High blood pressure is a common condition that is higher than normal and it can affect the arteries of your body. Also known as hypertension, when there is high pressure, the force of blood pushing against artery walls becomes very high consistently. The heart has to work harder to pump blood properly. Your blood pressure reading has two numbers. The top number is called systolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure on your blood vessel walls when the heart beats or contracts. The bottom number is the diastolic blood pressure which measures pressure on your blood vessels between the beats when your heart relaxes.
Most people with high blood pressure won’t experience any symptoms and this is why people usually call hypertension the “silent killer.” Some signs and symptoms include:
Anybody who experiences any of these symptoms needs to seek for immediate medical assistance.
Untreated hypertension might be the reason for serious health concerns such as:
As high blood pressure does not show any symptoms, the healthcare provider checks your blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff. He will check your blood pressure during the yearly checkup or appointment. When you have high blood pressure readings at two appointments or more, the provider may tell you are having high pressure.
The treatment depends on various factors which include how high your blood pressure is and the risk of having a cardiovascular disease or stroke. The doctor may suggest different treatments when the blood pressure level increases. In case of slightly high blood pressure, they may suggest monitoring your blood pressure level and making certain changes in your lifestyle.
When blood pressure is high, they will recommend some medications. The options can change in due course according to how severe the hypertension is and whether there are complications like kidney ailment. Some people might even require a combination of different medications.
You will have stage 1 hypertension when the blood pressure levels are 130–139/80–89 mm Hg, have less than 10% calculated with 10 years risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. It is also not possible to attain blood pressure goal of less than 130/80 mm Hg after 6 months of changes in your lifestyle.
When you remain stressed, the body will send stress hormones such as – adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream. These hormones may lead to temporary spike in the blood pressure, causing your heart to beat quicker and blood vessels to narrow. When the stressful situation gets over, your blood pressure will be back to normal level.
Blood pressure has a daily pattern and it starts increasing a few hours before you wake up in the morning. It continues to rise during the day, in the midday but typically drops down in the late afternoon and evening.
Insomnia is somewhat linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Your poor sleep can be the reason for unhealthy habits that can hurt your heart, including higher stress levels, less motivation to be physically active and taking unhealthy food choices.
Blood pressure screening is an important part of health care. It depends upon how often you should check your blood pressure based on your age and overall health. Talk to your provider for blood pressure reading at least in every two years from 18 years. If you are 40 or more than that or you are in the age group of 18 to 39 with high pressure, you should ask for a blood pressure check every year. Your provider will probably recommend more-frequent readings when you suffer from high pressure or other risk factors related to heart disease.
Talk to your doctor when you have constant high blood pressure!