WEBVTT - How Blood Pressure Works

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<v Speaker 1>Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray.

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<v Speaker 1>It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff you should know

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<v Speaker 1>from How Stuff Works dot Com? Stuff you should know

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<v Speaker 1>is brought to you by Visa. We all have things

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<v Speaker 1>we like to think about online fraud. Shouldn't do one

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<v Speaker 1>of them, because with every purchase, Visa prevents, detects, and

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<v Speaker 1>resolves online fraud safe Secure Visa. Hey, and welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast. I'm Josh Clark Stafford or here at How

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works dot Com with me, as always is Charles W. Bryant. Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>What's going on? It's good to be here, Josh as always. Yeah, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm feeling the same way, Chuck. I'm feeling that pretty good.

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<v Speaker 1>So you guys might not know this, but Chuck always

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<v Speaker 1>kind of keeps me abreast of current events, situations going

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<v Speaker 1>on in the world. Would you have for me today, Chuck? Today, Josh,

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<v Speaker 1>I have the cause of death results for legendary soulsinger

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<v Speaker 1>Isaac Hayes. Yes, the man who scored Shaft died recently.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Jim. Yes he did. He died apparently while jogging

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<v Speaker 1>on his treadmill, which is um very sad. Yes, and

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<v Speaker 1>it looks like the cause of death is uh stroke

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<v Speaker 1>because of high blood pressure. You know, that's funny that

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<v Speaker 1>you bring that up, because I've been wanting to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about high blood pressure also known as hypertension for a while. Lately.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm feeling like this's a good opportunity to do it. Right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>let's do it. You know how stuff works. Stuff You

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<v Speaker 1>should know. It's not always just fun and games. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>we want to help people out with a little health advice. Agreed,

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<v Speaker 1>So so let's do that, right, let's do it. Well, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>this doesn't in any way, shape or form qualify me

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<v Speaker 1>as any kind of medical professional. But I spent a

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<v Speaker 1>trimester in E m T School. Do you know that

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<v Speaker 1>about it? Yeah? Yeah, seriously, I had no idea I did, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was terrible at it um. For the final

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<v Speaker 1>exam for the trimester, uh, the instructor brought in some

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<v Speaker 1>of his former students who are now E m T

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<v Speaker 1>s and they acted like they were suffering from some

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<v Speaker 1>sort of uh terrible medical condition and we had to

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<v Speaker 1>figure it out based on the symptoms. Right. Well, I

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<v Speaker 1>am a terrible diagnostician. Um, I I landed a victim.

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<v Speaker 1>I just made air quotes who was choking? And I

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<v Speaker 1>treated her like a burn victim, um, and laid her down,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think I started doing CPR or something on her.

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<v Speaker 1>And I knew that I had completely missed the mark

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<v Speaker 1>when she looked over at the instructor with this what

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<v Speaker 1>the heck should I do now? Expression? And He's just like,

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<v Speaker 1>keep going, keep going. She grabbed her throat and you

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<v Speaker 1>thought that she had burned her neck pretty pretty much. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I failed miserably. Um, But there were a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>things I learned. One of them was how important it

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<v Speaker 1>is to take care of the old ticker. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we're we're getting to be about that age, chuck. I

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<v Speaker 1>hate to break it to you. I just reached thirty two.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm very depressed about that. But five onto that, my friend. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so you're pushing forty now pushing, Yeah, and and neither

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<v Speaker 1>one of us are in prime physical condition, right, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's a fair assessment. Yeah. Yeah, So I'm no triathlete, no,

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<v Speaker 1>And I love bacon. I love it. I love it

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<v Speaker 1>so much I can't even begin to tell you. But

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<v Speaker 1>one of the problems with bacon is that fat that

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<v Speaker 1>we eat and digest gets carried through the blood stream,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, it doesn't always break down like it should know.

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<v Speaker 1>It starts to form plaque within blood vessels, which actually

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<v Speaker 1>can lead to hypertension. And you want to know how well,

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<v Speaker 1>first of all, I think we should just tell people

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<v Speaker 1>what blood pressure is, period because people hear the blood

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<v Speaker 1>pressure and they don't understand what it is. It's really simple.

