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Healthy Aging By Sharon Johnson Turning the yellow light back to green The device can be found in many shopping malls and some fire stations. You place your arm in a nylon cuff and push a button. The pumping sound you hear and the firm pressure you feel lasts about a minute. Your blood pressure reading pops onto a small screen. I am told that the "ideal" reading is 120/80. Apparently, 130/85 is good and 140/90 is acceptable. Anything above that can cause your doctor's brow to wrinkle - and a probable further jump in your blood pressure in reaction to his or her evidenced concern. For a week, I have been carrying around a little card in my purse that prompts me to stop at the nearest nylon sleeve. I am a bit erratic in the blood pressure department, it appears. On a lazy Saturday, I am nearly "ideal." On a day with heavy work obligations, I can be "10 points over white coat hypertension." It has occurred to me that these are times when most of us might find our blood pressure readings up a bit. However, even if my rise is situational, it prompts me to want to know more about this condition called hypertension. Hypertension has many causes. Stress or fear prompts our adrenal glands to secrete more adrenaline and our arteries to constrict, producing pressure. Frightening events can elevate blood pressure - but the surge of adrenaline also gives us the ability to run faster, or stand and fight with more vigor, if that is required. Lately I have taken to thinking about a blood pressure reading as a traffic metaphor. I am proceeding through one of life's intersections, and the yellow light is flashing. There are many possible causes. As we age, high blood pressure can be more readily tied to arteriosclerosis. Our blood vessels narrow and harden, in part, because of all those trans-fatty acids we have ingested (those heavily buttered baked potatoes I relish so much?). Licorice, when eaten regularly in substantial amounts, can elevate blood pressure. Even a medication taken for an altogether different condition may negatively affect a blood pressure reading. Weight is a critical factor. Just losing 10 pounds, I am told, can change a flashing yellow light to a "good to go" green. Salt is a heavy-duty culprit - and it masquerades in so many forms. (Maybe my thrice-weekly V-8 Juice is the problem?) Like many medical problems that rise up to greet you as you age, you need to do your own personal analysis. The good news is that there are readily available solutions, some of which cost nothing and are quite enjoyable. A walk in the park - just 20 minutes daily, arms swinging (walk as if you were going somewhere) - not only has a potentially positive impact on blood pressure, but improves your psyche as well. For me it will be more potassium-filled baked potatoes and less butter. More garlic, perhaps, as it is said to have a positive impact on blood pressure. And definitely more soothing, caffeine-free teas and more walks in the park. Some things that happen at life's intersections, I cannot control - and some I can. Sharon Johnson is an assistant professor in family and community development at OSU Extension and a member of the Senior Advisory Council. Reach her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.