "the silent killer." Though a person may not have any symptoms, it doesn't mean that the high blood pressure isn't affecting the body.

What is the name of the instrument used to measure blood pressure?

Sphygmomanometer

What are the two physical forces that cause blood pressure?

The heart creates one force as it pumps blood into the arteries and through the cardiovascular system. The other force comes from the arteries resisting the blood flow.

What is the difference between diastolic and systolic pressure?

The higher, or top, number - in this example it's 120 mmHg - is called systolic pressure and represents the pressure at the peak of each heartbeat. The lower, or bottom, number (80 mmHg in this example) is called diastolic and represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats.

Describe the normal ranges for each type of blood pressure measurement.

The higher, or top, number — in this example it's 120 mmHg - is called systolic pressure and represents the pressure at the peak of each heartbeat. Normal ranges are less than 120 mmHg in those over 18 years of age. A borderline systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg needs to be closely monitored. The lower, or bottom, number (80 mmHg in this example) is called diastolic and represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats. Normal range is less than 80 mmHg in those over 18 years of age. A diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg needs to be closely monitored.

Identify what unit of measurement is used to measure blood pressure...

mmHg.

What do you think the term prehypertension means?

A borderline systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg needs to be closely monitored. This is called prehypertension.

Describe any three factors that could cause a decrease in blood pressure.

Eating a healthy diet and avoiding alcohol- low in fats, sugar, and salt which all contribute to hypertension. Exercising regularly - lowers your risk for hypertension because a healthy weight combats the effects of obesity on the heart and blood vessels. Do not smoke and keep your stress levels at a minimum - smoking means nicotine intake and nicotine raises BP. Also, continued stress causes hormonal imbalance and contribute to hypertension as well (constantly in fight or flight or have high levels of glucocorticoids like cortisol which causes blood sugar issues).

Define blood pressure.

The pressure your blood exerts against your blood vessel walls as your heart pumps.