High blood pressure is a serious condition that puts you at risk for grave health crises, including stroke, heart attack, and dementia. It’s also a “silent” disease, meaning there aren’t symptoms, even if your blood pressure is dangerously high.
Dr. Gurprit Sekhon treats patients with high blood pressure, and helps control it so the risks for these and other complications are reduced.
It’s important to adopt lifestyle changes that support healthier blood pressure, and Dr. Sekhon can carefully monitor your blood pressure on a regular basis, and prescribe medication, if necessary, so it doesn’t creep up sneakily. You’re in the best hands when you seek care for any condition at Nu Wave Medical Center.
High blood pressure occurs when the force of your blood is elevated as it pushes against the walls of your arteries. The higher it is, the harder your heart has to work to pump your blood.
Eating well and exercising are important steps you can take to lower your blood pressure. Adopting a nutrient-dense diet filled with plenty of fruits and veggies, legumes, whole grains, and healthy proteins such as fish, as well as getting 150 minutes of exercise per week, can do wonders to normalize your blood pressure.
Health conditions like obesity and diabetes raise your risk for high blood pressure. You can develop high blood pressure with age, as well, or if it runs in your family.
Staying on top of your blood pressure can prevent a frightening spiral, where it harms your kidneys, eyes, brain, and more.
There are two numbers in a blood pressure reading. The first number is your systolic pressure, which is the pressure in your arteries while your heart is beating. The second number is your diastolic pressure, which is the pressure in your arteries between each heartbeat.
When you’re under Dr. Sekhon’s care, she routinely monitors your blood pressure. In addition to taking your blood pressure while here at the office, she may give you a monitor that’s specially designed for home use, so you can check it more often under all types of circumstances.
A normal blood pressure reading is 120 mm Hg/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) or less, while an elevated level is considered as 120-129 mm Hg/80 mm Hg.
A concerning high reading is 130 mm Hg or greater//80 mm Hg or greater.
Unfortunately, almost 50% of adults in the United States have high blood pressure, and the statistic is the same here in our state of Florida.
When you see Dr. Sekhon about your blood pressure, she talks to you about the role of exercise in lowering it, and workouts that are particularly effective. The good news is they’re fun and you don’t have to be an Olympian to perform them successfully.
While each of these exercises helps to lower your blood pressure, they also benefit your health in other ways.
Aerobic exercise requires you to use your large muscle groups, increases your heart rate, and improves endurance. Enjoyable workouts of this type include walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, and aerobic dance classes, which can be low- or high-impact.
These workouts are more focused, targeted types of exercise that build your muscles and benefit your bones and joints.
Good ones to try are lifting weights and performing moves like squats, pushups, and using resistance bands. Taking a Pilates class is a popular way many people like to fit in strength training in a group class setting.
By including a stretching type of workout into your routine, you’re not only doing something good to lower your blood pressure, you’re also protecting yourself against injury and improving your flexibility. Excellent workouts that include lots of stretching in every part of your body are yoga and tai chi.
Once you’ve found workouts that fit your preferences, you’re on your way to controlling your blood pressure. Make your workout choices based on whether you’re a group exercise person or you prefer to work out alone; whether you’re a morning, midday, or evening exercise lover; and which activities you like to engage in most.
If you and Dr. Sekhon determine that you need to lose weight to lower your blood pressure, she offers a safe and medically sound weight loss program that can get you to your goal.
If you want to get an idea of what your blood pressure is or know you need to lower it, call our Panama City Beach office at 850-493-6948, or request an appointment online. That’s your first step to a healthier you.
