Why You Need To Lower Your Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension to give it its real medical name, is the ‘silent killer.’ It’s called that because when you have high blood pressure, you’re not aware of it most of the time, and therefore you won’t take steps to combat it – and it can lead to death or serious illness when left unchecked.
The first thing to do is to make an appointment with your doctor to check your blood pressure; this is something you should do annually. Once you know that you have high blood pressure, there are some things you can do to prevent it from causing you problems. Read on to find out why it’s important to do so.
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Improve Your Heart Health
High blood pressure can damage your heart, so much so that those with hypertension are three times more likely to develop – and die from – heart disease. The reason that the two conditions are linked is that high blood pressure causes the arteries within the heart to harden. Perhaps ironically, hardened arteries lead to high blood pressure too.
Although it might seem like this is a problem you can do nothing about, there are methods to help you. One good option to help your heart in various ways is exercising more. Regular exercise will lower your blood pressure and protect your arteries.
You’ll Have Less Chance Of A Stroke
Almost three-quarters of people with a stroke have one due to high blood pressure. A stroke occurs when the brain doesn’t get enough blood (and therefore oxygen). When you have high blood pressure, your blood slows down in its journey around the body, and therefore your brain might suffer, resulting in a stroke.
Again, exercise is a good idea, but something else that can help is to quit smoking if you do so. Smoking causes your blood to thicken and slow, raising your blood pressure and making the problem even bigger.
You Could Suffer From Erectile Dysfunction
As mentioned, high blood pressure causes the blood to slow down in your body. When this happens, it will be directed to the most crucial areas – the heart, brain, and other organs. It won’t necessarily be directed to your reproductive organs, and that means that men may not be able to achieve an erection. In fact, erectile dysfunction is often the first symptom of high blood pressure that men notice.
To prevent this, it’s a good idea to have a well-balanced diet and to reduce stress as much as possible. It’s also wise to take sildenafil tablets as these are specially designed to help with erectile dysfunction.
Protect Your Kidneys
If you have high blood pressure, it can damage your kidneys by stretching the important filtering system within them. Over a short period of time, this is less of a problem, but if it continues to happen, the stretching will be permanent, and your kidneys will be less efficient. This will lead to kidney disease, which will eventually require dialysis or even a transplant.
Always make sure you monitor your blood pressure. You can buy your blood pressure monitor online to check it regularly, and if you find it is high a lot of the time, speak to a doctor for advice.
