Imagine you’re a superhero and your superpower is to stop bad guys from causing harm in your city.
Your heart has a similar job! It pumps blood throughout your body to keep everything working as it should. But sometimes, it needs a bit of help. This is where checking your blood pressure comes in.
Blood pressure is a measure of how hard your heart is working to pump blood. High blood pressure means your heart is working too hard, which isn’t good.
It’s like a superhero trying to do too much at once, eventually getting tired and not being able to do their job well.
Why Are Regular Checks Important?
Now, if you knew there were lots of bad guys in your city, you’d want to keep a close watch on them, right? That’s what regular blood pressure checks do. They help us keep an eye on how our heart is doing.
Some people, especially older adults, have health conditions that make it even more important for them to regularly check their blood pressure. If they don’t, they risk having major health problems.
But guess what? Many people don’t check their blood pressure as often as they should, even when their doctors tell them to! Researchers want to understand why and find ways to encourage more people to do these checks.
High Blood Pressure Can Be Dangerous
Did you know about 60% of adults who were asked in a survey said they either take medicine to control their blood pressure or have a health condition that makes it crucial to keep their blood pressure under control?
These conditions could be things like having had a stroke, heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease.
If people with these health conditions don’t control their high blood pressure, they could face serious problems, like an even greater risk of heart attacks, stroke, or kidney failure.
That’s why doctors suggest they check their blood pressure regularly.
Who Checks Their Blood Pressure?
About 74% of older adults who have health conditions linked to blood pressure said they have a machine to check their blood pressure at home.
Those who had this machine checked their blood pressure more often than those who didn’t have one.
However, less than half of the people who had a machine and a health condition related to blood pressure checked their blood pressure at least once a week. Some people (19%) never used their machine at all.
Out of the people who checked their blood pressure at home regularly, only half shared their readings with their doctor.
Why Should We Protect Our Brain Health?
Keeping an eye on your blood pressure isn’t just good for your heart, it’s good for your brain too! Yes, you heard that right. Controlling your blood pressure can help your brain stay healthy and keep your memory sharp.
Sadly, only a small number of people (13%) said they checked their blood pressure to keep their brain healthy.
This means doctors need to remind patients that keeping blood pressure under control can help not just their heart, but their brain too!
So remember, just as a superhero keeps an eye on the city, we need to keep an eye on our blood pressure. It’s a simple way to help our hearts (and our brains) do their jobs properly.
The information for this story comes from a big study called the National Poll on Healthy Aging. This research was paid for by the AARP and Michigan Medicine.
They asked a lot of adults aged 50 to 80 about their health conditions, blood pressure, and interactions with health providers about blood pressure.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about new way to reduce blood pressure, and black tea could help prevent high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about plant nutrient that could help reduce high blood pressure, and how tea and coffee influence your risk of high blood pressure.
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