What is Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force or the measurement of the force applied to the walls of the arteries by the blood in the body. It is determined on the basis of the force, the amount of blood pumped and the size and flexibility of the arteries.

Around one in every three adults in the United States is suffering from high blood pressure, and nearly one-third of these people don't know that they owe this disease. This is due to the fact that there are no defined symptoms of blood pressure. As a matter of fact, many people have high blood pressure for years without having even a hint of it.

Your blood pressure keeps changing. These changes depend on the activity, temperature, diet, emotional state, posture, physical state, and the medication used by you. The pressure of blood when the heart beats, is at its highest and is known as systolic pressure. And the pressure of blood when the heart rests between beats is the lowest and is called diastolic pressure.

Your blood pressure is calculated in accordance with the systolic and diastolic pressures. Both these numbers are very important. Generally, blood pressure is written as 120/80 mmHg (measured in millimeters of mercury, a unit for measuring pressure). In the written form, the systolic pressure is the first or the top number and the diastolic pressure is the second or the bottom number. For example: If the systolic pressure of a person is 120 and the diastolic pressure is 80, then it would be written as 120/80 mmHg.

Blood pressure can be divided into high blood pressure and low blood pressure. Both conditions are injurious for your health. So it is better to prevent the disease from taking its root into you. It is rightly said that prevention is better than cure. There is no point in developing the lethal condition and then spend your whole life under the agony of its pernicious consequences.