High blood pressure

According to National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, High blood pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems.

‘Blood pressure’ is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways.

HBP itself usually has no symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.

This is why knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you’re feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. If your blood pressure is too high, you need treatment to prevent damage to your body’s organs.

Blood Pressure Numbers

Blood pressure numbers include systolic (sis-TOL-ik) and diastolic (di-a-STOL-ik) pressures. Systolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood. Diastolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.

You will most often see blood pressure numbers written with the systolic number above or before the diastolic, such as 120/80 mmHg. (The mmHg is millimeters of mercury—the units used to measure blood pressure.)

The table below shows normal numbers for adults. It also shows which numbers put you at greater risk for health problems. Blood pressure tends to goes up and down, even in people who have normal blood pressure. If your numbers stay above normal most of the time, you’re at risk.

Categories for Blood Pressure Levels in Adults (in mmHg, or millimeters of mercury)

The foods that doctors and nutritionist most recommended for people with high blood pressure are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline and help establish a healthy foundation for your vegetarian diet. Beans and other high fiber foods are also recommended for sweeping clean the walls of your colon. It is good to drink of Ionized alkaline water but if you must have something different then drinking juices made of 100% juice will be all right to consume. Not only will these foods lower your blood pressure but are beneficial to your overall health too.

Eating a diet high in alkaline foods and Ionized alkaline water could help keep this problem in check.