Here’s a question: do you know what your blood pressure reading is? If you’re normally fit and healthy and don’t make regular visits to the doctor, you might well never have had it checked. According to the NHS, around 30% of people in England have high blood pressure (hypertension) and many are completely unaware they have it, which is a frightening thought.
A blood pressure reading measures how strongly blood pulses against your artery walls, and if the pressure is too high it strains your arteries and heart leading to increased risk of a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease if left untreated.
Hypertension is known as the ‘silent killer’, as it rarely has obvious symptoms. Although it could affect anyone, you’re more likely to be at risk if you’re overweight, don’t eat a balanced diet, don’t have a healthy lifestyle or are aged over 65.
All adults should get their blood pressure checked every five years, and if you fall into one of the risk groups it should be more frequent, ideally once a year. 17th May 2014 is World Hypertension Day, run by the World Hypertension League as a way of promoting the importance of knowing your blood pressure, and it’s a great reminder to get yourself checked out. It could be the most important decision you make!
If you go to see your doctor and are diagnosed with hypertension, what can you do to manage it? Your doctor will help you decide on a plan that’s safe for you to follow, but it’s really all about making some lifestyle changes, such as losing weight if necessary, eating more healthily, exercising and cutting down on toxins such as caffeine, salt and alcohol.
To kickstart your new, healthy lifestyle, you could consider a course of colonic hydrotherapy. These safe, non-chemical treatments will help to reduce a build up of toxins in the colon leaving you feeling more relaxed and give you a flying start to tackle the rest of your changes. At the Complete Health Clinic we really do have your complete health in mind, and you could end up being grateful from the bottom of your heart!
For lots of advice and tips from me, a trained and fully-insured colonic hydrotherapist, as well as lots of confidential, general health chat with fellow hypertension sufferers, come over and join my private Facebook group, Facebook Group: ‘Getting to the bottom of the matter’. Hope to see you there.
Helen x