Your Blood Pressure Reading

Today is World Hypertension Day.
There has been many question about blood pressure even though this topic has always been tackled in different magazines, newspapers and television. We always hear about the effects of high blood pressure in hypertension and heart disease. Yet we are still confused about our blood pressure reading. Why is my reading not constant? Why do my neighbor has different reading from me? Why does my sister has the same reading every time she goes for check-up? Why is my mother hypertensive?

To my experience in hospitals, these questions are being asked over and over. The answers are also the same that blood pressure do vary greatly from time to time and that it is not also the same with other individual. There are those who are young but has high blood pressure and there are also those who are elderly but has low reading. Here is the new update. While we are aware that we don't share the same reading with other people, we are confused on how blood pressure affect each one of us, yourself included. There are certain situations where in you found yourself having headaches and nape pain because your blood pressure suddenly rise. There are also a time where in you feel the same but you have a normal reading. So why is that? You started to worry and hurry to go to the doctor, asking the same question you already asked before.
Our blood pressure reading is not really that constant as we thought. But each of us has their own normal ranges as to how we could endure the effects of hypertension. My mother for example, who is sixty three years old and her normal blood pressure reading for a long time is 130/90 as the highest and 110/80 as the lowest. You may think that range is healthy enough. It is indeed basing from numbers. However, when her systolic and diastolic rises to either 130/100 or 140/90, she experienced a moderate stroke without her knowing it. She is the opposite of my my father who is hypertensive and has a reading of 150/110 as the highest and 140/100 as the lowest. He could not feel headaches and nape pain at those ranges because it is his normal blood pressure. His body can endure that range of reading and can feel nothing. But of course beyond his highest, he can experience the effects of hypertension.
My point here is that in response to our blood pressure reading, we are still unique individuals. I guess it is time to drop the notion that 120/80 is the best and the normal range. For the sake of illustrating what normal numbers should be, then it is normal but it does not mean it is applicable for all. We have our own normals and we vary when it comes to numbers so it is important that we know our own normal ranges. That way, we are aware of our own normal and abnormal reading so we could do something about it.
Let's love ourselves. Be aware.