What does your blood pressure reading really mean?

Have you ever wondered what the top and bottom numbers of your blood pressure reading mean and what they reveal about your health?  When your doctor tells you your blood pressure reading, such as “120 over 80”, the two numbers represent your systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which essentially tells you the amount of pressure in your blood vessels when your heart beats (systolic) and is at rest (diastolic).  Jointly,  your systolic and diastolic blood pressure reveal how hard your heart has to work to pump blood through blood vessels called arteries, providing all of your cells with oxygen and nutrients.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation defines high blood pressure, or hypertension, as having elevated blood pressure in your arteries due to your heart having to exert extra effort to pump blood through blood vessels.  Written as a ratio of systolic over diastolic, blood pressure is measured in milligrams of mercury (mm Hg),  for example 120/80 mm Hg.

Systolic Blood Pressure.    The top number in the ratio (120 in the above example) is systolic blood pressure and is the higher of the two numbers.  This is the pressure in your arteries when your heart muscle contracts.

Diastolic Blood Pressure.    The bottom number in the ratio (80 in the above example) is diastolic blood pressure and is the lower of the two numbers.  This is the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats, when your heart muscle relaxes.

From the table below, you can infer your blood pressure category based on your systolic and diastolic readings.  If your systolic and diastolic blood pressure fall into two different categories, your category is the higher of the two categories.  For example, an individual with a blood pressure reading of 150/105 mm Hg would have stage 2 hypertension.

Blood Pressure Categories 

Normal Blood Pressure.    If you are 20 years or older, a systolic reading below 120 and a diastolic reading below 80 is considered normal and puts you at the lowest risk for developing hypertension.  If you have a normal blood pressure reading, maintaining or adopting a healthy lifestyle could help keep your risk of developing heart disease low.  Numbers above 120/80 mm Hg put your at a higher risk of developing hypertension and indicate that you should adopt heart healthy habits.

Prehypertension.    Adults with systolic blood pressure reading between 120 and 139 or a diastolic blood pressure reading between 80 and 89 are considered to have prehypertension.  Although medication is not necessary for prehypertension, having even slightly elevated blood pressure puts you at an increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke and indicates a need for making positive lifestyle changes.

Hypertension (Stage 1).    If your blood pressure has a systolic reading between 140 and 159 mm Hg or your diastolic reading is between 90 and 99 mm Hg and it is consistently within this range, your doctor will diagnose you with stage 1 hypertension.  Since blood pressure can change dependent on day-to-day factors such as stress levels, your blood pressure should be measured on at least 3 separate occasions to confirm your diagnosis of high blood pressure.

While adopting a healthy lifestyle can help boost your heart health and reduce your risk of developing hypertension, your doctor might prescribe medication if your blood pressure doesn’t normalize within one month of developing a healthy lifestyle.

Hypertension (Stage 2).    Stage 2 hypertension is a more serious form of high blood pressure that places you at the highest risk for having heart disease or stroke.  Stage 2 hypertension occurs if your systolic reading is 160 mm Hg or your diastolic reading is 100 mm Hg or higher.  If you have stage 2 hypertension, your doctor will recommend medication to help lower your blood pressure.  While taking medication can help keep your blood pressure in check, making healthy lifestyle changes is essential for maintaining or improving your health.

No matter which blood pressure category you fit into, the good news is that adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help keep your blood pressure in check and reduce or slow the progression of heart disease.

Heart Healthy Habits.    Adopting a healthy diet, exercising consistently, limiting your sodium intake, quitting smoking, getting adequate sleep, and engaging in stress-relief activities are all elements of a healthy lifestyle.  While each on its own plays a part in improving your health, to reap the maximum health benefits it is recommended to practice all in conjunction.

