The pressure inside your arteries is simply an indicator of your blood pressure. Carrying blood away from your heart and towards the organs is an important function of the arteries. Because of this,arterial blood pressure is relatively higher to the blood pressures in your veins. Your veins are responsible for carrying blood back towards the heart after nourishing your internal organs.

If you think of a simple garden hosepipe,when yous queeze the end of the tube to close it up a little,the pressure goes up and watersprays out further. The same thing can happen in your body – if your arteries narrow then the pressure will go up, since same amount of blood has to be squeezed in a smaller space.

There are many reasons why your arteries may narrow.

A key factor is the balance of two of your mineral levels -sodium and potassium.It’s important to note that what you eat has a large effect on your hypertension. Also, your stress levels play a big part. If you are stressed regularly then you will also get hypertension because of having more stress chemicals, such as cortisol in your system.

Exercising is a good way to protect yourself from the risks of high blood pressure. Although when you exercise there is an upswing in your blood pressure, the extra demands placed on your system when you exercise make your arterial walls more flexible. This flexibility means your arteries are more likely to remain wide when you are at rest.