Do you really need to know what blood pressure numbers mean? One late afternoon as I backed out of a parking space, I was startled by the repetitive beeping and simultaneous flashing of a bright red icon on my dashboard. In automatic obedience, I fastened my seatbelt, while a radio newscaster reported the day´s financial events. "Stocks catch a bid, with the S& P 500 climbing to modesty below the unchanged mark. Financials are playing a large role in the up-tick, as the sector makes it into positive territory..." CLICK!

I turned off the radio and chuckled to and at myself, as I did not understand a word of the report. While I assumed that "S & P 500" did not refer to a new supermarket chain, I made a mental note to contact one of my business-savvy friends to translate it without ridiculing me for my ignorance about money matters.

My thoughts diverted to this column. I wondered how many people, who might well understand that stock report, do not comprehend health information presented to them daily. While people hear and/or view such reports, few listen and grasp their significance; and worse, when the facts become too confusing or frightening, they often tune them out or turn them off.

According to a current report issued by the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death worldwide. Without resolution, by 2015, an estimated 20 million people will yearly die from the disease, primarily from heart attacks and strokes. Primary risk factors are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Controllable factors include physical inactivity, poor diet and the resulting obesity, smoking, and excessive alcohol use. The good news: Moderate dietary change and regular exercise can prevent and...... CLICK!

Coincidently, a few weeks later, while out for dinner on a Saturday evening, a friend chuckled as he confessed to being on blood pressure medications for years, yet hadn´t a clue if they still were still working. He admitted that the various concepts had been explained to him several times, yet he still doesn´t "get" the difference between, or the significance of, the "top number or the bottom number" of the blood pressure measurement. He asked why he gets dizzy while changing positions from lying down to sitting and from sitting to standing. He knew that he should exercise but did not know what kind of exercise was best for him.

I attempted to explain blood pressure to him in common terms. He was appropriately disgusted when I told him that persistent high blood pressure damage on the inner walls of his arteries might look something like the roads in the Chicago area after an icy, salty winter--gouged and cracked with potholes.

I must confess that I would not know any more than he had I not studied and researched the topic for years. He was amazed to hear that as little as a daily 30-minute brisk walk could lower blood pressure 5-7 millimeters of mercury for 22 or more hours. Then he asked, "What are millimeters of mercury?"

So I explained: Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg)

The technical definition of a millimeter of mercury ( mmHg) is the pressure exerted at the base of a column of fluid exactly 1 mm high, when the density of the fluid is exactly 13.5951 g/cm3, at a place where the acceleration of gravity is exactly 9.80665 m/s2.

For the rest of us: Imagine a hammer and bell game at a carnival in which an individual strikes/bangs a target with a hammer as hard as he or she can and then a piece of metal rises to reflect the strength of the bang of the hammer.

With regard to blood pressure measurement, millimeters of mercury refers to the amount of pressure (the bang) exerted against arterial walls under two different circumstances during heartbeats. The first (top number) is the pressure exerted during the heart´s contraction (systole); the second, during the heart´s relaxation (diastole).

Here are a dozen blood pressure terms to unscramble . Clues are given below. Understanding them may help save yours or a loved one´s life. 1. pymmtsso 2. laedi 3. itlsocys 4. liocstida 5. syereneviptrhpe 6. iyadl 7. necraelca 8. tnod 9. aeernissciiarnnttg 10. htareb 11. srests 12. eiszdnisz

Clues:

1. High blood pressure has few, if any of these.

2. Resting blood preassure measurement of 115/75 is regarded as this.

3. Top number; blood pressure measurement of the bang on arterial walls when the heart is contracting and pushing blood into a full piping system.

4. Bottom number; blood pressure measurement of the bang when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood.

5. Blood pressure measurement of >120-139/80-89 is considered to fall into this new category.

6. American College of Sports Medicine recommended frequency for moderate cardiovascular exercise for the treatment of high blood presure.

7. A must from the doctor before starting any exercise program.

8. A blood pressure of >200/110 means this with regard to exercise.

9. American College of Sports Medicine recommends high repetition and low to moderate intensity of this type of exercise twice a week.

10. Avoid holding this when performing the above type of exercise.

11. Reducing this is an important lifestyle strategy for lowering blood pressure.

12. Blood pressure medications may cause this when you stand up too quickly, so change positions slowly when exercising.

Exercise physiologist Marla Richmond M.S. serves on the Education Committee of the Medical Fitness Association and is wellness/fitness consultant to numerous organizations, including Northwestern University.

Answers: 1. symptoms 2. ideal 3. systolic 4.diastolic 5.pre-hypertension 6. daily 7. clearance 8. don´t 9. resistance training 10. breath 11. stress 12. dizziness

Source: Wilmette Life