What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood flow against the walls of the arteries caused by the heart pumping blood. ‘High blood pressure’ is caused by the deterioration of the arteries, leading to hardening and narrowing of the blood vessels. This condition is an indicator associated with the occurrence of various diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke, kidney disease, and diabetes.
Are you diagnosed with “high blood pressure”? How is it measured?
To know whether you have high blood pressure, you need to measure your blood pressure with a blood pressure monitor. It is recommended to measure after sitting and resting for at least 30 minutes and after eating, drinking coffee, smoking, or exercising for 1 hour. The blood pressure readings consist of 2 values:
- Systolic pressure which is the blood pressure when the heart contracts (normal value should not exceed 120 mmHg)
- Diastolic pressure which is the blood pressure when the heart relaxes (normal value should not exceed 80 mmHg)
If the systolic pressure is higher than 130 and/or the diastolic pressure is higher than 80, it is considered early-stage high blood pressure.
How high must blood sugar be to be diagnosed as diabetic?
A diabetic patient is someone who has a blood sugar level higher than 126 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). However, a doctor must diagnose this along with other information such as medical history and symptoms. For patients diagnosed with diabetes, blood sugar levels should be controlled as follows:
- Blood sugar before each meal should be between 80-130 mg/dL
- Blood sugar 2 hours after eating should be less than 180 mg/dL
The use of these numerical criteria must be considered individually for each diabetic patient, taking into account age, duration of diabetes, complications, and comorbidities to adjust diet, exercise, and medication appropriately.
‘High blood pressure’ and ‘high blood sugar’
can be reduced by avoiding these 4 behaviors
1. Quit smoking
Smoking causes inflammation of the blood vessels and leads to narrowing of the arteries. Nicotine in cigarettes causes blood vessels to constrict and lose elasticity, making the heart work harder to pump enough blood to organs, which raises blood pressure and increases the risk of coronary artery disease.
For diabetic patients, nicotine and toxins in cigarette smoke interfere with insulin function, causing higher blood sugar levels and poorer diabetes control.
2. Avoid alcohol consumption
Drinking alcohol increases the production of the hormone aldosterone, causing the body to retain more water and sodium than normal regularly, which can eventually lead to high blood pressure.
For diabetic patients, besides alcohol providing high energy, regular drinking can cause pancreatitis, reducing the production of digestive enzymes and insulin, which helps the body use sugar normally, leading to higher blood sugar levels.
Therefore, for those with high blood pressure, if drinking socially, women should not exceed 1-2 units per day, and men should not exceed 2-3 units. One unit equals 12 ounces of beer with 5% alcohol content (about a small can of beer) or 5 ounces of wine with 12% alcohol content (about half a glass of wine). However, diabetic patients should not drink alcohol at all. If necessary, they should not drink on an empty stomach as it may cause sudden low blood sugar.
3. Avoid staying up late
Staying up late is very harmful to the body because the best time for organs, including blood vessels, to repair themselves is when the body produces the most growth hormone from the pituitary gland, which is between 10 PM and 2 AM.
Staying up late results in insufficient growth hormone production to repair organs, leading to negative effects, including increased blood pressure.
For diabetic patients, staying up late, sleeping little, having interrupted sleep, or poor-quality sleep reduces the body’s response to insulin, increasing the risk of high blood sugar levels.
4. Do not let yourself be under chronic stress
When the body and mind are stressed, cortisol and adrenaline hormones are released, causing the heart to beat faster, increased blood pumping, and blood vessel walls to contract more than usual, which raises blood pressure. Frequent occurrences can damage blood vessels in the long term.
For diabetic patients, excessive cortisol release stimulates the body to release energy in the form of sugar. Therefore, the more stressed you are, the higher your blood sugar levels.
Most people accumulate stress unknowingly, whether from work pressure, fast-paced life, or various burdens. Therefore, we should give ourselves time to do enjoyable activities such as listening to music, drawing, meditating, or even light exercise daily to help reduce existing or hidden stress.
Additionally, inhaling dust, smoke, and environmental pollution harms and increases the risk of atherosclerosis, which is related to high blood pressure and blood sugar levels. It also directly affects insulin hormone production. Therefore, we should avoid places with dust, pollution from factories or roads, and always wear a mask on days with fine dust such as PM2.5.
