Knowing your numbers can help lower your risk of heart disease
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – According to the CDC, nearly half of the adults in the United States have high blood pressure, and about 10% have high cholesterol. But that number is over 30% in Mississippi.
Either of these conditions can increase a person’s chances of heart disease and strokes.
Amy Bogue is the president of Allegro Family Clinic. She said knowing the numbers of your health, should be a big priority.
“You want to get a baseline, so everybody needs to get a checkup at some point that way you know what your normal is. When you get sick, the numbers tend to change. Honestly, everybody should know their normal blood pressure range, and to know those, you need to know the normal numbers. They recommend around 120 over 80 as your normal. They have tightened them up a little bit. So, if you have 120 to 130 that is moderate and 140 over 90 is high and so it used to be a little bit looser, but they have tightened those guidelines up a little bit,” said Bogue.
Bogue said several things can take a toll on your health.
“I would say stress would probably be the number one thing, which everybody is stressed in some form or fashion. In different situations, they call it white coat syndrome when people do not like to go to the doctor’s office and they get anxious when they walk through the doors. Underlying conditions, if you have different types of medical conditions, you might increase your blood pressure, too. Different fluids can do it, there are so many things that can affect your blood pressure,” said Bogue.
Bogue said genetics can also affect your overall health.
“There are some things like a family history that you cannot help. I have high cholesterol history in my family so I can diet and exercise to help it. It is going to run high because it runs in my family. So, I need to know what my baseline number is, and if I need to get on medication for it,” said Bogue.
