THE HIGHS & LOWS OF YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE READING A couple of weeks ago I went in for my yearly physical with my physician. Before I saw her, a nurse took my readings including my blood pressure. The top (systolic pressure) number read 155. “Wow!” I said, “It’s usually a lot lower than that.” Because I normally have to wait for 15 minutes before seeing the doctor, this day I arrived just at my appointment time. And wouldn’t you know—the nurse took me right back to the examining room, sat me down and took the measurements. I thought that maybe...

YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE: WHERE DO YOU PLACE IN THE NEW GUIDELINES If you didn’t previously have high blood pressure, there’s a chance you do now. That’s my case—suddenly my blood pressure isn’t “normal” any longer. Six months ago the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released updated blood pressure guidelines. I thought I was doing pretty good with a blood pressure reading of 127/70, however this is now considered elevated. Here’s info on what’s new from Monique Tello, MD, MPH in the November, 2017 Harvard Medical School article New high blood pressure guidelines: Think your blood pressure...