Healthy Memphis: Get handle on high blood pressure to avoid disease

What you should know

High blood pressure is often a silent killer that leads to heart and vascular disease. Adults in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension) than those in other states.

Hypertension is often not felt. Many people don't know when their blood pressure is high. Hypertension can lead to heart attacks and strokes, major causes of death in the Mid-South. Hypertension can also destroy kidneys and lead to birth defects in newborns.

Surprisingly, many children in the Mid-South develop hypertension in their youth. Excess calorie intake and weight increase their health risks. Daily stress from poor living conditions also contributes to their risk of hypertension. If a kid develops high blood pressure, it's likely the child will continue to have high blood pressure as an adult.

Your blood pressure is measured by two numbers - when you heart is beating (the systolic pressure or top measure) and when your heart is at rest between beats (the diastolic pressure or bottom number.) For most adults, a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80) is the ideal blood pressure.

Many people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes have hypertension, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol. They are in danger of developing severe cardiovascular and kidney disease. Intensively treating hypertension in people with kidney disease can greatly decrease the number who lose kidney function and require dialysis.

Medicines for hypertension have saved many lives. Diuretics, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors are often prescribed.

Natural ways to prevent and reduce hypertension can be as important as medication. Natural treatments include improvements in diet (reduction of salt, saturated fats and excess sugars), increased exercise, and reduction in stress.

A team approach is important for treating hypertension. The team should include you, your primary care provider, your pharmacist, a dietitian, and perhaps a social worker, church health ministry worker, or community health worker.

If you are like many people in the Mid-South, heart and vascular disease are in your future. Heart problems, strokes, and hardened arteries are too common in states along the Mississippi. For maps, see cdc.gov/dhdsp/ and cardiologist.org/heart-disease-in-the-united-states-map.

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Healthy Memphis: Get handle on high blood pressure to avoid disease