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How blood pressure affects the brain?
When arteries become stiff and narrow, blood flow is insufficient and causes the onset of stroke (stroke or ischemic stroke). Elevated blood pressure can also cause rupture of an artery and cause a brain hemorrhage (stroke or hemorrhagic stroke).

How blood pressure affects the kidneys?
Hypertension causes stiffness in the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys. But also damages the kidney itself, which can lead to kidney failure requiring dialysis even. Furthermore, if the kidney is damaged it can cause increased blood pressure.

How blood pressure affects other organs?
* If it affects the arteries of the legs causes pain when walking.
* If you damage the arteries of the retina causes alterations in vision.
* In men may cause impotence.

What are normal levels of blood pressure?
* Normal blood pressure. The maximum levels of systolic blood pressure (maximum) are between 120-129 mmHg, and diastolic (minimum) between 80 and 84 mmHg. Also lower numbers are considered normal, provided they do not cause any symptoms.
* High-normal blood pressure. The figures for systolic blood pressure (maximum) are between 130-139 mmHg, and diastolic (minimum) between 80-89 mmHg. In people with diabetes, affecting the heart (ventricular hypertrophy) or kidney damage, the levels above 130/80 mmHg are considered too high.

Is there blood pressure compensated?
You can talk about high blood pressure, normal or low, but never compensated or decompensated. On a practical level, these three possibilities are negative:
* Have high peak pressure (systolic) or the minimum (diastolic).
* Have at least as high as the maximum.
* Have a high and one low is also bad.

The best treatment of hypertension is a good prevention to avoid their occurrence.This is essential to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle:

* Do not smoke. The snuff raises blood pressure and heart rate. In addition, hypertensive smokers multiply the detrimental effect of snuff. Quitting smoking has positive effects outweigh any medication for hypertension.
* Be careful with alcohol. Moderate consumption of alcohol (a glass of wine daily with meals) may be beneficial, but if it causes excessive increase in blood pressure and other harmful changes the heart and other organs.
* Control your weight. Overweight is a cause of hypertension. Reducing it lowers blood pressure and reduces cardiovascular risk and diabetes.
* Exercise. Conducting regular exercise lowers blood pressure numbers. It increases muscle mass and exercise capacity, helps control weight and reduce cardiovascular risk achieved.
* Practice a heart-healthy diet. Hypertensive patients should reduce salt intake and foods that contain it. It is also necessary to consume fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, bread and other cereals. Finally, using olive oil as main fat and increasing intake of poultry and fish at the expense of red meat.
* Drug treatment. If you are hypertensive you can not settle for the above recommendations, as you may need to continue drug treatment. The results do not always reflect an immediate reduction in blood pressure, so it is necessary to wait a bit before the doctor put to a medication change.

Antihypertensive drugs are grouped into several types:

1. Diuretics.
2. Renin angiotensin system inhibitors (ACEI).
3. Antagonists of angiotensin receptor (ARB)
4. Calcium antagonists.
5. Beta-blockers.
6. Association of drugs.

Patients who continue antihypertensive treatment should consider these tips:

* Although blood pressure has returned to normal should not stop taking the medication before.
* Strictly adhere to the treatment and try to always keep the time of intake of the pills.
* Consultation with the doctor if treatment is not successful here, because sometimes it is necessary to involve several drugs to control blood pressure. Check also whether a specific food diet (eg, salt) is blocking the antihypertensive effect of the medication.
* The treatment should always be reconciled with the heart-healthy lifestyle.
* Watch other risk factors, because if not, your good blood pressure numbers will not help much.

How to diagnosis?

Diagnosis is based on a simple measurement procedure, although in some cases the need for further tests such as blood pressure holter. It is imperative to complete the study with laboratory tests (blood and urine) and an electrocardiogram. To facilitate a diagnosis is very important to consider these recommendations:
* High blood pressure causes no symptoms and may go unnoticed.
* It is more common after age 40 but can appear at any age.
* There is familial predisposition, but also occurs in people with no history.

How to measure?

Blood pressure is measured by devices called a sphygmomanometer, popularly known as sphygmomanometers, which are subject to regulatory approvals and validations. To correct the measurement obtained must follow a number of indications:
* As the blood pressure changes throughout the day and night, make the measurement always at the same time.
* Find a quiet room without noise or interruption, with a temperature of 20-25 º C.
* You must be relaxed. No drinking, eating, smoking or physical exercise half an hour earlier.
* Rest 5 minutes before the seizure.
* Sit comfortably with your back against the back of the chair, uncross your legs and take off clothing that may oppress his arm.
* If the tensiometer is arm cuff placed two or three inches above the elbow. Let the palms face up and the elbow slightly flexed at heart level.
* If the tensiometer is wrist, put the wrist strap to the heart.
* Do not talk during measurement.
* Make two separate measures at least two minutes and keep the result of the average of both.
* Point values obtained to inform your doctor.

Many people get depressed because it makes the regime, playing sport and can not lose weight. It is disheartening, but the reason is very simple. We are used to take rations overly abundant. If no portion control, ie if we diet, but eating too large portions, will be very difficult to lose weight.

For us the key to losing weight is controlling the amounts of our rations and we must know how many calories we burn daily basis and in order to calculate how many calories we can afford to eat it and be able to lose weight.

To avoid having to be weighing all foods each day can do some tricks that will support you such as: eat small meals and the quantity of the ration will seem appropriate, if you take snacks during the day, buy the individual bags they sell, because they are usually adequate rations, and most importantly, make sure to set a universal measure for all, that is as lame as for example a ladle or a cup of coffee or tea. And you measure everything out there just to facilitate the task and always have the same reference.

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