Systolic Hypertension Rules over Diastolic!At one time, experts thought systolic hypertension was no more critical than diastolic. Although any chronic deviation from normal blood pressure is important, high systolic blood pressure now appears to be the key figure. What is systolic blood pressure and how come we should pay it more attention? What is systolic blood pressure? Systolic blood pressure is the higher number of a blood pressure reading. For the normal blood pressure of 120/80, 120 is the systolic. In systolic hypertension, 110 to 120 would be normal and not hypertension. 120 to 140 would be prehypertension. Above 140 is high systolic blood pressure. In the 120 to 140 range, one should be able to bring the pressure down with diet and lifestyle changes. Above 140, blood pressure medication may be needed, at least temporarily. See your health care provider for more information. Also, you should check out the blood pressure medications page and bone up on your diet options. Now, do you know the latest in the systolic/diastolic controversy? When is systolic more important than diastolic? Up until a person reaches the early fifties, systolic and diastolic pressures seem to go up and down together. But, after about age 55, the diastolic stabilizes and even starts back down while the systolic continues to go up. That happened later with me. I was just past 65 when my diastolic began to decrease. But, I have been working on lowering my blood pressure over all, so it's hard to tell. Right now, my blood pressure figures are 137/73 on the average. Diastolic has stabilized, so I pay more attention to my systolic prehypertension. More and more health care professionals are focusing on systolic, especially for older folks. Now, if diastolic drops dramatically into the 60s, you need to become concerned. A high systolic with a low diastolic may predict future heart trouble. But, if your diastolic is stably in the 70's, you're probably okay with that and should focus on systolic. Let's take a look at what this means practically. So, what do you do? No matter what age you are, if you are tending toward systolic hypertension, you need to implement what you are learning on this site. Diet, supplements, exercise and other methods are crucial. This site is your resource for how to lower your blood pressure naturally. Return to Hypertension Definition
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