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<v Speaker 1>Blood pressure actually is all it is is the measurement

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<v Speaker 1>of the force of the blood going through your arteries

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<v Speaker 1>against the artery walls. Yeah, your your heart actually UM

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<v Speaker 1>creates it generates an electrical impulse. The the electrical impulse

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<v Speaker 1>travels across the heart and it's picked up by the atria,

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<v Speaker 1>which is which contracts. Right, the blood is forced out

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<v Speaker 1>of the heart and into the blood vessels. So there

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<v Speaker 1>you've got. You've got your systolic pressure, which is the

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<v Speaker 1>first number on a blood pressure reading, right, it's something

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<v Speaker 1>over something and that's that's the first one, the one

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<v Speaker 1>on top. And the optimal for systolic pressure I think

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<v Speaker 1>is like one twenty for the average healthy adults once

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<v Speaker 1>twenty year or under is what you're looking for right now.

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<v Speaker 1>UM to measure this kind of thing, it's it's luckily right.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't need trepid nation or any kind of rectal exam.

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<v Speaker 1>You can just slap a blood pressure cuff on your arm,

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks to our good friend Mercury, we can measure

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<v Speaker 1>the pressure exerted on any given blood vessel. Is the

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<v Speaker 1>blood car pumps through it? Right? And I I personally

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<v Speaker 1>love those things when you get your blood pressure checked.

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<v Speaker 1>Ever since I was a kid, I just thought when

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<v Speaker 1>the when it constricts around your arm and tightens up

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<v Speaker 1>and you can feel your heart beating in your arm,

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<v Speaker 1>I just thought it was really neat. And chances are

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<v Speaker 1>if you go to a grocery store a drug store,

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<v Speaker 1>you might find me sitting at one of their little machines.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a it's a great thing. It's a great way

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<v Speaker 1>to pass the time. Yeah, but it's not. Actually, I

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<v Speaker 1>did some research. It's not always the most accurate read.

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<v Speaker 1>So people need to know this when they get their

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure checked by machine at your local Kroger. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>It may have been accurate when they first installed it,

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<v Speaker 1>but it needs to be maintained and recalibrated over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>so if it's not, it may be off you. You

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<v Speaker 1>might can get a good idea that you should look

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<v Speaker 1>into it further, but you shouldn't, you know, make any

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<v Speaker 1>medical decisions based on what you uh, what you get

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<v Speaker 1>when you're picking out your hot dog buttons and you're

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<v Speaker 1>we we hear how stuff works. Strongly advise you to

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<v Speaker 1>console the physician for just about anything, including blood pressure readings.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, at the very least, it's it's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>a joy to have your arms squeezed by a robot.

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<v Speaker 1>You never know if if the thing's gonna go berserk

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<v Speaker 1>and just snap your arm right off. I think, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's part of the fear, is that it will take

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<v Speaker 1>on a mind of its own and sever my arm off. Yeah. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's everybody's fear. So what about diastolic? That's

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom number, right uh, And I think for a

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<v Speaker 1>healthy adult eighties a good reading. Um so, the the

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<v Speaker 1>the good blood pressure reading, a very healthy blood pressure

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<v Speaker 1>reading is one eight. That bottom number represents what the

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<v Speaker 1>normal relaxing or relaxed pressure on a vessel, uh is

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<v Speaker 1>when the heart is at rest, when when the blood's

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<v Speaker 1>not being four wors through. It's just you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>hearts at rest blood vessels just sitting there like oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm waiting for the next pump, you know. Uh, so

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<v Speaker 1>eighties good? Um. And the thing is is those numbers

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<v Speaker 1>can change just a little bit and make some really

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<v Speaker 1>you know that it can be it can be really

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<v Speaker 1>bad with just a couple of numbers being off. Right. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me more, Well, I will tell you more, Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me tell you about the third kind of pressure reading.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called pulse pressure. Uh. It's not uh necessarily widely

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<v Speaker 1>accepted yet, although it's really gaining traction. So pulse pressure

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<v Speaker 1>is just the difference between the systolic and diastolic pre

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<v Speaker 1>pressure readings. Right, So if one twenty over eighty is

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<v Speaker 1>optimal health for blood pressure reading, then forty would be

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<v Speaker 1>the optimal pulse pressure. It's the difference when eighty got you.