How do your current lifestyle habits impact your blood pressure readings and overall health?  Find out with the Salu Pulse+ wearable— the first compact wearable to measure blood pressure (in addition to heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and activity levels) without an inflatable cuff.  Regular blood pressure monitoring with the Salu Pulse+ could reveal how your lifestyle habits are impacting your blood pressure readings.  Based on your unique lifestyle and health goals, the Salu Pulse+ provides meaningful suggestions on how to achieve a deep sense of wellbeing.

Stressed Out? Laughter Really is the Best Medicine.

If you have been experiencing a lot of stress lately, research suggests that laughter really might be the best medicine.  Studies show that laughter can boost your immune system, quicken the healing process when ill, lower your blood pressure, and even trigger a boost of feel good chemicals —including endorphins and serotonin— that will improve your optimism and self-confidence.  But, perhaps the best documented benefit of laughter is its ability to combat stress.

Laughter helps you to feel more relaxed by firing up and then cooling down your stress response, helping you to feel calmer.  When you laugh, your facial and body muscles get a good stretch, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and your breath quickens—improving your blood oxygen levels.  Post-laughter these physiological changes that occur when you laugh can help to lower your blood pressure and sooth tension in muscles, effectively combating the physical symptoms of stress.  The next time you are feeling stressed, try a hearty chuckle— even a fake laugh or the anticipation of laughter activates your sympathetic nervous system and acts as the natural antidote to stress.

A 2008 study published by the American Psychological Association found that even anticipating laughter was protective against stress.  The stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and DOPAC were reduced by 39 percent, 70 percent, and 38 percent, respectively when subjects anticipated laughter.

Laughter has been found to have a 24-hour effect on your health— a terrific reason to find something to laugh about every day.  Want to see how your different lifestyle habits impact your stress levels?  The Salu Pulse+ tracks your health habits and gives personalized advice on how you can improve your diet, sleep, stress, and exercise, based on your health goals.

Learn the best wellness practices and find your inner peace with the Salu Pulse+.

Ramp Up Your Fitness with Heart Rate Monitoring

No matter if you are just starting out on a fitness routine for summer or you are a seasoned athlete determined to go further, faster, and harder, wearing a heart rate monitor takes the guesswork out of your training.  Heart rate provides a precise gauge of your exertion, so you can reap the maximum fitness benefits.  In this article, we will show you how to calculate your maximum heart rate and how this rate can be used towards your unique fitness goals.

Calculating Maximum Heart Rate.    To determine your maximum heart rate (MHR), simply take 220 and subtract your age from it.  Your MHR is the largest number of beats per minute your heart will reach when you are exerting maximum effort during a workout.  Once you know this number, you can check your heart rate monitor to determine whether it’s time to dial back your pace or to step it up a notch.

Beginners.    Beginners should aim to stay between 65% and 75% of the MHR. To determine your Target Zone, simply multiply your MRH by 0.65 and 0.75.  Staying within these percentages is important when just starting out because it ensures you are burning enough calories without pushing yourself so hard that your body can no longer meet its demand for oxygen.  As you reach a new fitness level, you can push into a higher range.

Intermediate and Advanced.    For a higher intensity workout, you can working out within a range of 70% to 90% of your MHR, can help enhance your endurance and performance.  (Multiply your MHR by 0.7 and 0.9 for this Target Zone.)  This Target Zone increases the amount oxygen you can consume during exercise, ultimately improving your endurance and helping you to better fight fatigue.

Resting Heart Rate.    If you are looking for a clear indication that all your effort is paying off, compare your resting heart rate before you started your new workout routine and after a few weeks into your training.  Regular cardio improves your heart strength and allows it to pump more blood with each beat, increasing your heart efficiency.  The average person has a resting heart rate between 60 and 90 beats a minute.  The more you exercise, the lower this number will be and with athletic training it could drop by 10 to 20 beats per minute.

