Hypertension: 100 Ways to Manage It

Author: Hui Ruida
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-02-01
Features:
Fragment: 1. How is blood pressure formed? The pressure of blood flowing in arteries is called arterial blood pressure (hereinafter referred to as blood pressure). The relative stability of blood pressure is an important condition for maintaining life. Maintaining the relative stability of blood pressure requires normal heart pumping function and the circulation of the arterial and venous pipeline system. The heart of each person is no larger than a fist. Don't look at it as small, but its work is extraordinary. The normal heart beats about 100,000 times a day, pumping over 7,000 liters of blood, covering nearly 100,000 kilometers. To complete the heart's pumping function, the heart is divided into four chambers. Carbon dioxide-rich blood returns from the body's venous system to the right atrium, then passes through the right ventricle into the lungs. In the lungs, carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged in the venous blood. The fresh blood containing oxygen then returns from the pulmonary veins to the left atrium and flows into the left ventricle. When the left ventricle contracts, it ejects oxygenated arterial blood into the aorta. Through the branching arteries like branches of a tree, the blood is delivered to all tissues of the body to meet the metabolic needs of the tissues. During tissue metabolism, carbon dioxide and other metabolic products are carried back to the right atrium by venous blood. This repeated movement of blood is called blood circulation, and the driving force behind blood circulation is blood pressure. Blood pressure is the result of two forces: the contraction force of the left ventricle and the resistance of the arterial system. Additionally, blood pressure is easily affected by various physiological and pathological factors and can fluctuate. Physiological factors such as high-intensity exercise, mental tension, sudden excitement, and post-meal can all cause temporary blood pressure elevation, which is a normal response. Hypertension caused by pathological factors is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases, especially among middle-aged and elderly populations. The blood pressure during heart contraction is called systolic blood pressure, which is the higher number when measuring blood pressure, indicating the pressure in the arteries during heart ejection. After each heart contraction, the heart relaxes, and blood refills the chambers. During this period, the pressure in the arteries is called diastolic blood pressure, which is the lower number. Typically, systolic blood pressure is written before diastolic blood pressure. For example, if a person's systolic blood pressure is 14.7 kPa (110 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure is 9.33 kPa (70 mmHg), it is written as 14.7/9.33 kPa (110/70 mmHg). kPa is kilopascal, and mmHg is millimeter of mercury, both of which are pressure units. The former is the legal unit, while the latter is the traditional unit.
2. How high is normal blood pressure? Doctors have been able to measure patients' blood pressure for over a century, and they have known for decades about the dangers of high blood pressure, recognizing two important facts: ① Whether systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure rises, each is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In the past, doctors only focused on systolic blood pressure readings and treatment was concentrated solely on lowering systolic blood pressure, which was clearly inappropriate. Research has confirmed that controlling systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure is equally important in reducing the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. ② There is no such thing as "normal" or "safe" blood pressure; the risk of cardiovascular disease is positively correlated with blood pressure readings. In other words, within a certain range, without other serious illnesses, the lower your blood pressure, the lower your risk of cardiovascular disease; conversely, the higher your blood pressure, the greater the risk.