Take your pressure down

More than 33 per cent of adult Australians have high blood pressure, and that’s a problem because it is a serious condition with lots of consequences. High blood pressure increases your risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. It is also bad news for your eyes, kidneys and (in men) erectile function. You don’t want to leave high blood pressure unattended, but before we get on to what you can do it will help to clarify a couple of terms.

Firstly, “hypertension” is just another way of saying “high blood pressure” — the terms are interchangeable. Secondly, in talking about what can help your blood pressure we will be talking about your blood pressure reading. The typical blood pressure reading is something like 120/80. Your blood pressure is considered “high” if your reading is over 140/90. The first and higher number is your blood pressure, which is the pressure when your heart is contracting to squeeze blood out into circulation. The second and lower figure is your blood pressure, which is the pressure that exists when your heart is refilling with blood between contractions. We will be talking