Blood Pressure 101

Having diabetes increases your risk for high blood pressure, which can lead to serious health conditions. Learn more about your blood pressure to understand how it relates to your health:

What is blood pressure?
It’s the measure of how hard the blood pushes against the walls of your arteries as it moves through your body. While it is not unusual for blood pressure to rise and fall throughout the day, if it stays up, this means you have high blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension. High blood pressure can start to damage the blood vessels, heart, and kidneys, which can lead to stroke or heart attack.

If you’ve had your blood pressure taken by a doctor, you’ve heard the results come in two numbers. These numbers consist of systolic and diastolic measurements. The systolic number, which is first, shows how hard the blood pushes when the heart is pumping. The diastolic number shows how hard the blood pushes between heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood. So, for example: 120/80 or less is considered a healthy blood pressure. Anything above is high blood pressure.

What causes it?
Experts can pinpoint one exact cause of high blood pressure. However, having diabetes, being overweight, consuming too much salt, overindulging in alcohol and having a family history are all reasons your blood pressure could be higher than normal.

What are the symptoms?
Hypertension is called a “silent killer” for good reason. There aren’t any symptoms. Most don’t know they have high blood pressure until they visit a doctor for a check-up or other reason. Very high blood pressure can cause headaches, vision problems, nausea, and vomiting.

How is high blood pressure treated?
Depending on the severity of the high blood pressure, a doctor may prescribe medicine. But a healthy change in lifestyle can also lower a person’s blood pressure. These changes can include exercising, losing weight, eating a nutritious diet, cutting back on salt intake, and quitting smoking.