It is essential that you get the best and most practical treatments for hypertension. And when you have the right doctor, he or she will follow hypertension treatment guidelines put out by the American Heart Association and / or other specitaly heart disease organizations. But there are also a number of lifestyle changes you can make that will help control your blood pressure levels.
The following hypertension treatment guidelines for lifestyle changes are arranged in no significant order.
- Listen to your doctor. They know the best for you. So whether it’s about your diet or your weight management, try to bear in mind what they say. Because if there is someone better who can help you out, your doctor is the first who can give you reliable hypertension treatment guidelines.
- Medicate on time. You might not like the taste of all those pills and supplements, but you have to take them at the right time and of course at the right amount. Hypertension treatment guidelines will not be complete without leaving your prescription behind.
- Keep it down. Despite your strict observation of these hypertension treatment guidelines, your blood pressure device maybe your only lifeline. For systolic patients, keep the pressure below 140. For diastolic patients, maintain diastolic pressure of 90 or below. A desirable BP is less than 120/80. In addition to hypertension treatment guidelines, diabetic patients must reduce blood pressure to 130/80 to get rid of cardiac arrest. Those with kidney problems must have BP of 125/75 or less. This will help slow down the advancement of kidney disease.
- Make a difference. They say hypertension is life changing. Yes it is, in fact, starting from No. 4 to No. 8, these hypertension treatment guidelines will tackle on lifestyle changes. Eat more fruits, vegetables, low fat meals and less salty dishes.
- Lose weight. It is another important lifestyle change for your hypertension treatment guidelines. You don’t have to be thin but if you’re obese, it is a must. See your doctor and find out the appropriate weight for your age and height.
- Get rid of cigarettes. They never did you right since your first stuck one in your mouth.
- Walk More. 30 minutes of walking everyday will help you keep your weight down.
- Drink less. Your doctor might probably have told you about this. But if invitations to parties are making it hard for you, it would be better to start telling your friends you have hypertension. In this way, they will know that men will limit alcohol intake to two glasses a week, and one for women.
You may wonder why it’s so important to prevent high blood pressure. Why not simply wait for it to develop and then treat it? Below are 5 reasons why it’s better to act early instead of later.
1. Better odds: Generally, the younger you are when you try to change your lifestyle, the better your chances of succeeding. The longer you’re involved in an unhealthful habit, the more difficult it is for you to change that habit.
2. Reduced health risks: Even if you’re able to control your high blood pressure after the disease develops, you still have a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke than people who don’t have high blood pressure.
3. Control difficulties: Managing high blood pressure isn’t always easy. Only about a quarter of Americans with high blood pressure have their condition under control.
4. Side effects: Medications to treat high blood pressure can sometimes cause side effects, such as fatigue, headaches, constipation, a nagging cough and loss of sex drive.
5. Cost: Treating high blood pressure typically includes more frequent trips to your doctor. Plus, you may need to take medication daily.
Hypertension or commonly called high blood pressure is the result of an unusually higher rate of force that is applied by the flowing blood in the arteries to its walls. This happens when a person’s large arteries become inflexible and small blood vessels turn narrower. But one does not see these internal organs and so how does a person know if he has hypertension.
The following are symptoms of hypertension that may occur in groups or individually. Others maybe caused by non-hypertensive factors; however, these hypertension symptoms are discussed in a manner that is closely related to high blood pressure.
* Severe headache may be common but studies revealed that there were more headaches experienced by hypertensive people than those who are not.
