You will control the pressure

 “Hypertension is the chronic disease that kills the most on the globe,” says cardiologist Luiz Bortolotto, from Instituto do Coração (InCor), in São Paulo. High blood pressure causes the vessels to tighten, which requires extra effort by the heart muscle to pump blood. If the situation persists for years on end, it takes its toll in the form of a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure… No wonder, keeping pressure measures within the parameters is one of the pillars of Life’s Simple 7.

In this sense, the National Institute of the Heart, Lungs and Blood of the United States tested to what extent the values ​​should drop by 9 thousand hypertensive patients. Half had to reduce them to 13 by 9 - currently acceptable value - while the other group underwent aggressive treatment in order to drop the measurement to 12 by 8. The study had to be stopped in the middle because the intensive care group had the risk of heart attack or stroke subtracted by one third - the same effect was not seen in the other volunteers. "In older patients with associated problems, stricter pressure limits are also beneficial," says Bortolotto.

Goals

Optimal value: Less than 12 by 8

Normal value: Less than 13 by 8.5

Stage 1 hypertension 14 to 15.9 through 9 to 9.9

Stage 2 hypertension 16 to 17.9 by 10 to 10.9

Severe hypertension greater than 18 by 11

What to do?

Eating less salt and losing a few pounds helps to tame the pressure. If these initial attitudes are not enough, remedies are called for.