Finding out about cardiovascular meaning became quite important after I recently had a health scare. I’d quit smoking several years ago only to start again recently. Almost as soon as I started smoking, I felt quite horrible. I noticed I was getting dizzy, and not in a passing way that you sometimes get with cigarettes. I also noticed my heart seemed to pound in my chest. When I started getting nosebleeds, I became concerned enough to schedule an appointment with my doctor. Obviously, something wasn’t right. I shouldn’t be getting nosebleeds just because I lit up a cigarette.
One of the first things they do at the doctor’s office is take your blood pressure. That’s because it’s important and many things can be diagnosed if you’ve got high blood pressure. The nurse taking my blood pressure went pale when she looked at the numbers and she ran out of the examining room to get the doctor. He came in and took one look at the numbers and told the nurse to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. It turns out I was having a hypertensive crisis. A very scary situation indeed. Only after being placed on medication do I feel better.
The whole situation led me to the internet in order to understand how the heart works. I found a site that explains how the cardiovascular system works and how it moves oxygen around your body. I still don’t know how a few cigarettes caused my body to go into a mode where my blood pressure was off the charts, but knowing how the heart works made me feel better about once again quitting smoking and making sure I kept taking my high blood pressure medication. I feel better now, but make sure you avoid anything that causes your blood pressure to skyrocket!