Throughout college, as a student-athlete, I used to get a slight feeling of tightness on the right side of my chest. Minutes later, that feeling would be gone and I would continue to run without pain. Then, 24 hours later, the tightness returned and I became concerned. I checked with an RN at my university’s health center the next day, and it was determined the tightness in my chest was likely caused by my high blood pressure. Wait a minute! Me, a healthy young person with high blood pressure?
Courtesy of CBS News; Credit: iStock photo)
Well, it turns out that I’m not alone.
In fact, according to recent findings in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, one in five young adults has high blood pressure, or hypertension. Hypertension involves an extra high level of force pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If your blood pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body, potentially causing kidney failure, heart failure or stroke. Individuals can help to control their blood pressure through exercise, diet and possibly drug therapy. So if high blood pressure is so common among young adults, why is there still so little education about it and how to control it?
Awakening the “Sleeping Giant”
Dr. Kathleen Mullan Harris, interim director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina Population Center, told WebMD that hypertension is a, “sleeping epidemic among young adults.”
And our check books are feeling the effect. According to the federal government’s Institute of Medicine, in 2010, hypertension-related cases among young adults cost the country $73 billion in hospital visits.
High blood pressure is often just a matter of what’s in your genes, so it’s important to stay on top of monitoring your blood pressure and heart rate—even if you otherwise seem healthy.
Health Check-list
There are number of other ways to keep hypertension in check:
- Find ways to stay more active. Instead of taking the bus or train, ride your bicycle to work.
- Purchase and wear a heart rate monitor watch while performing physical and non-physical activity to track the rate of your blood pressure. Or, visit your local pharmacy and use their in-store BP machine.
- Monitor your sodium intake and stay under 2,300 mg daily.
- Stick to a healthy diet regimen and pay close attention specifically to your glucose intake.
- Watch your alcohol intake: The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends men drink no more than two drinks per day, and women no more than one drink.
- Find ways to relax, through meditation, yoga, walks outside or whatever takes your mind off things. Studies have found that college, the work place, and obesity could often be the hidden culprit when young people develop high blood pressure.
How often do you get your blood pressure checked?