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How to prevent high blood pressure

Prevention: High blood pressure is symptomless, dangerous and (surprise!) not just a middle-aged man’s problem

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Originally published in Today's Parent March 2012

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High blood pressure runs in Deidre Schram’s family. Her great-grandfather died of a heart attack in his 50s. Her mother, three aunts and an uncle have it. But when Schram found out about her own high blood pressure at age 36, she didn’t think much of it and chalked it up to stress.

That’s the thing about high blood pressure: It’s often referred to as “the silent killer” because there are no symptoms or signs and you don’t feel any different when it’s high than when it’s normal. And since it’s most commonly thought of as an issue for seniors and men, women usually don’t believe it’s a problem. After a few more high readings at the pharmacy and the doctor’s office, Schram, a mother of two, was diagnosed with hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure) and put on medication, which started working right away. Now 40, she says that was a relief, considering it had taken a decade to get her mother’s blood pressure under control. “What they told my mother is, if your blood pressure is in the hypertension zone for 10 years, you’re basically taking 10 years off your life.”

Pay attention to the signs
Medical professionals urge that everyone, especially women, pay attention to their blood pressure, which is the measurement of the force of blood against the blood vessel walls. An optimal reading is around 120 mm Hg (millimetres of mercury) over 80 mm Hg. The top number (systolic) represents the pressure when your heart contracts and the bottom number (diastolic) measures the pressure when the heart relaxes. Norm Campbell, a University of Calgary professor of medicine and member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, stresses that your readings don’t actually have to hit the 140 over 90 hypertension reading for you to be at risk of potential health problems. “Just an increase from your normal blood pressure damages the blood vessels.” And this increase can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure, loss of vision and even dementia and Alzheimer’s.

One in five Canadians has high bloor pressure. Find treatment options on the next page>

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