Helpful Resources About Blood Pressure
Learn more about blood pressure and how you can improve your heart health.
What is Blood Pressure (BP)?
A blood pressure reading has two numbers, 120/80 for example. The upper number (120) is the pressure your heart creates when it contracts to push blood into your body, and the lower number (80) is the pressure in arteries when the heart relaxes.
When either number is above normal, your heart must work harder to squeeze blood to your body and this can cause serious problems over time.
Most people do not feel anything and do not know when their blood pressure is high which is why it is important to have it checked on a regular basis.
What is Heart Rate (HR)?
A Heart Rate is the number of times that your heart beats in one minute. Along with Blood Pressure, it is one of the most common measures of the heart's health. Taking your pulse is the simplest way to count the number of beats your heart makes in a minute.
A normal pulse is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. If it beats faster than this, it is working harder to pump blood to your body. If it beats slower than this, it may not be pumping enough blood to your body.
The pulse rate can vary due to a wide number of body factors, such as age, level of fitness, medical conditions, etc. The pulse can also be elevated by external factors such as caffeine, stimulants, nicotine, alcohol, stress, or fever.
If your heart rate/pulse is slower than 60 beats per minute, or faster than 100 beats per minute and you have chest, shoulder, back, or arm pain; feel short of breath, dizzy, or light headed; or have blurred vision, nausea, headache, or fatigue, have someone take you to an emergency room now or call 911. This could be very serious.
What is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)?
A normal heart beat is steady and regular like the ticking of a clock, between 60 and 90 beats a minute. AFib is when the heart beats erratically and usually rapidly. It is not effective pumping blood to the body and this causes several problems.
Health Care Resources
There are many ways to get help with your blood pressure and heart health. View our list of online resources that can help you find help with managing your blood pressure and heart health.