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<v Speaker 1>If it's uh, if it's a high, or if the

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<v Speaker 1>difference is high, uh, you've got problems. It can mean

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<v Speaker 1>that your your blood vessels are hardened, that they have

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<v Speaker 1>lost elasticity. There's there's all sorts of problems with it.

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<v Speaker 1>It can also mean that your heart is getting a

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<v Speaker 1>little too buff. Hypertrophy, all right, buff in this case

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<v Speaker 1>is not good. No, it's good for the bicep not

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<v Speaker 1>good for the heart because an overly buff heart can

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<v Speaker 1>can fail a lot more easily. Yeah, so we've got

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<v Speaker 1>the pulse pressure difference, and and I read that every

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<v Speaker 1>ten um millibars of mercury, which is the pressure reading difference,

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<v Speaker 1>actually increases your chance of stroke by like eleven percent.

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<v Speaker 1>So so it's important to keep an eye on your

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure and and to keep an eye on whether

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<v Speaker 1>or not you're you're hypertensive or pre hypertensive. Um. And Uh, again,

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to find that out is to just

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<v Speaker 1>go visit your doctor regularly and get some blood pressure reading, right,

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<v Speaker 1>because hypertension a k A. High blood pressure. There's pre

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<v Speaker 1>high pertension, which you mentioned, which is before it's a

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<v Speaker 1>real problem, but it's when you can really correct it

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<v Speaker 1>with your diet and things like that. And then um,

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<v Speaker 1>secondary hypertension and hypertension or when things get out of hand,

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<v Speaker 1>when you're in danger of maybe a cardiac arrest or stroke. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And then the other thing I want to talk about,

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<v Speaker 1>which I thought was kind of interesting, was white coat hypertension.

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<v Speaker 1>Give it to me, this sounds interesting. Yeah, this is when, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>your your blood pressure actually elevates when you go to

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor. Oh, from from being nervous. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>if it's from being nervous or not, but it's you

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<v Speaker 1>have a different blood pressure. White coat obviously it's what

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor wears and the doctor's office and you at home.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess you know, my easy answer would be

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<v Speaker 1>don't come into doctor and you won't get high blood pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's that's no good advice. And you should also

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<v Speaker 1>be wary of any doctor that doesn't wear a white coat, right, Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's that's good advice too. That is interesting. They've also

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<v Speaker 1>found that um pregnant women can often demonstrate higher blood

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<v Speaker 1>pressure just because of their pregnancy as well. It can

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<v Speaker 1>be normal before the pregnancy, it can be high during

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<v Speaker 1>the pregnancy, and then go back to normal afterwards. To

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<v Speaker 1>the impression I got was that we didn't have a

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<v Speaker 1>really good read on exactly why that happens. We just

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<v Speaker 1>know it does happen, much like the white coat blood

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<v Speaker 1>pressure exactly. And uh, I've got some other stats for

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<v Speaker 1>you if you just want me to do. You know

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<v Speaker 1>how I feel about stats, Chuck, don't tease me, give

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<v Speaker 1>me to me. Well, uh, they did some studies on

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<v Speaker 1>percentage of adults twenty years over that have high pertension

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<v Speaker 1>or that are taking medication for hypertension. And overall thirty

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<v Speaker 1>percent of men and women are following into that category,

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<v Speaker 1>which really, yeah, which is more than I thought. Over

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<v Speaker 1>twenty I would think that the maybe a stat over

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<v Speaker 1>forty or fifth women come in and right at the

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<v Speaker 1>thirty percent mark. Men a little bit less believed or

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<v Speaker 1>not at pent and uh, the stat I thought was

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<v Speaker 1>interesting is that poor people are thirty at thirty four percent,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas non poor or twenty eight percent. Well, it makes

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of sense, you know. Um the uh, the

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<v Speaker 1>poor usually have less access to a healthy diet, right, Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>usually less time to eat well or take care of

