Know Your Numbers and Take Control of Your Health

By: Jay Ell Alexander | @officialblackgirlsrun/@jayellalexander

I am that person that each time I go to the grocery store, I head over to the pharmacy and sit down in the machine to take my blood pressure medication. Is that normal? I consider this my way of keeping tabs on my blood pressure when I don’t have a regular doctor’s appointment. About seven years ago, I had a scare with my blood pressure. My bottom number was in triple digits, and although I felt fine – I was not fine.

Black Girls RUN! has taken the challenge with Omron Healthcare - “GOING FOR ZERO”, eliminating heart attacks and stroke! Read about their GOING FOR ZERO campaign! The American Heart Association announced a reclassification of guidelines for high blood pressure in November 2017. These updated guidelines lowered the threshold for hypertension from 140/90 mmHg to 130/80 mmHg, resulting in more than 103 million Americans now being classified as hypertensive under the new guidelines. Of these, tens of millions are not even aware that they are hypertensive. There are two ways most people learn they are hypertensive: their condition is revealed by monitoring their blood pressure, or they suffer a cardiac event like a heart attack or stroke.

Over the next three months, I will be checking my blood pressure daily to encourage others to monitor their blood pressure and the importance of knowing your numbers. I will be using the Omron EVOLV, a portable, wireless upper-arm blood pressure monitor. With no tubes, wires or tabletop unit, the new sleek, one-piece EVOLV blood pressure monitor easily fits on the upper arm and clearly displays a blood pressure reading on the face of the device with a press of a button. It uses Omron’s exclusive heart health algorithm, Advanced Accuracy, to measure more data points and eliminate movements to get the most precise readings. The EVOLV is also equipped with Bluetooth technology which allows the device to seamlessly sync with the Omron Connect App to store, track and share data.

I encourage you to to do the same! My first reading today is 125/88 – not too bad! Cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death, and stroke is the top cause of adult disability in the U.S., with high blood pressure being the leading risk factor for both these conditions.

As we all know, healthy eating and activity go hand in hand with blood pressure! I will be making some conscious efforts to watch my eating and see howthis effects my numbers. African American women know cardiovascular diseases all too well, and it is up to us to change this epidemic in our community. Join Black Girls RUN! in the challenge! #OmronHealthcare #GoingforZero #EVOLV #Omron #hypertension #bloodpressure #hearthealth #medicaldevice

 Black Girls RUN! has been provided compensation and the blood pressure monitoring equipment for this campaign.

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