As you approach your twenties, you’re probably still learning how to manage your health yourself. It’s a lot to take on, from switching from a pediatrician to a primary care physician (PCP) to figuring out health insurance and learning about your family’s medical history. You may believe that, because you’re young by conventional measures, you won’t have many health difficulties to deal with in the coming years.
When it comes to your health, it’s never too early to establish the practice of visiting your primary care physician on a regular basis and being acquainted with your vital signs and readings, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It’s been discovered that having high blood pressure (commonly known as hypertension) and high cholesterol in your twenties puts you at higher risk for major health problems later in life.to prevent searching visit urgent health care near me let’s take a look at what high blood pressure and cholesterol are and how they’re connected before we get into lifestyle adjustments you can do to help decrease both of these.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a lipid chemical present in your bloodstream that your body produces naturally from what you eat. Cholesterol is used by your body to manufacture hormones, develop healthy cells, and produce vitamin D. Cholesterol can build up in the arteries and harden as your levels grow. This makes it difficult for blood to flow freely through your veins, increasing your risk of heart attacks, cardiovascular problems, and stroke.
Age, gender, and heredity can all play a role in high cholesterol. It’s also determined by what you consume, how much you weigh, or how often you work out. Because high cholesterol levels don’t cause any symptoms, it’s crucial to get your cholesterol levels evaluated with a blood test. Your cholesterol levels should be examined every five years in general. Still, your PCP may prescribe more regular testing based on your genetic history and any health issues you may be having.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood pressing against the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the rest of your body. A medical professional will check your blood pressure physically or with an automated machine utilizing an inflated arm cuff and a stethoscope. Your blood pressure result will be expressed as a fraction and will include two numbers: systolic and diastolic pressure.
The “highest number” of the percentage is systolic blood pressure. When your heart beats, the amount of pressure your plasma exerts on your artery walls is measured. The “bottom number” is diastolic blood pressure, which counts the pressure exerted on your artery walls while your heart is resting between beats.
Blood pressure is commonly referred to as the “silent killer.” It has no obvious symptoms and has a harmful influence on your body over time, increasing your chance of heart disease in the future, as well as placing you at risk of having a stroke, renal disease, and other conditions. That’s why it’s critical to control your blood pressure and develop heart-healthy behaviors as soon as possible, even if you don’t believe you need to.
What Is the Relationship Between High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol?
So, you might be asking if high blood pressure and high cholesterol are related. In a nutshell, they are. High blood pressure is common in people with high cholesterol. Blood pressure is the pressure that your blood presses against your arteries, as discussed in this article. When cholesterol builds up in your arteries, your heart needs to work harder to push blood through your veins. Blood pressure is directly proportional to how hard your heart needs to work. After having to work harder to accomplish fundamental duties, your heart, unlike other muscles in your body, grows weaker and less effective over time.
How to Change Your Lifestyle to Improve the Condition
You may be able to naturally decrease your blood pressure and cholesterol by becoming more conscious of your everyday behaviors.
- Exercise regularly — Everyone’s schedule is different, and even if you can’t commit to 30 minutes of continuous exercise several days a week, little bursts of movement can assist.
- Eat a Healthy Diet — Eat more whole foods, reduce your salt intake, and get into the habit of preparing more meals at home, where you have more control over the contents. You may even try to prepare more vegetarian meals.
- Quit Smoking – You may enhance your heart rate, cholesterol levels, blood flow, lung capacity, and more by quitting smoking. This also applies to vaping.
- Drink Alcohol in Moderation – While it’s tempting to conclude the day with a few drinks, try to limit yourself to one alcoholic drink each day for women and two for men.
- Lose Weight — Your blood pressure rises in tandem with your weight gain. Even losing a few pounds can improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Hopefully, this article will help you to understand your condition and improve it through daily habits and a changed lifestyle.