The new research shows the upper number is important too. The upper number, the systolic pressure, reflects pressure when the heart beats. If it's high, you're at risk of having a stroke. A high upper number is a strong predictor of who would have abnormalities in the aorta. By abnormalities, Dr. Bijoy Khandheria means the aorta is plugging up with debris, composed of fat, calcium and other material.
Pieces can break loose and travel to organs like the brain.
There they squeeze off the blood supply, causing a stroke. Therefore, rather than looking for abnormalities in the aorta we can look at the blood pressure, the systolic blood pressure, which would automatically say that there's a risk of stroke in these patients. Tracy is on proper medication that reduces her risk to almost zero. Dr. Khandheria suggests that you have your blood pressure taken once a year. But if you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor about having it checked more often.