Veterans and Military Health

November 10, 2021

Veterans and Military Health

Veterans Day honors people who have served in the military. During their service, members of the armed forces are at risk of injury. Some injuries occur during combat, while others involve physical and mental stress on the body and can affect daily life. These specific types of injuries can include:

Loss of limbs
Trauma to the head and brain
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Sprains and strains

Being in combat and separated from your family can be stressful. This stress can put veterans at risk for mental health problems, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Find out more about veterans and military health.

Choosing the Right Doctor For You

Whether you just moved to a new city, changed insurance providers, or had a bad experience with a doctor or medical staff, it’s worthwhile to spend time finding a doctor you can trust. These resources can help you choose a health care provider or service.

Diagnosing High Blood Pressure

About 1 in 3 U.S. adults have high blood pressure and don’t know it. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so the only way to find out if you have it is to get regular blood pressure checks from your health care provider. Your provider will use a gauge, a stethoscope or electronic sensor, and a blood pressure cuff.

Blood pressure reading uses two numbers:

Systolic pressure – the pressure when the ventricles pump blood out of the heart
Diastolic pressure – the pressure between heartbeats when the heart is filling with blood

Usually the systolic number comes before or above the diastolic number. For example, 120/80 means a systolic of 120 and a diastolic of 80.

Learn more about high blood pressure.

Blood Pressure Category	Systolic Blood Pressure		Diastolic Blood Pressure
Normal	Less than 120	and	Less than 80
High Blood Pressure (no other heart risk factors)	140 or higher	or	90 or higher
High Blood Pressure (with other heart risk factors, according to some providers)	130 or higher	or	80 or higher
Dangerously high blood pressure – seek medical care right away	130 or higher	and	120 or higher