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<v Speaker 1>themselves since they're working. Cheaper packaged foods and I are

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<v Speaker 1>loaded with sodium and podium and salt. It's a big

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<v Speaker 1>contributor to high blood pressure. So that kind of does

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<v Speaker 1>make sense. Well, Chuck, why don't you tell us some

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<v Speaker 1>ways that we can avoid hypertension? And if you have hypertension,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, what can you do? Well? Uh? Kind of

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<v Speaker 1>like with everything else, the doctor tells you eat healthy,

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<v Speaker 1>lose weight, lay off the salt, limit alcohol, and quit smoking. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and I looked into smoking. Uh, you know, it turns

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<v Speaker 1>out that smoking I thought it would stimulate the heart

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<v Speaker 1>and would wear it out faster. It turns out that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't happen. Smoking actually goes in and injures your blood vessels.

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<v Speaker 1>That's how smoking can cause heart disease and hypertension, which

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<v Speaker 1>I found interesting. But yeah, you want to stay away

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<v Speaker 1>from the cigarettes, the cigars, any kind of smoking is

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<v Speaker 1>going to be bad for your heart, right, And as

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<v Speaker 1>far as your diet goes, they have something they recommend

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<v Speaker 1>called the DASH diet d A s H stands for

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<v Speaker 1>Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension. And uh, what you want

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<v Speaker 1>to eat is whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts. You want

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<v Speaker 1>to limit fats and red meat. So not some much bacon, huh,

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<v Speaker 1>not as much bacon, steak, stuff like that. Yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a nice it's a nice treat, but that shouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>your regular, agreed, chuck. So what happens if you do

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<v Speaker 1>have hypertension? I mean obviously that there's a there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of medications out there in the market for people

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<v Speaker 1>who are hypertensive, right, Yeah, there's a lot of medications,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot of these have side effects too, so

0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.719
<v Speaker 1>it depends on how higher blood pressure is as to

0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.400
<v Speaker 1>whether or not a doctor thinks it's worth it to

0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.920
<v Speaker 1>get on these meds um and potentially suffer some side effects.

0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:29.959
<v Speaker 1>So it's a few points here and there. They'll probably

0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:31.439
<v Speaker 1>recommend that you take care of it through diet and

0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.080
<v Speaker 1>exercise if you have a real problem. Um, there's all

0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:41.360
<v Speaker 1>kinds of anti hypertensive drugs, diuretics, uh, sympathetic inhibitors UH,

0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:45.959
<v Speaker 1>calcium channel inhibitors, a C inhibitors, and you know they'll

0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:51.920
<v Speaker 1>do a good job. But you know side effects like sedation, nightmares, depression, vertigo, uh,

0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:57.280
<v Speaker 1>stuff like that. The effects. Yeah, my favorite side effect death. Yeah.

0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.000
<v Speaker 1>I love it when they say that as pharmaceuticals. Well,

0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.520
<v Speaker 1>you mentioned sympathetic inhibitors. Is that that would have to

0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:08.200
<v Speaker 1>do with the sympathetic nervous system, right, Yeah, that would

0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.120
<v Speaker 1>control your fight or flight response correct, right, which is

0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.079
<v Speaker 1>something that we like to talk about under fight or

0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.680
<v Speaker 1>flight response. Well, if you do have hypertension and you

0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.880
<v Speaker 1>are being treated for it, take hope. I read somewhere

0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:24.720
<v Speaker 1>that six of people who suffer from hypertension recover from it.

0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.959
<v Speaker 1>They gain control of their blood pressure. It's goods. Go

0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.240
<v Speaker 1>see your doctor, eat well, quit smoking, watch the booze

0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.400
<v Speaker 1>all that, and Uh, if you want to learn a

0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:37.960
<v Speaker 1>lot more about hypertension, read hypertension in depth on how

0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.960
<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com and stick around to find out

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<v Speaker 1>You want to tell everybody how we're privy to the

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<v Speaker 1>it's because we read the article. Are frogs on the

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<v Speaker 1>brink of extinction? That's true. Frogs are an indicator species,

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<v Speaker 1>and when they start disappearing, everybody else at the top

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