Doctor shares one thing to do in 2025 to keep healthy

Doctor's one thing to do in 2025 to keep healthyDr. Amir Khan

Transcript

00:00Let's talk about high blood pressure. Now blood pressure is the force of your

00:05blood against the walls of your arteries as it's pumped through your body by your

00:09heart. Now your blood pressure will have two numbers. The top number is the

00:15pressure in your arteries when your heart squeezes or contracts. This is the

00:20higher number as when the heart squeezes to push your blood through your body

00:24your pressure will be higher. Above 140 is generally considered high for this

00:30level. The lower number is the pressure in your arteries when that heart relaxes

00:35between beats. It's lower because your heart is relaxed and above 90 is

00:41considered high here. So if your blood pressure is consistently above 140 over

00:4790 then that is considered high blood pressure. Causes of high blood pressure

00:52include genetics, smoking, alcohol, not being active enough, being overweight,

00:57kidney disease, certain medication and health conditions. Now high blood

01:02pressure typically doesn't have any symptoms or warning signs. That's why

01:07it's often called the silent killer. Sometimes people can get headaches,

01:11dizziness or even nosebleeds. But left untreated high blood pressure increases

01:16your risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. And I always say it's a

01:21good idea to get an electronic blood pressure machine from the chemist to

01:24keep at home and keep an eye on your blood pressure. And if it's persistently

01:29raised speak to a healthcare professional.