What is hypertension? Hypertension is the medical word for high blood pressure. High blood pressure is common.
Almost half of all adults that live in the United States, which is over 100 million people, have high blood pressure. Depending on how high your blood pressure is can determine what kind of help is needed.
How is blood pressure measured?
A healthcare professional can take blood pressure with an electronic or manual cuff. Free electronic blood pressure stations are available at select pharmacies, such as Walgreens or CVS, and at some stores, such as Wal-Mart. Electronic blood pressure cuffs are also available online.
What is normal blood pressure?
The top number on a blood pressure reading (the “systolic” pressure) should be higher than the bottom number (the “diastolic” pressure).
Normal blood pressure varies depending on age and other conditions.
For example:
● Those from Ages 18-59 should be below 140/90
● Those older than Age 60 should be less than 150/90
● Those of any age over 18 who have diabetes or chronic kidney disease should be less than 140/90
However, athletes typically have low blood pressure, which is considered normal.
How is blood pressure diagnosed?
Several high readings, including those from home and not just at a doctor’s office, are required to diagnose hypertension. When someone’s blood pressure is only high at a doctor’s office, this is called white-coat hypertension.
What are the symptoms of hypertension?
Most people cannot tell they have high blood pressure, which may go unnoticed for many years.
At extremely high pressures, some people will have a throbbing headache, dizziness, chest pain, blurry vision, or shortness of breath— these are signs of an emergency. If you are experiencing these symptoms, call your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room.
What puts you at risk of getting hypertension?
Particular day-to-day habits increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Some of these habits are:
● Smoking or drinking
● Using cocaine
● Eating a high-fat or salt diet for many years
● Not exercising
● Diabetes
● Chronic kidney disease
Factors that are outside someone’s control that will increase your chance of getting high blood pressure are:
● Being 65 years of age or older
● Having multiple family members with high blood pressure early in life
How do you treat hypertension?
The first step in treating high blood pressure is eating healthy, exercising regularly, and losing weight. A Mediterranean diet, which includes healthy fats and vegetables with low carbohydrates, is said to be the best choice for lowering blood pressure.
If these changes do not help lower your blood pressure, the next step may be taking one or more medications a doctor prescribes daily.
Why is high blood pressure called the silent killer?
High blood pressure is not felt until there are other signs. If blood pressure is high enough, other signs like headaches, blurred vision, chest pain, or shortness of breath can develop. Serious problems that do happen and may, if blood pressure goes untreated, include heart attack, stroke, and permanent kidney injury. But up until that point, the disease is “silent.”