People learned how to measure blood pressure many years ago. However, not everyone knows what diastolic and systolic pressure is. What can these indicators tell us? To answer the question of what diastolic and systolic pressure is, it is necessary to understand the definitions.
Two medical terms can be distinguished in this matter. These are systole and diastole. The first of them characterizes the moment of contraction of the heart muscle when it pushes blood with pressure to the large artery. As for the second, the so-called interval of relaxation, rest. However, this is far from all you need to know. In this article we will talk about what diastolic and systolic pressure is.
Lower number - a moment of relaxation
So, let's look at what diastolic and systolic pressure is in a person. First of all, you should deal with the first definition. People are used to evaluating two numbers on a blood pressure monitor. However, they have no idea what diastolic blood pressure is. This is the second digit, that is, the lower one, which characterizes the pressure of the blood at the moment when the heart muscle is in a relaxed state.
What is responsible for?
Speaking about what diastolic pressure is in a person, one should also figure out what it can tell about. Blood that is ejected at the time of systole passes quickly through the arteries, penetrating the small capillaries and blood vessels. Their walls during contraction resist blood flow. Moreover, the greater the resistance, the higher this person will have this indicator. That is why diastolic pressure in humans is responsible for the degree of resistance of blood vessels to blood outflow. Based on this, we can conclude: the higher the resistance, the worse the vascular permeability.
Normal rate
The blood pressure with which the heart muscle pushes blood to the arteries is usually measured in millimeters of mercury. The tonometer indicator will indicate what the patient currently has diastolic and systolic pressure. The difference between normal numbers is different for each person. But the average value, which is taken as the norm, is in the range from 110/70 to 140/90 mmHg.
As for the norm of diastolic pressure, it varies depending on the health of a person and his biological age. As a rule, in young patients, the pressure is lower than in older patients, since with age, blood vessels are more resistant to blood flow, losing their ability to contract and elasticity. As a result, the heart muscles build up the strength required to saturate the blood vessels with oxygen-enriched blood. However, in young people, malfunctions in the circulatory system can be observed.
What is systolic pressure?
So, we have figured out the term "diastolic". Now let's talk about what systolic pressure is in a person and what are his norms.
So it is customary to call the top digit. It shows the level of blood pressure in relation to the artery wall during the maximum contraction of the heart muscle. Having studied what it is - systolic blood pressure, it should also be noted that it is considered one of the factors that affect the development of stroke in patients.
As for the norm, it will also depend on the characteristics of the human body, as well as on its age. The optimal value is 120. The upper limit of the norm is 130. If a person has systolic pressure from 140 to 170, then here we can talk about hypertension.
Deviation from the norm
Above, we got the answer to the question of what diastolic and systolic pressure is, and we also learned what their norms are. However, many people for some reason may experience deviations. Let's take a closer look at the specific reasons for which the patient's diastolic or systolic pressure may increase or decrease.
Upper low
The most common causes of low arterial systolic blood pressure are:
- Excessive exercise.
- Great tiredness.
- The period of pregnancy in women.
- Bradycardia
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Valvular dysfunction.
- The presence of diabetes.
Often it even happens that the systolic pressure is lower than the diastolic.
The period of pregnancy is characterized by global changes in the female body, including the circulatory system. That is why almost every woman who has a baby has a slight difference. It can fluctuate within 10 units.
Significant and regular physical activity, for example, playing sports, can lead to the fact that the human body begins to switch to a saving mode, reducing the rhythm of contractions of the heart muscle. This, in turn, causes a decrease in normal blood pressure.
As for bradycardia, it is characterized by a decrease in the frequency of contractions of the heart, as well as a slowing of the pulse. In this condition, it will be less than 60 beats per minute. Most often observed with ischemia, myocarditis, atherosclerosis. In most cases, this leads to myocardial infarction or stroke.
If a patient has diabetes, the glucose balance in the body is disturbed, and blood viscosity also increases. This is one of the reasons for the decrease in systolic blood pressure.
Symptoms of Low Systolic Pressure
During a decrease in blood pressure, the patient feels unpleasant symptoms, which are as follows:
- Drowsiness.
- Dizziness.
- Increased sweating.
- Apathetic state.
- Migraine.
- Impaired memory.
- Irritation.
With this symptomatology, it is necessary to undergo an examination in a medical institution so that the specialist identifies the main cause of the pathology that has arisen.
Increased systolic pressure
There are many different reasons for this condition. Most often among them are:
- Age.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular and circulatory systems.
- Stress.
- Atherosclerosis.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Smoking and alcohol abuse.
- Excess weight.
- Violations of the aortic valve.
- Thyroid disease.
Symptoms of High Systolic Pressure
This condition can also be recognized by some symptoms. These include the following conditions:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Irritability.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Tachycardia.
- Noise in ears.
- Numbness of the fingers.
- Swelling of the extremities.
Very often, high blood pressure does not manifest itself in any way, that is, it is asymptomatic. That is why experts this condition is usually called the "slow killer." As a result of all this, a person has myocardial infarction. For prevention, even a healthy person who feels great should be examined at least once a year in the clinic.
Low diastolic pressure
In this condition, you should first diagnose the functionality of the kidneys. However, in practice, there are exceptions. For example, during menstruation, many representatives of the fair sex, these indicators are reduced up to 60 units. This can be explained by the fact that in this physiological state, a woman loses a certain amount of blood. As a result, the pressure indicator decreases. Therefore, if there are fluctuations only in this period, then women may not worry about this.
A patient may also have low diastolic pressure for some other reason. Among them, for example:
- Allergic reaction.
- Tuberculosis.
- Long low-calorie diets or anorexia.
- Impaired renal or adrenal function.
- Stress, climate change, nervous strain.
Symptoms of Low Diastolic Pressure
Certain signs are characteristic of a lowered level of arterial diastolic pressure. These symptoms include the following conditions:
- Fainting.
- Sharp weakness.
- Feeling of lack of air.
- Impaired performance.
- Soreness in the chest area of varying intensity.
- Tachycardia.
- Vomiting
- Visual impairment, decreased blood supply to the brain, flies in front of the eyes.
High diastolic pressure
Increased diastolic pressure indicates a good tone of the walls on the peripheral vessels. However, at the same time, they thicken, lumens decrease, which can cause arterial hypertension, which represents the longest increase in pressure of more than 140/90 mmHg. The reasons for this violation may lie in the following:
- Excess weight.
- Bad habits.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Reception of diuretics.
- Diabetes.
- The experience of any type.
- Spinal diseases.
Preventive measures
If you want pressure indicators to always be within normal limits, you need to follow simple preventative measures. First of all, do not allow excessive fatigue. In this case, we are talking not only about physical, but also about emotional stress. Do not forget about regular rest and occupational health.
It is also worth giving up all bad habits. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking can provoke changes in the vessels, causing them to become more permeable and brittle, and this affects pressure.
In general, experts advise everyone to lead a healthy lifestyle. For these purposes, at least once a day, you should do exercises, move more, and walk for at least one hour.
Review your diet. The fact is that many products can cause changes in the state of blood vessels. First of all, you should abandon the use of fatty foods. Do not abuse black tea and coffee, as these drinks contain caffeine, which has a negative effect on the function of the circulatory system.