This year Heart Week is 30 April to 6 May, and the focus is about the importance of diagnosing and treating high blood pressure.

We want to encourage you and your friends / family / work colleague to talk to your local health and fitness professionals about blood pressure testing, what the results mean and what the next steps are in managing the results if they are high.

The National Heart Foundation of Australia has released new hypertension guidelines that will give you the most up-to-date advice on the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure.

You won’t know you have high blood pressure until you have it checked. There are no signs and symptoms.
The good news is that high blood pressure, or hypertension, can be controlled.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, remains the leading risk factor for heart disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.

Speak to your doctor or come into our clinic and speak with our Exercise Physiologist today about checking your blood pressure and keeping it heart-healthy.

Why is my blood pressure measure important?
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood on the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps it around the body.
It naturally goes up and down all the time adjusting to the heart’s needs and what you’re doing.
Your health professional takes your blood pressure to check it is at a normal healthy level. A blood pressure
reading between 120/80mmHg to 139/89mmHg is in the normal to high normal range.

If your readings are higher, you may be diagnosed with high blood pressure, or hypertension. This condition
has no signs or symptoms but can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney and blood vessel disease.

You can lower your numbers
The good news is you can reduce your blood pressure. Your health practitioner can work with you on a
plan to manage your blood pressure which may include more exercise, a change in diet, lifestyle changes
and, in some cases, medication.

So this Heart Week get your blood pressure checked, know your results and take action if your numbers
are high.

Visit the Heart Foundation’s website for great tips and resources on lowering your blood pressure and
keeping your heart healthy.

High Blood Pressure Guidelines
These guidelines on high blood pressure helps our clinic work with our patients to manage their blood pressure for a healthy heart.

The guidelines have been recommended by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and endorsed by Kidney Health Australia, National Stroke Foundation and the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia.

Our goal is to help all our patients monitor and manage their blood pressure? We share the latest information with the Moonee Valley Health and Fitness community, who are very interested in blood pressure and how to keep their numbers heart healthy.

Blood pressure is an area that we focus on during you initial consultation with our exercise physiologists. Below are some common questions that we are asked by patients at our clinic.

1. What should be a normal blood pressure for my age?
2. Can you check my blood pressure?
3. What should my cholesterol level be?
4. How will exercise help lower my blood cholesterol?
5. Does eating eggs effect my cholesterol levels?
6. Can an Exercise Physiologist help me with cardiac rehabilitation after having a heart attack?
7. What is a Heart Attack and what are the Warning Signs of a heart attack?
8. How will exercise and healthy eating improve my heart health
9. Does your Melbourne clinic offer group exercise classes to help me with making lifestyle changes

Our Exercise Physiologists answer questions like these every day. If you would like to book an initial consultation call our Melbourne Clinic (03)9996-0790 or email info@mvfit.com.au

All our exercise physiologist closely follow the latest evidence on diagnosing and treating high blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, remains the leading risk factor for heart disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.

Close to six million adult Australians have hypertension, and many have no plan to manage or treat their condition.

At our Moonee Valley Health and Fitness exercise physiology clinic, we can show you how to best manage and treat high blood pressure.

The role that Moonee Valley Health and Fitness has with EIM in the Melbourne community is to integrate physical activity as a standard in health care and to promote exercise and movement in the local community.

All our exercise professionals work closely with the medical community to help provide support with patients who have chronic diseases.

Starting an exercise program can sound like a daunting task, but it can be made easy by booking an initial consultation with one of our health and fitness professional and having our team guide you.

Remember, for most people the main goal is to boost your health by meeting the basic physical activity recommendations: 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity at least five days per week, or vigorous intensity activity at least three days per week, and strength training at least twice per week.

Our Melbourne Clinic is set up in a private personal training studio, and has access to all the training equipment and rehabilitation tools need for an effective program.

Want more information:

You can find more information about Heart Health on the Heart Foundations website.

• Heart Foundation Australia