High blood pressure, or hypertension, is an issue for many people worldwide. It is a particular issue in the western world where in the USA and Great Britain, the number of cases of obesity has risen considerably.
It is known as the silent killer : Many citizens around the world do not even know they have a problem. The only clue might be family history of heart trouble or premature deaths of parents or family members, usually under fifty years old.
Even though it is most common in people who are over 50 and/or are considered to be overweight, younger and also normal or slender people can have high blood pressure. Doctors have used an instrument called a spygmanometer to measure your blood pressure value, but these days electonic devices are avilable to buy for home use.
In a person with no known risks or problems, a reading once every few years may be adequate yet maybe repeated every 2-3 months in a diabetice patient who can need intensive therapy.
What is a normal blood pressure reading?
A blood pressure reading that is considered normal is less than 140 over 90. The higher value is called the systolic reading and the second value is referred to as the diastolic value. If your blood pressure is consistently measuring 140/90 or higher, your doctor may want to consider blood pressure medications as part of a treatment plan.
If the value is borderline, they may advise dietary and lifestyle changes to see if you can manage without drug therapy.Depending on how high your blood pressure is, how old you are, how much you weigh, and any history of heart disease you may have, your doctor will decide what course of action to take that will suit you.
At one time, some 40 years ago high blood pressure was considered to be a reading in excess of 160/95 . With new drug discoveries and knowledge, that reading is now revised to 140/90 . Blood pressure control is extremely important to prevent heart disease and strokes. It is treated with intensity when the patient has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus to prevent further health problems later in life.
At first you may be advised to lose weight and limit your intake of salt. Too much salt can increase blood pressure. A mediterranean diet seems to have many benefits for a healthy heart. These general measures should be tried by everyone including giving up smoking and reducing alcohol intake.
All medicines for blood pressure can have some adverse side effects, and like all medication should be used as a last resort after things like diet and exercise have been tried. There are many different drugs for blood pressure treatment today.
If lifestyle measures don't succeed, your doctor may want to start a treatment plan for blood pressure medications. Many drugs have been developed now and also clinical trials have been done in large numbers of people over the years.
They work by different mechanisms. If you have especially high blood pressure, you may find a combination or two or more medications to be more effective. In fact less than half of all patients are controlled on one antihypertensive drug alone. Overall, in those treated with prescription drugs for hypetension, no more than half reach a clinically determined target.
Typically, two are needed and in many patients with diabetes mellitus as many as four separate classes of drugs are needed to lower raised bp (blood pressure) readings.Also giving smaller doses of antihypertensive drugs reduces the adverse effects you can suffer.
Even though there are potential side effects for blood pressure medications, they areless severe than the potential harm of having excessively high blood pressure over an extended period of time.
Keep this in mind. A small reduction in blood pressure for a patient with a high risk profile of stroke and heart attack is very significant compared with those who refuse to take medication.
High blood pressure can damage organs in your body long term if it does not stay within normal limits. This is far worse than the fear of side effects. Drugs can be changed or stopped.
For further information on reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke visit
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