Blood Pressure Information

With the start of a New Year, many of us are choosing to make healthier decisions. One thing to do is to monitor our blood pressure.

How often? Your doctor will take your blood pressure during your annual visit, but once a month, check it yourself at a blood pressure station at the mall, supermarket or drugstore. Or, buy your own devise for home use.

Target Range? Below 120/80 mmHG (below 115/75 mmHg if you're over 40). Above 120/80 mmHg is considered pre-hypertension; above 140/90 mmHg is full-blown hypertension.

Why it Matters? Hypertension more than triples your risk for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure not only makes your heart work harder to pump blood throughout your body, it also hardens arteries prematurely and causes micro-tears in artery walls that can trap plaque and cause blockages.