5 Things to Remember About Your Blood Pressure

What's so important about blood pressure and why is it always one of the first things the nurse checks when you come to visit your doctor?

"Our blood pressure is tied closely to our overall health and well being," explains Douglas Souvignier, M.D., internal medicine physician with Camino Medical Group (CMG), affiliated with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Here are some key points to remember about why it's important to keep tabs on your blood pressure:

• Left undiagnosed and untreated, high blood pressure can lead to serious consequences, including stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and heart failure.
  
• Many people with high blood pressure don't experience any symptoms until a health crisis occurs.
  
• You should have your blood pressure screened in early adulthood and, assuming it's normal, every five years after that.
  
• To help control your blood pressure, watch your weight, exercise regularly and eat a healthy, well balanced diet.
  
• As a CMG patient, you can have your blood pressure checked for free. Just drop by our weekly blood pressure screening on Wednedays between 8 and 10 a.m. Come to Conference Room 1 (basement level) of CMG's Urgent Care Center, 201 Old San Francisco Road in Sunnyvale.