We have heard it over and over again. We need to control our blood pressure. What exactly does that mean? First we will have to understand what does blood pressure means.
Blood pressure refers to the force that the heart has to overcome in order to pump blood to the rest of the body to deliver oxygen and nutrient. This amount of force is represented by two “numbers”, example 120/80. But what do those numbers mean?
The heart is a muscle. The first number, 120, represents the contraction of this muscle as the heart tries to deliver blood to the rest of the body. The more force that the heart has to overcome, the higher the first number would be. The second number, 80, represents the pressure at which the heart is at rest or not contracting. During this time the heart itself is being supplied with blood (remember the heart is also a muscle). The higher the second number is, the less blood is supplied to the heart muscle .
DO YOU KNOW YOU WHAT YOUR NUMBERS ARE?
Dr. Patricia L. Pilgrim-Antoine, DNP, CRNA
CollaborativeHealthAcademy 