COMMUNITY HEALTH CORNER With Chief Pharmacist, Ray Glaser at Thrifty White Pharmacy, 503 Third Avenue East in Alexandria. May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month High blood pressure is sometimes called the "silent killer" as there are usually no symptoms. Understanding your blood pressure numbers is the key to controlling it. What is high blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls. Each time the heart beats, it is pumping blood into these arteries. This results in the highest blood pressure when the heart contracts and is pumping the blood. High blood pressure, or hypertension, directly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (heart attack) and stroke (brain attack). With high blood pressure, the arteries may have an increased resistance against the flow of blood. causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood. Two numbers are used to measure blood pressure. The number on the top, the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart contracts and is pumping the blood through the body. The number on the bottom, the diastolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart is at rest and is filling with blood. Both the systolic and diastolic pressures are recorded as "mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) Blood pressure is categorized as normal, elevated or stage 1 or stage 2 high blood pressure. BLOOD PRESSURE CATEGORY SYSTOLIC mm Hg DIASTOLIC mm Hg Normal Less than 120 120-123 130-139 140 or Higher Higher than 180 Less than 80 Les than 80 80-89 and and High Blood Pressure Hypertension) Stage 1 High Blood Pressure or higher Hypertensive Crisis Consult your doctor immediately Higher than 120 What are the symptoms ot high blood pressure? Often, people with high blood pressure do not have noticeable symptoms. If the blood pressure is greatly elevated, a person may experience thefollowing: Headache, Dizziness. Blurred vision. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently The symptoms of high blood pressure may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis Free blood pressure checks at your local Thrifty White Pharmacy! O Employee Owned PHARMACY 503 Third Ave. E Alexandria, MN 320-762-1531 Store Hours: Mon Fri: 9am 8pm Sat: 9am 4pm Sun: 10am 2pm 200 Central Ave. Osakis, MN 320-859-2161 Store Hours: Mon Fri: 9am -5:30pm Closed Saturday & Sunday eu oNuNE GilineDrugstore www.onindhusorecom