Changing What We Thought We Knew
Blood pressure readings have two numbers: the top one is called “systolic” and the bottom one is “diastolic.”
The top number shows the pressure when your heart is pushing blood out, and the bottom number shows the pressure when your heart is resting between beats.
For a long time, doctors have mostly paid attention to the top number to figure out if someone might have heart problems or risk of a stroke.
Some even said that the bottom number didn’t matter that much. However, a new study from Kaiser Permanente is shaking things up.
A Big Study with Clear Findings
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente looked at a huge amount of data—36 million blood pressure readings from 1.3 million adults in Northern California.
These readings were taken over a 10-year period from 2007 to 2016. What they found was pretty surprising:
both the top and bottom numbers are important for assessing the risk of heart disease or stroke. In other words, you can’t ignore the bottom number like we used to think.
This was true whether the blood pressure reading was on the higher side (140/90 mm Hg) or at the new lower level that some guidelines recommend (130/80 mm Hg).
So it turns out, both numbers matter and lower readings are generally better for most people.
What This Means for You and Your Doctor
This new information supports recent changes in blood pressure guidelines. It means that doctors should be more careful about controlling both numbers in people who are at higher risk for heart problems.
For most of us, it means we need to pay attention to both numbers if we want to keep our hearts healthy.
The study, led by Alexander C. Flint, has been published in a well-known medical journal called the New England Journal of Medicine. It’s a big step towards understanding how to better prevent heart disease and strokes.
So, the next time you get your blood pressure checked, remember that both numbers are important. Keep an eye on them to make sure you’re doing what you can to stay healthy.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about High blood pressure drug may protect kidneys from damage in diabetes and findings of High blood pressure drug linked to higher risk of deadly heart disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that Beetroot juice could help lower high blood pressure, and results showing this common plant nutrient could help reduce high blood pressure.
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