National Women's Blood Pressure Awareness Week:
Know the Numbers
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, occurs when the pressure or force of blood flowing through your arteries is higher than normal. If the pressure of blood pushing against the artery walls is too high, it can damage your arteries and cause other complications.
Blood pressure is a measure of:
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Systolic pressure (the top number): the pressure as your heart beats or pumps blood into your arteries.
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Diastolic pressure (the bottom number): the pressure when your heart rests between beats.
To lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, try to maintain your blood pressure at less than 120 systolic/80 diastolic. Click here for more information about high blood pressure symptoms and causes.
Find out more about maintaining healthy blood pressure and how to measure your blood pressure at home, here. You can also print this tool to help you keep track of your blood pressure! Find these resources and more in our NWBPAW Toolkit.
Join OWH on Thursday October 19th at 12 p.m. ET for a virtual summit focused on innovative approaches to hypertension management and treatment through community initiatives to support women's heart health. During the summit, we'll hear from subject matter experts in the field, OWH Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) Program Champions and Phase II awardees of the HHS Hypertension Innovator Award Competition. The summit is open to the public. Click below to register.
Be sure to visit https://www.womenshealth.gov/nwbpaw every day to learn about our daily themes
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Sunday: Know the Numbers: Women, Blood Pressure, and Heart Disease
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Monday: Heart Healthy Habits
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Tuesday: Managing Blood Pressure Before, During, and After Pregnancy
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Wednesday: The Link Between Mental Health and Heart Health
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Thursday: How to Save a Life: CPR Basics for Rapid Response
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Friday: Health Equity and Heart Disease
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Saturday: NWBPAW 2023 Weekly Recap and Sharing What Works
Together, we can help our communities
achieve better heart health outcomes!
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