- Chest pains are displayed with breathing difficulty
- Fatigue and confusion also go along with faster heartbeat
- Heart palpitation, when considered one of the symptoms of hypertension, occurs along with headache, dizziness, visual changes, nosebleeds and nausea
- A flushed face occurs because the face weakens during high pressure of blood as well as the arms and legs
- Blurry vision is one of the most common symptoms of hypertension that takes place along with headache, nose bleeding and nausea
- Nosebleed, also called epistaxis, is usually hard to stop because of blood that is pumping at a higher pressure making it longer for the blood to clot
- Weakness polyuria refers to a strong need to urinate frequently, especially, during the night
- Tinnitus, which displays buzzing in the ears, is caused by other factors. But when associated with high blood pressure, the buzzing is often amplified
- Vertigo or feelings that you or the world is spinning dizzily also occurs along with other symptoms of hypertension like headache, blurry vision and nausea
It is important to note that high blood pressure does not show signs of presence. Research says that one-third of patients had not experienced any symptoms of hypertension. While this illness is caused by one of multiple factors such as excessive drinking of liquor, poor eating habits, inactivity and lack of exercise, and family history, one can only know if he has high blood pressure when he has already checked up with his doctor.
The problem, though, is that people with hypertension were diagnosed when they were over 50 years old. It is true that there is a higher risk of getting high blood pressure when someone reaches above 50. But there is nothing safer than to be extra watchful of your body, especially, during these days of health degrading lifestyle.
As you know from doing your research, high blood pressure is serious business. But for all of the problems it can cause, you probably wouldn’t even know you have it unless your doctor tells you so. You might get a few unexpected headaches. But other than that, hypertension has no symptoms in its early stages.
So it’s not surprising that as many as 30 percent of people with high blood pressure are completely unaware that they have the problem. This means almost 15 million Americans could be getting treatment right now that could improve or even save their lives, but they’re not. Many of them will not seek help until they’ve had hypertension for years and it starts to create other problems - chest pain, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney disease.
The good news is that it isn’t hard to get checked for high blood pressure right now. Usually, it’s as simple as sitting down, sticking out your arm, and waiting while a doctor or nurse runs a painless test. This small amount of time could save your life.
High blood pressure, also known by the medical term of hypertension, is not the same thing as heart disease, but it can make heart disease worse. By damaging its arteries and making the heart work too hard, hypertension can help trigger (or be a risk factor for) heart attacks.
Both heart disease and hypertension can kill you. Heart disease can cause you to spend the rest of your life with chest pain or shortness of breath. But not only does hypertension make heart disease more likely, it can cause you to “stroke out” so that - even if you survive - you spend the rest of your life partially paralyzed, unable to hear, or unable to speak.
There are some similarities in the causes of hypertension and coronary artery heart disease. For a long time, we have understood that coronary artery heart disease is due to mistakes in lifestyle, especially nutrition (particularly an overindulgence of dietary fat). But there are also critical differences in their causes. An important cause of coronary artery heart disease is dietary fat and cholesterol. The most important contributor to hypertension, however, is a low ratio of potassium (K) to sodium (Na) - the K Factor - in the food people eat.
Also, high blood pressure is not the same thing as, nor is it due to, “hardening of the arteries” - a term that refers to the cumulative effects of age and poor nutrition, in addition to hypertension, upon the arteries. And lastly, hypertension is not a type of nervous tension.
Whether or not your doctor decides you have hypertension depends on how high your blood pressure is. That’s all there is to it. Blood pressure is the pressure the blood exerts against the walls of all your arteries (the large blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your body’s tissues). Your heart creates this blood pressure by pumping blood into the arteries. How can you tell if your blood pressure is too high? You can’t - unless it’s measured. In fact, about a third of the people with high blood pressure don’t realize they have it.
How It Is Measured
Your doctor measures your blood pressure by inflating a cuff around your arm with enough pressure to squeeze the artery inside your arm shut. By releasing the pressure of the cuff and listening to the sounds of the pulsating blood as the artery reopens, your doctor can determine your blood pressure.
The lastest offering from Kathi MacNaughton, RN, a consumer health education specialist, is Managing Your Blood Pressure. Watch for tips and advice on understanding hypertension and how to manage your blood pressure for optimal health.
Heart disease (including high blood pressure) is one of the biggest killers today. Don’t let your blood pressure control you. Take action now for a healthier life!
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- June 2007 (47)
