Blood pressure readings come in two numbers, systolic and diastolic. Having high readings mean that you have hypertension. However, having only a high diastolic blood pressure and a regular systolic pressure is something that you shouldn’t give little care of.
Understanding Diastolic Blood Pressure
Diastolic blood pressure refers to the lowest level to which your blood pressure falls in between your heartbeats. It consists of the second and lowest number of the familiar term for blood pressure such as “120 over 80″. Noticeably, 80 is the diastolic pressure.
When your heart beats, it ejects blood out into your large blood vessels. These blood vessels are very elastic. They also expand to take up some of the force. Then, while your heart rests in between beats, your vessels contract back to their normal size. By doing this, they continue to push blood around your body. Through this cycle, your blood pressure readings do not drop to zero, even in between heart beats. That’s why you have diastolic blood pressure.
When Low Becomes Whoa!
Since diastolic blood pressure is normally expected to be low, it would be inevitable to have an alarming reaction when it goes abnormally high. When you have diastolic high blood pressure or diastolic hypertension, your systolic blood pressure reading is usually in the normal range while your diastolic blood pressure reading is way high than expected.
The optimal diastolic blood pressure reading is 75 mmHg. The more your diastolic reading arises from the optimal standard, the more your risks for adverse events increase. As a general rule, for every 10 mmHg rise in diastolic pressure reading, your risk of experiencing stroke, heart attack, heart disease, heart failure and kidney failure are all doubled up.
Having other conditions like diabetes can also play a factor on how severe your condition is. Having diabetes can add up to your risk meter for adverse events to happen, that’s why having diastolic high blood pressure should not be taken lightly.
Age Factor
For several decades, the medical profession has given the lime light to diastolic blood pressure. It was widely thought that your diastolic pressure is the most important factor that can predict the severity and outcome of your condition. However, recent studies show that having an elevated diastolic or systolic blood pressure reading alone is just as bad as having both of them elevated.
Moreover, it was found that if you are aged fifty or less, diastolic pressure is most likely your principal predictor of adverse outcomes and severity. But of course, you should take into consideration that not all of the undesirable events occur in during this age period.
However, when you are aged fifty to fifty-nine, the systolic blood pressure reading, takes the utmost important seat of predicting adverse outcome in your situation. Then if you are aged sixty and above, surprising as it may seem, your pulse pressure is the paramount factor.
Treatment
Just like hypertension with both systolic and diastolic readings elevated, diastolic high blood pressure can also be treated with medication. Your doctor can prescribe you medicines ranging from diuretics, ACE inhibitors, and beta blockers.
Of course, a combination of diet control, right amount of exercise per day, medication, and high blood pressure supplements would give optimal results and changes. Definitely, the end effect would be beneficial to your health.