From Valleynewslive · · 1m 10s
What your blood pressure numbers actually mean
A physician explains why high blood pressure starts quietly, and why the bottom number deserves more attention than it gets.
In brief
A physician explains why high blood pressure starts quietly, and why the bottom number deserves more attention than it gets. High blood pressure damages vessels long before you feel anything, so read both numbers and get checked even when you feel fine. Originally reported by Valleynewslive.
It starts with inflammation
Board-certified physician Dr. Rhea Rogers says high blood pressure almost always begins with chronic inflammation damaging the blood vessels themselves.
No symptoms, real damage
That vessel damage builds quietly. You can feel completely fine while it progresses, which is why readings matter more than how you feel.
Stiff vessels make resistance
Damaged vessels stiffen, creating vascular resistance. Your heart has to push harder against a narrower, less flexible path.
Your heart walks uphill
Rogers uses a simple picture for what resistance does to the heart's daily workload.
“Take that street and prop it up, and now you've got to walk uphill. That's hard and that's what your heart is having to do.”
It is not just the heart
Rogers notes blood pressure affects far more than the heart alone. The damage travels wherever your blood vessels go.
Watch the bottom number
Patients fixate on the top number, but gerontologist Sam Cradduck says the bottom number tells a bigger story about what is happening inside.
What matters most
High blood pressure damages vessels long before you feel anything, so read both numbers and get checked even when you feel fine.
