High blood pressure is one of the most common problems related to the cardiovascular system! A third of the population over the age of 18 has high blood pressure that requires treatment, and most people have at least once experienced a situation in which their blood pressure values were elevated.
Precisely because of the prevalence of this condition, it is necessary to talk and educate people about it. You should know what it means to have problems with pressure, when to see a doctor, what steps in diagnosis and treatment await you.
What is hypertension or high blood pressure?
High blood pressure means systolic and diastolic pressure values of 140/90 mmHg and more.
Systolic pressure refers to the pressure exerted by blood on the walls of blood vessels at the moment when the heart pumps blood, and diastolic pressure at the moment when the arteries are relaxed and the heart is filling with blood.
Symptoms of high blood pressure
As with most cardiovascular diseases, patients often do not know that they have a problem with pressure because symptoms are often absent until the moment when the disease has developed.
For this reason, it is very useful to check your blood pressure from time to time, even at home. In this way, hypertension can be detected accidentally, before symptoms develop. An even better way to control the health of the cardiovascular system, including blood pressure, is annual check-ups and systematic examinations.
When the symptoms of high blood pressure begin to manifest, then the values have risen so much that a cardiologist’s examination is necessary.
The most common symptoms are:
- severe headaches
- feeling of pressure in the head
- blood flows from the nose
- breathing problems, it is fast and short
- fatigue
- feeling nauseous
- vomiting
- redness
- buzzing in my ears
- appearance of cramps in the limbs
Causes of high pressure
The causes of high blood pressure are not always the clearest, but they can be related to certain things that otherwise contribute to the development of problems with the cardiovascular system.
- Age and sex – as we age, we are more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, including pressure problems, after the age of 45, the number of patients increases significantly, and after 65, an increase in the number of female patients is especially noticeable.
- Genetic factor – people who have family members with hypertension have a significantly higher chance that they too will develop it at some point in their lives. Therefore, regular measurement and monitoring of values is necessary.
- Diet – one of the important risk factors for high blood pressure.
It has been proven that a lot of liquids, sweet and salty food affect the worsening of the situation, and therefore patients who have been diagnosed with hypertension must strictly take care of their diet.
In addition to being part of the treatment, a healthy diet is also crucial in the prevention of this problem and general problems with blood vessels.
- Passivity – the lack of physical activity affects the blood flow and the work of the heart, and therefore the pressure. It is not necessary to do grueling exercises or run for miles to be considered active. You should choose the activity based on your age, interests, abilities and free time, but a minimum of half an hour of walking a day is something that everyone can do for their health and thus affect the reduction of pressure.
- Pregnancy – high blood pressure in this period of a woman’s life can occur due to genetic predispositions, immune problems, due to smoking, obesity, but also due to lack of calcium. High blood pressure in pregnancy can be a warning sign of a bigger problem and must be strictly controlled.
- Smoking and alcohol consumption – these are extremely harmful substances that affect blood vessels, blood flow, the binding and transfer of oxygen through the body and the work of the heart in general. Even passive smoking can put you at risk of developing high blood pressure, and active smoking is pretty sure to lead to major heart and blood pressure problems.
- Medications – certain medications can also be triggers for high blood pressure, including those containing corticosteroids, contraceptives, some nasal drops, etc.
- Other diseases – diseases of the kidneys, adrenal glands, problems with the thyroid gland can also affect the appearance of high blood pressure.
- Stress – especially if we are often exposed to stress, it is possible that it will affect our body by increasing the pressure, but also the development of some other health problems.
High blood pressure diagnosing
Diagnosing this problem is quite simple!
Devices for measuring pressure are more and more available and more and more people own them, so many, by measuring from time to time at home, can notice that their pressure deviates from normal. Doctors even recommend this measurement at home, because that’s when the patient is most relaxed. Many people have nervousness when they see the doctor, so the values are higher in the doctor’s office and are not a reflection of the real condition. Therefore, sometimes patients themselves notice that the values are higher. When that happens, you should schedule an appointment with a cardiologist and check what can be done to stabilize it.
During an examination with a cardiologist, you can expect: blood pressure measurement, discussion with the doctor about symptoms, family situation related to cardiovascular diseases, analysis of the blood count and other important parameters for blood pressure, and in addition, it is possible that you will be recommended an ECG, ultrasound of the heart, in some cases situations and CT, but also examinations that might link hypertension with some other diseases such as hyperthyroidism or kidney diseases.
High pressure treatment
Treatment of blood pressure is possible and usually involves taking therapy and changing lifestyle habits.
It is extremely important to have a controlled intake of salts and sugars, to reduce body weight, if it deviates from acceptable, to increase activities, if they were absent in the previous period of life. As for medications, they can only be prescribed by a professional who is familiar with your overall health situation. The choice of drugs will depend on many factors, but also the amount of drugs, although sometimes combinations are necessary. If any of the recommended items are missing, the treatment results will not be satisfactory.
We especially emphasize this because in the majority of patients who do not have good results, the problem lies in non-compliance with the diet or in irregular taking of therapy. Pressure is something not to be taken lightly.
Why is it dangerous to have high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is one of the most significant risk factors for the development of problems with blood vessels, the most severe of which lead to stroke and heart attack.
Unfortunately, that number of the most serious cases with cardiovascular problems is not small at all. If we do not count tumors, the largest number of people die each year precisely because of a stroke or heart attack, and high blood pressure paves the way for this. The first thing you should work on is prevention. It implies a healthy and active life without vices. But successful prevention is not possible without verifying whether the results are satisfactory, so preventive examinations should be on everyone’s mind.
Measure your blood pressure regularly, follow the values and if you notice that they are increasing, don’t wait too long, contact a cardiologist. Symptoms do not have to be present and in the early stages they probably won’t be. This does not mean that the disease does not develop and that you can relax. If you need a reliable cardiologist, who will really have time to devote to you, make an appointment with one of our colleagues.
Pulse cardiology center is a safe place for everyone who wants to have a healthy heart.
