You ve probably had your
blood pressure measured a ton of times at the doctor s office or even at the dentist. It s one of those health markers that you likely don t give a lot of thought to until something s off, or you have a family history of blood pressure probs.
But it s worth understanding before you have something to worry about including how to lower high blood pressure if that becomes a health concern for you. Let s get into it.
So, what exactly
is a blood pressure measurement?
Blood pressure, or arterial tension, is the pressure at which the blood flows through the arteries, or the pressure your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries, according to
Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty
Eating healthy is a give and take between the foods we want to eat and the foods we should eat. Throw in the complications of being a modern person ― a busy schedule, long hours, preferences, kids, spouses, traditions, health conditions ― and it’s not so hard to see why eating well is more complicated than it sounds.
None of this is any less true for doctors. While their patients may not have the same income level or background, most doctors can relate to long, stressful days at work, which leaves limited time for meal preparation. And, of course, even cardiologists aren’t immune to craving steak, alcohol, pizza and other tasty favorites that aren’t exactly nutritious or healthy.
Everyone gets so chilly now and then that they can’t feel their fingers. After an afternoon of snowball-throwing or ice skating, it’s totally normal for your extremities to take a little while to warm up. But around 5% of the population myself included suffer from a much more intense version of this predicament. At the slightest chill, I can lose sensation in my fingers (and sometimes toes) for hours at a time.
It hasn t always been this way. I never felt particularly resistant to cold weather until later in life years after going to college in Chicago, where frozen fingers and toes were a common occurrence during winter. Back then, I could traipse around my frigid college campus without too much discomfort. But in my 30s, even an activity as brief as walking to the car from my house could leave my fingers completely numb and stark white, as if the blood had completely drained out of them. And even after my fingers finally regained feeling, they prickled and tingled with intense