Blood Pressure

Blood pressure measures the pressure of the blood in your arteries as the heart pumps it around your body. Blood pressure does not stay the same all the time; it is constantly changing to meet your needs.

If your blood pressure remains high, it may indicate the heart is working too hard, which may be caused by hardening or narrowing of the arteries, although other factors may play a role. Imagine a garden hose being squashed under a person’s foot or a car wheel. It greatly increases the pressure inside the hose, may cause damage to the hose and may reduce the supply the hose is delivering.

High blood pressure (hypertension) may be associated with serious health concerns, such as a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or kidney disease. There are often no outward symptoms, which is why it is important to have regular blood pressure checks.

Low blood pressure (hypotension) may be more common in women and may be associated with dizziness, fatigue, feeling weak whilst standing and needing to sit down or lie down.

How is blood pressure checked and is there a cost?
There is no fee for checking your blood pressure, which can be done during your appointment using our automatic arm cuff blood pressure device.

The automatic blood pressure device can also detect an irregular heartbeat. An irregular heartbeat may influence the results of the measurement, as well as having other implications for your cardiovascular health.

To take your blood pressure, the cuff is fitted over your upper arm, level with your heart. The cuff is automatically inflated and you will feel a tight constriction around your arm for a short period of time. The cuff then gradually deflates and we have our reading, all within the space of less than a minute.

What should my blood pressure be?
Clinical studies are increasingly demonstrating the health concerns possible from high blood pressure and it is now generally recommended we aim for a reading of 120/80 (mmHg).

The first figure (120) is called the systolic blood pressure, whilst the second figure (80) is the diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is a measure of the pressure as the heart pumps the blood into the arteries when it beats. The diastolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.

What can we do to support healthy blood pressure?
Thankfully, whether your blood pressure is measured as high or low, there is plenty we can do to support healthy blood pressure. A program to support healthy blood pressure may include simple lifestyle and dietary changes as well as natural medicines to assist the cardiovascular system.