With February designated as American Heart Month, our team at AFC Urgent Care Chattanooga wants to talk about one factor that plays into your risk of heart disease—your blood pressure.

What Is Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is defined as the pressure of circulating blood within your body on the walls of blood vessels.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 75 million people living in the United States have high blood pressure. It is important to have your blood pressure checked regularly in order to ensure you are not one of them. Or, if you are, so that you can seek treatment as soon as possible.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

• Blood in urine
• Chest pain
• Confusion
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Irregular heartbeat
• Pounding in your chest, neck and/or ears
• Severe headache
• Vision problems

What Are the Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure?

There are a number of risk factors associated with having high blood pressure. While there are some risk factors you can’t change, such as age, race and family history, there are other risk factors you can control with healthy lifestyle habits.

Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure

• Cut back on caffeine.
• Eat potassium-rich foods.
• Exercise regularly.
• Lose weight.
• Manage stress.
• Reduce your sodium intake.

When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked? Visit our team at AFC Urgent Care Chattanooga today for a blood pressure check to make sure you are in normal range.