No matter your current fitness level, using a heart rate monitor will help you see fitness results sooner.  With the Salu Pulse+ you can monitor your heart rate effortlessly – no calculations needed – so that you are always achieving the next goal on your health journey.  The Salu Pulse+ also monitors your blood pressure and oxygen saturation to give a comprehensive understanding of your health.  The Salu Pulse+ then analyses your data to give meaningful suggestions on how you can make improvements in your lifestyle habits to reach your goals.

Become the healthiest version of yourself with the Salu Pulse+.

Your Morning Cup of Coffee has Surprising Health Benefits

Does your morning cup of coffee leave your heart racing, to the point that you question ditching your daily cappuccino for some green tea?  If you have been wondering whether it’s time to dial back on your daily caffeine intake, for the sake of your health, this article is for you.  Rest assured, by the end of it you likely won’t feel the need to cut out your morning java altogether.

Although coffee has mixed effects on your health, the positives generally outweigh the negatives.  Research suggests that coffee actually has a protective effect against Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver disease.  Furthermore, a recent study conducted by the University of Scranton found coffee to be the greatest source of antioxidants in the average North American’s diet.  Along with keeping you looking and feeling young, antioxidants also play a protective role against heart disease and even cancer.  But, before you leave your work desk to head to your nearest café, there are some adverse effects to be mindful of.  Our next blog takes a look at the affect coffee has on your blood pressure and whether cutting back is the best move for your personal heart health.

 

Are you going to live a shorter life than your parents?

We are on the brink of an interesting age where advances in healthcare and technology do not necessarily mean advances in the human life expectancy.  New technologies are streamlining healthcare, new pharmaceuticals are combatting illness, and—given the 20th Century trend of rising life expectancies—individuals are equipped with more means to wellbeing than ever before.  With all these inspiring advances in healthcare then, one might expect a substantial increase in life expectancy.  And yet, the hard fact remains that millennials are the first generation with life expectancies lower than their baby-boomer parents.  In fact, a study by The National Institute of Health projected that the life expectancy of baby boomers exceeds the life expectancy of the next generation by a whole 5 years.  What is the cause of this frankly startling fact?  More individuals are living with obesity-related conditions than in any previous generation and while these health-related conditions are manageable in the short term, the root of the issue must be addressed to extend the longevity of the current generations.

The good news is that with proper diet and exercise, many obesity-related health conditions can be halted, or even reversed.  For an individual determining the proper balance of exercise and planning meals that don’t make you hate life might seem a daunting task, it no longer needs to be.  With the advent of the Quantified Self movement and Salu Pulse+, individuals are empowered to take their health into their own hands, quite literally, in the form of a health and fitness wearable.  Do you wish to have a personal health trainer?  The Salu Pulse+ will help you achieve your health goals and tailors advice to you as an individual, no matter where you are on your fitness journey.  Want to learn more about how the Salu Pulse+ can help you on your health and fitness journey?  Stay tuned for our upcoming articles on the Salu Pulse+.

Welcome to the New Salu Pulse+ Blog!

Two years ago Salu started off with a dream of creating a health wearable that matters – one that gives actionable advice on how to manage stress, improve fitness, and live a healthier and happier life.

Salu is excited to bring you the first compact wearable – the Salu Pulse+ – to measure estimated blood pressure, without an inflatable cuff.  The wearable measures your heart rate, oxygen saturation, and activity levels to display your data in easy-to-read charts and graphs, giving a clear representation of where your health is at.  Designed to help the everyday man achieve a deep sense of wellbeing, the Salu Pulse+ takes your lifestyle and goals into account when giving suggestions on how to improve your health.  Using the Salu Pulse+, you will get personalized recommendations in four key areas: sleep, stress, exercise, and diet.

Currently rated as one of the Top 10 Canadian Undiscovered Startups, Salu aims to revolutionize how individuals monitor their heart and general health, to become the world leading smart-band that works with other smart-watches or can be used as a stand-alone or with a smartphone.

Offering so much more than a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor, the Salu Pulse+ is truly a Means of Well-Being.