Most people have heard that high blood pressure is the “Silent Killer”. Yet in my clinic, I often hear “How could I have high blood pressure when I feel fine?”
High blood pressure has no symptoms. Over thirty percent of the people who have it, don’t know it. And that means tens of millions.
In today’s Health Alert, I’ll show you how to make sure the “silent killer” doesn’t creep up on you.
First, some basics: Your blood pressure is the force your heart generates to move blood through your arteries. It has two numbers. The top number is your systolic pressure and the bottom number is you diastolic pressure.
Systolic pressure is the force when your heart is contacting. Diastolic pressure is the force when your heart relaxes between heartbeats.
If your pressure is above 140/90, you have high blood pressure. Hypertension is just another word for high blood pressure. The cause is usually a mystery to medicine. Ninety to ninety-five percent of high blood pressure cases are logged as “of unknown cause.”(1)
Here’s where my point of view differs. I usually find a cause in one of these:
- Deconditioning from a lack of effective exercise
- Nutritional deficiencies especially CoQ10 deficiency
- Toxins from poor food choices (with many thinking they are eating “health food”)
- Obesity from a combination of the above causes
- Good old-fashioned stress
Repeat monitor your blood pressure – to get a true picture of how it changes over time. It tends to be higher during the day and lower at night.(2) This is perfectly normal.
Even if your doctor doesn’t ask, it’s important to know your numbers. Remember that most people don’t know they have a problem.
You can buy a reliable blood pressure monitor for less than fifty dollars. You can find blood pressure machines at your local drugstore or shopping mall.
Here are a few more tips:
- Don’t drink anything with caffeine for half an hour beforehand.
- Try sitting quietly for a few minutes before testing.
- Supplements can help, too. I’ve helped many of my own patients beat high blood pressure with natural and safe CoQ10 therapy. See Health Alert 48 for more on CoQ10 and blood pressure.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
(1) American Heart Association. High Blood Pressure. www.americanheart.org
(2) The importance of accurately monitoring your blood pressure. Family Practice Recertification. Aug 2005. Vol. 27, No. 8