David Ku
Blood—it courses through our body daily and helps keep us alive. When we lose too much of it, we cannot survive. Our body is made up of a vast array of blood vessels including aorta, arteries, capillaries, veins, vena cava. They are managed by two organs in our body which oxygenate and pump blood cells throughout our body, the lung, and the heart. The heart is a very important organ to the human body that we, at times, take for granted. It must function well daily in order for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. How the heart pumps tells us a lot about our overall health. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 or below. A low pressure is generally defined as less than 90/60 mm hg and while it is not necessarily harmful, if we have symptoms like dizziness or fainting, it becomes a concern. Our upper number (systolic) relates to how hard the heart has to pump. Our lower number (diastolic) relates to how our heart relaxes overall.
As we get older, our blood vessels naturally become stiffer. This stiffness makes it more difficult for our blood to flow easily, increasing systolic pressure. Our increasing age can affect both our systolic and diastolic pressures differently. Our systolic pressure increases with age as our larger vessels become stiffer and plaque build up in the arterial walls can contribute.
Measuring our blood pressure (BP) regularly helps us critically as we age and also if we have risk factors. When we check our blood pressure regularly, we can detect early warning signs and help reduce your risks of heart attacks—number one killer in both men and women, accounting for one in every three deaths. Strokes and kidney diseases are other conditions that we can develop if we do not keep our BPs in a normal range for our age. Genetics contributes to BP as well. BP rates should be constant, which makes it important that we monitor our BP routinely to see if unusual patterns happen in our readings. Tracking your BP at home on a Healthapp or notebook can be handy to share with your healthcare provider as part of our medical care.
The Living Well Committee offers BP checks every Wednesday from 9 to 10am at the Pinnacle Front Entrance (inside). We have volunteer retired Doctors, Nurses, and other volunteers who would be happy to take your BP, record it, and to note it in a record that we keep for you. Though we cannot offer advice, we can tell you if your readings are different from normal. This service is free of charge for Robson residents. Please feel free to come in and have your BP monitored. If you have questions, we may suggest that you seek the opinion of your healthcare provider. Our task at the Living Well Committee is to provide activities that will help each of us live longer and healthier lives. Checking our BPs regularly is one way for each of us to be proactive about our health.