Nitric oxide and blood pressure

Understanding nitric oxide and blood pressure and the role that nitric oxide plays in helping you maintain a normal blood pressure is critical to good cardiovascular health and your overall wellness. It is one of the reasons why most doctors and nurses will take your blood pressure every time you visit them. They are checking to make sure that your blood pressure has not increased to place you in the high blood pressure or hypertension category. (Note: If you would like more information about the dynamics of blood pressure then please read my article )

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension Can Be Deadly!

It’s estimated that over 50 million Americans have hypertension. Their risk for having a is seven times greater than those who have a normal blood pressure. According to the Framingham Heart Study, 50% of all people who had their first heart attack and 66% of people who had their first stroke had blood pressure readings above 160/95 mmHg.

It’s also interesting to note that in the Framingham Heart Study two thirds of the participants who started out with normal blood pressure ended up developing hypertension. Of the top five reasons why people visit their doctors, hypertension is either number one or number two. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 700, 000 deaths per year have a hypertension component.

Because you cannot feel high blood pressure it is sometimes referred to as the “Silent but Deadly Disease!” Although it doesn’t typically produce outward signs, high blood pressure can cause major internal damage by injuring the that line the circulatory system. This damage impairs the body’s ability to naturally produce Nitric Oxide. It usually leads to inflammation of the arteries which is followed by atherosclerosis and plaque formations. Hypertension can also enlarge the heart, damage the kidneys, and trigger a heart attack or stroke.

If you do not know what your blood pressure reading is or if you have not had it measured in the last 6 months, then visit your doctor’s office or your local pharmacy and have your blood pressure measured by a qualified health practitioner. It’s that important!