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Maintaining your blood pressure

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On March 22, 2022
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Blood pressure blog

You know the importance of a normal blood pressure, but yes, what are "normal" blood pressure values? And what can you do yourself to keep your blood pressure around those normal values?

Blood pressure values

Your blood pressure is normal when the upper pressure is below 140 and the lower pressure is below 90. This applies to blood pressure at rest, so not if you have just been exercising, for example. At home it may be even a little lower, namely 135/85.

The ideal blood pressure is 120/80 or lower and with an upper blood pressure between 120 and 140 we call the blood pressure normal. 

The ideal blood pressure values do not change with your age. So blood pressure may be the same for a 50-year-old, 70-year-old and those over 80. There is also no difference between the ideal blood pressure for a woman or a man, for the elderly or athletes.

However, under the influence of medication, the values may vary slightly.

Measuring blood pressure in 5 steps

It is important to measure your blood pressure regularly. With regular you can think of once a year, from the age of 40.

You can easily measure your blood pressure yourself, manually. Before you start measuring your blood pressure, it is important that you have sat quietly for at least 5 minutes and that you have not smoked, drunk coffee or exercised for half an hour before the measurement.

So you can measure your blood pressure yourself:

  1. Which arm? Measure your blood pressure by the arm you use the least, not the arm you write with. Take off your outer clothing or roll up your sleeve if you can. 
  2. Place the blood pressure band around your upper arm at heart level, about 2 cm above your elbow, with the cord on the inside of your elbow. Do not pull it too tight; your thumb should still be able to fit between it. 
  3. Sit upright on a chair, with your back against the backrest. Put your feet side by side on the floor, place your arm relaxed on the armrest of the chair or table and say nothing for a moment. 
  4. Now you can press the start button. The measurement then goes automatically and also stops automatically. Wait a minute and then press the button again to measure the blood pressure. 
  5. Write down blood pressure values to compare with other measurements. Is my blood pressure normal or average? 

Don't have your own blood pressure monitor? You can also have your blood pressure measured at the doctor's office.

DHA and EPA in omega 3 help maintain normal blood pressure

DHA and EPA contribute to the maintenance of normal blood pressure. DHA and EPA are omega 3 fish fatty acids.

You find them mainly in (oily) fish. Do you not get enough omega 3 through your diet, for example because you never eat fish or eat too little fish? Then consider a supplement such as fish oil with omega 3. At Arctic Blue we sell several products with a high concentration of EPA and DHA, both fish oil and algae oil.

In order of high concentration:

DHA and EPA in omega 3 maintain normal blood pressure at a daily intake of 3 g of EPA and DHA. The supplemental daily intake of EPA and DHA combined should not exceed 5 g.