Ithaca College

We would like to thank all the participants of this month’s No Pressure Blood Pressure screenings on October 28th.

Over twenty-five students from Ithaca College’s Wellness Clinic and the Department of Exercise Science were able to receive hands on experience in taking blood pressures. This month highlighted eating right as a means to lower blood pressure, with tips such as decreasing salt, alcohol, and refined sugar intake. The mean blood pressure for the campus was 120/75 which falls within normal limits.

However, upon further examination, it was found that thirty-nine percent of the blood pressures taken could be classified as prehypertensive and thirteen percent as hypertensive. To have a formal diagnosis of prehypertension or hypertension, blood pressure should be taken twice on two separate occasions. High blood pressure increases a person’s risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and atherosclerosis. Some quick tips on how to prevent high blood pressure include eating healthy, reducing sodium intake, maintaining a healthy weight, participating in physical activity, and quitting smoking among others.

No Pressure Blood Pressure will continue to monitor campus wide blood pressure next month, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th with additional tips on how to lower blood pressure, especially those related to fitness. If you are interested in finding out your blood pressure in the meantime, free screenings are always done at the Ithaca College Wellness Clinic located in the Center for Health Sciences. We are very interested to know how you felt No Pressure Blood Pressure went.

Any feedback or questions you have, in addition to better times for students to visit your office should be directed to Ithaca College’s Wellness Clinic, wellness@ithaca.edu.