When we take a look at the list of conditions that cause the most fatal outcomes in the world, we will see that blood pressure is in the top three places. Your blood pressure measurements are likely to alter throughout the day, depending on your activities. Since this fluctuation is directly caused by things we do every day, we must correct our habits to the level when it is on a level that will not cause us too many problems.
Dr. Rishin Shah may diagnose you with high blood pressure when these remain consistently high. The abnormal high measurements might make you susceptible to other health issues, including heart attack, stroke, or a heart condition. As we’ve said, if we are not careful, this level can progress into something that much more problematic condition like the ones we’ve mentioned earlier.
High blood pressure may develop over time because of poor lifestyle choices or particular health conditions like diabetes. Fortunately, an early diagnosis may help your doctor design a treatment option to help you manage them properly. Naturally, the diagnosis needs to be done with so many factors taken into consideration.
Only by doing that, the doctor will have a chance to see what is your condition, and what matters of precautions will help you avoid the most severe scenario. However, before making treatment decisions, your doctor will first review and compare your diastolic and systolic blood pressure levels.
What are the signs you are likely to have when your blood pressure is high?
High blood pressure has one primary disadvantage; lack of symptoms. That’s why it is often addressed as one of the most cunning conditions people endure. As a result, you may have the condition without knowing you have it unless it advances in severity. Sometimes, when you start feeling some of these symptoms, it will be too late for you to act.
When that happens, you can only correct the state you are in with some medications, but curing it completely is almost impossible. However, visiting your doctor for regular check-ups is the only way to tell your levels.
The good news is, you can measure it at home, especially if you have a relative with the condition. Thankfully, having these devices is not something that we would describe as exclusive or hard to come by, by any means. For this reason, you will have a chance to discover it yourself.
When your blood pressure is too high, you are likely to experience the following symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest pain
- Irregular heartbeat
- Vision problems
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Severe headaches
- Nosebleeds
What is the essential information you should know about it?
Get a regular check
Your doctor is likely to advise you to check the level at least once a year. However, the healthcare professional may suggest you check your pressure more often if you are an older adult because high blood pressure might be a common occurrence as you age. We’ve mentioned that you can use certain devices that will help you do that pretty easily.
So, you will not need to visit a doctor whenever you feel like checking these levels. If they are on a level when you are required to ask for medical attention, then you should ask for a check-up with your doctor.
Additionally, you should go for frequent check-ups when you have chronic conditions like diabetes, kidney infection, or heart disease to ensure your pressure levels are normal or near normal. As you can see, having regular checkups is something that will help you prevent these. So, you shouldn’t hesitate to perform them from time to time.
You might need several measurements to confirm a diagnosis
We’ve mentioned that we are talking about the metrics which are likely to fluctuate. Therefore, your doctor might need to take several readings to confirm the condition. For instance, your pressure may be high when you are nervous and low when you are relaxed. Still, this is just one of the factors that will influence your condition. There are a lot of them to choose from.
To establish your current state, your doctor may recommend a specialized home monitor to help you record these measurements at home when you are relaxed for a couple of days. Once again, we would like to say that this is not the only way you can be helped. Still, it is a good idea to have a proper rest whenever you feel something is wrong with it.
Lifestyle changes may help you avoid or minimize medication
Though lifestyle changes may be enough to reduce your dependence on drugs, some instances may force you to combine medication with lifestyle changes. The first piece of advice your doctor is likely to give is to minimize your sodium intake. The healthcare professional may also advise you to avoid canned foods and adding salt to your meals.
There are a plethora of ingredients that you shouldn’t consume when you are in this state. Sure, some of them are rather obvious, like the ones we’ve mentioned. Still, some of them cannot be described as obvious. For this reason, you will need to learn about them properly before you are ready to eliminate them from the list of ingredients you are consuming.
Know the possible signs of a heart attack or stroke
A heart attack or stroke might be a typical emergency with this state. Therefore, you and those people around you should be keen to note when you start behaving strangely and contact a medical professional for help. Not only that, your close ones should be aware of some actions they need to conduct to make it more comfortable for you until the help arrives.
As we’ve mentioned, this is a condition that does not have symptoms. However, when you start experiencing suggestive symptoms, chances are high you may be experiencing a hypertensive crisis or another severe condition. Contact your doctor regularly and you can get these problems under control. It is practically the only way you can expect to help yourself in this situation.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, there are a lot of factors you need to think about when talking about this condition. Remember, this is one of the biggest causes of fatal outcomes. For this reason, you should be extra careful when you are about to take care of it. We are sure these insights will prove helpful to you in the future.
