OGDENSBURG -- May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month and the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center is encouraging people to set goals.

“When it comes to blood pressure, people should know their numbers. It is more important to know your blood pressure numbers than your cholesterol numbers,” Dr. Michael Seidman, nephrologist and medical director at the Agarwal Renal Center said. “If your blood pressure is high, it is crucial that you keep close tabs on it. If kept under control, immediate benefits can be recognized.”

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) one in three American adults has high blood pressure, also called hypertension.

That’s 67 million people who have to work to keep their blood pressure in check each day. Unfortunately, more than half of the people with high blood pressure do not have their condition under control. If people ignore high blood pressure, they increase their risk of stroke, heart attack, chronic heart failure and early death.

“Treatment for high blood pressure is so simple, safe and highly effective. It is very sad to see someone who has neglected their blood pressure. The damage is done and what they can do is now is so limited,” Seidman said.

Blood pressure is the force of blood on the walls of your blood vessels as blood flows through them. Blood pressure has two numbers, systolic and diastolic, and is measured in millimeters of mercury. Systolic pressure is the force on the blood vessel walls when the heart beats and pumps blood out of the heart. Diastolic pressure is the force that occurs when the heart relaxes in between beats.

For more information about high blood pressure or the Agarwal Renal Center visit us on the web at www.claxtonhepburn.org or call us at 1-888-908-2462.