High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure (hbp) or hypertension means high pressure (tension) in the arteries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to all the tissues and organs of the body. High blood pressure does not mean excessive emotional tension, although emotional tension and stress can temporarily increase blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called "pre–hypertension", and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high.
Many medical studies have shown a relation between obesity and high blood pressure. The cardiovascular risk is increased with obesity.
Why is there a relation between obesity and high blood pressure?
Many medical studies have shown that obesity presented an increase in the cardiac output and the blood volume, and in the arterial resistance. In fact, obesity induces a high secretion of insulin in trying to decrease the excessive sugar concentration in the blood. This insulin secretion is very high compared to a non-obese person.
Moreover, the insulin, secreted by the pancreas, is responsible for many modifications in the body:
• It induces a thickening of the vessels which is responsible for an increase in their rigidity, thus increasing the blood pressure;
• It increases the cardiac output, because the secretion of adrenalin is increased;
• It induces the reabsorption of water and salt by the kidney, which increases the blood volume and thus increases the blood pressure;
• Moreover, obesity is responsible for an over-sensitiveness to sodium, which is known to increase the rigidity of the peripheral arteries.
After some time, the obese person will develop a natural resistance to the insulin which will lead his body to synthetize more insulin, thus generating a rise in the blood pressure by the way of the mechanisms described above.
Obesity, especially central obesity, is an important risk factor for high blood pressure. The prevalence of hypertension increases with the degree of obesity.
Being obese more than doubles the risk of developing raised blood pressure (hypertension). Obesity research indicates that about 70 percent of obese men and women suffer from hypertension.
If you suffer from hypertension or want to lower your blood pressure, your first priority should be reducing abdominal obesity, which is a risk factor separate from overall obesity. Abdominal obesity impairs the liver's ability to effectively clear insulin from the blood. This may lead to insulin resistance and increased insulin secretion from the pancreas. The side effects are increased heart rate and contractility, and tightening of the arteries, which will lead to increased blood pressure.
Most patents on high blood pressure medication have reduced their medication considerably after 4 - 6 weeks on a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet)/Total Food Replacement (TFR), most have reduced their medication to minimal levels after 10-12 weeks and some after 12 weeks have discontinued their medication altogether.
A VLCD/TFR has been shown time and time again to be the safest and quickest way of losing weight and achieving reduced blood pressure.