https://youtu.be/e4_zfjujRJ0

Bouba talks alongside Idongesit Obeye she is an RN, BSN, MSN-prepared nurse with licensure in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusett, about blood pressure and the normal range for blood pressure numbers, how High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) can impact your health, and what you can do to help control blood pressure —concluded by Q&A Idongesit, and fellow Heart of a Giant Nurses, Maria Dalomba and Velma Glover. After watching this webinar, you will learn how to prevent and manage High Blood Pressure.

3:00 Introduction to Bouba
3:28 Heart of A Giant Foundation’s & Healthy Heart Community Mission
5:27 Empower to serve
6:35 Idongesit’s Introduction
8:35 Having High Blood Pressure, you are not alone
10:01 Who is most affected by High Blood Pressure?
10:50 What is blood pressure?
12:06 What do the blood pressure numbers mean?
12:54 What is Systolic blood pressure
13:07 What is Diastolic blood pressure
14:47 Healthy and unhealthy blood pressure ranges
16:55 Preventing and managing high blood pressure
17:51 High blood pressure lifestyle changes
18:33 Having High blood pressure can hurt your body
19:00 A unhealthy diet can increase your risk factor for High Blood pressure
19:28 High blood pressure can affect the whole body
21:05 Hypertension stage 1 high risk
21:55 Hypertension stage 2 high risk
22:55 Non-modifiable risk factors
25:50 Modifiable risk factors
27:44 Be empowered with Blood Pressure control
28:21 Take your medication if prescribed
28:55 Be aware of how certain over-the-counter medications can affect your Blood Pressure
29:30 Working with your health care provider and making lifestyle changes, you can control your Blood Pressure.
29:41 Monitor your Blood Pressure at home
30:12 Where you can purchase blood pressure monitors
30:33 Sarah Falcone Introduction
34:37 Q&A

 

Having High Blood Pressure, you are not alone (8:35)
More than half of American adults have high blood pressure. Many don’t even know they have it. High blood pressure can be a silent killer.
-Over 1-2 African Americans have high blood pressure
– Over 1-3 Asians, Island Pacific have high blood pressure
– Over 1-3 Hispanic, Latinx have high blood pressure

What is Systolic and Diastolic mean? (12:54-13:07)
The top number is Systolic pressure, which is the force your blood flows to your arteries as it comes out of your heart.
The bottom number is Diastolic pressure, which is how much pressure your heart exerts against your artery walls while it rests between beats.
There is a third number which is your pulse.
Some things to look for:
If Systolic pressure is higher than 130 and Diastolic pressure is higher than 80. You may have high blood pressure. Your health care provider may recommend monitoring your blood pressure and determine if it is situational or not.

Stage 1 Hypertension (130 -139 Systolic and 80-89mm Diastolic) (21:05)
At this stage, your health care provider will prescribe a treatment plan with lifestyle changes and
May consider medication for blood pressure based on your risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke.

Stage 2 Hypertension (140 Systolic /90mm Diastolic) (21:55)
At this stage, your care provider will likely prescribe blood pressure medication and lifestyle changes.
It is important to find a health care provider who has a history of helping patients with hypertension.

Risk factors for developing High Blood Pressure
As mentioned earlier, some risk factors are predisposed for some individuals in the minority community.
Non-Modifiable risk factors (22:55)
-Family History
-Increased Age
-Male Gender
-Race/Ethnic background
-Chronic Kidney Disease
-Pregnancy

Modifiable risk factors (25:50)
-Lack of physical activity
-Unhealthy diet
-Drinking too much alcohol
-Smoking and tobacco
-Being overweight or obese
-High cholesterol
-Diabetes
-Stress

Resources in this Webinar
https://www.empoweredtoserve.org/en/
https://www.heart.org/en/about-us/heart-attack-and-stroke-symptoms

heart.org/hpb

Learn more about Healthy Hearts Communities “I Am Because We Are.”
https://heartofagiant.foundation/sign-up-free-for-2hc/

Comprehensive healthcare support, education, coaching, and access to digital health technology to patients and their families between doctor’s visits to better health outcomes.
Sign up here for the Healthy Hearts Community. It’s Free

Here are some key moments in the discussion:

5:10  Bouba “The idea of community and that’s where we, always try to bring in
African philosophy of Ubuntu, “I am because we are,” in Africa, in most places, we believe that we are all part of the community. So we are better when a community is better and vice versa.”

7:27 Idongesit  “If I asked for a show of hands, how often have you gone to see a doctor’s office and feel like you were rushed out of the office, or you only spent 10 minutes with the doctor? Not really having time to talk about what you really came in for, so it happens healthcare, unfortunately, has become very–speedy and almost conveyor belt like in nature. Where you get in, and you get out. Whatever the doctor says, you go home without understanding what was said.”

17:50 Idongesit “When we talk about lifestyle changes, if you’re somebody that has a desk job, and you don’t commute a lot, we, all of us working from home. Most of us have become less and less active. So lifestyle change can include exercising, changing your diet, or at least modifying your diet or adding things that get you moving”

Idongesit “People talk about physical activity. Oh, I don’t want to go to the gym. I don’t have time to go to the gym. I work, I’m a mom, all those things. So yes, they do apply. But I think, if anything, this pandemic has taught us to step away from the traditionalist way of thinking.  If you can move your feet in any direction, put on music, dance to it, clean your house, and move around. That counts as exercise. You can go out and take 30 minutes to walk.”

32:21 Maria “I want to say that I really enjoyed how you made the analogies because it’s hard for a person who hasn’t been to medical school or who is. Finding out that they have high blood pressure to stand the numbers and understand what’s going on in their bodies. And so it’s important for us to educate the community so that they know what those numbers mean.”

32:43 Maria “Another important thing is you get one high blood pressure, your first one, don’t panic. Blood pressure goes up and down. So could be triggering you, your blood pressure goes up, you relax, you dance, your blood pressure comes down.”

33:31 Velma “One really common thing, and maybe it was already stated, but dehydration is a prevalent problem that can also cause high blood. Dehydration, you may not think much of it, but it matters a lot to your health and wellbeing. So being able to drink water is half of your body weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and divide that in half to be 75 ounces, which is close to nine cups of water.”

The way we diagnose somebody with high blood pressure is that you have to have three consecutive readings. So you come in the first time, and your blood pressure is 140 over 90. So we’reWe’s not going to diagnose you that day with high blood pressure. We will have you follow up in a week, and recheck that.

Now, the next week you can say, oh, you know, I was late again, and be anxious, we may ask you to check your blood pressure at home. And then if you come in a third time and your blood pressure is still high, it’s most likely that you are hypertensive.”