Diagnosing high blood pressure early can help prevent heart disease, stroke, eye problems, and chronic kidney disease. Your provider will measure your blood pressure many times before diagnosing you with high blood pressure. It is normal for your blood pressure to be different based on the time of day.
All adults over the age of 18 should have their blood pressure checked every year. More frequent measurements may be needed for those with a history of high blood pressure readings or those with risk factors for high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings taken at home may be a better measure of your current blood pressure than those taken at your provider's office. Your provider will do a physical exam to look for signs of heart disease, damage to the eyes, and other changes in your body.
The goal of treatment is to reduce your blood pressure so that you have a lower risk of health problems caused by high blood pressure. You and your provider should set a blood pressure goal for you. Whenever thinking about the best treatment for high blood pressure, you and your provider must consider other factors such as:. When thinking about the best treatment, you and your provider must consider:. Your provider will most likely start you on medicines and recommend lifestyle changes.
Before making a final diagnosis of either elevated blood pressure or high blood pressure, your provider should ask you to have your blood pressure measured at home, at your pharmacy, or somewhere else besides their office or a hospital.
You can also get a referral to a dietitian, who can help you plan a diet that is healthy for you. How low your blood pressure should be and at what level you need to start treatment is individualized, based on your age and any medical problems you have. Most of the time, your provider will try lifestyle changes first, and check your blood pressure two or more times. Medicines will likely be started if your blood pressure readings remain at or above these levels:.
If you have diabetes, heart problems, or a history of a stroke, medicines may be started at lower blood pressure reading. There are many different medicines to treat high blood pressure. Even if you have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is important to have your blood pressure checked during your regular check-up, especially if someone in your family has or had high blood pressure.
Most people can prevent high blood pressure from occurring by following lifestyle changes designed to bring blood pressure down. American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. PMID: pubmed. Victor RG. Systemic hypertension: mechanisms and diagnosis. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Victor RG, Libby P. Systemic hypertension: management. Clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in the community: a statement by the American Society of Hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension.
J Clin Hypertens Greenwich. J Am Coll Cardiol. Effects of intensive blood pressure lowering on cardiovascular and renal outcomes: updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Arteries get stiffer, causing blood pressure to go up. This can be true even for people who have heart-healthy habits and feel just fine. High blood pressure, sometimes called "the silent killer," often does not cause signs of illness that you can see or feel.
Though it affects nearly half of all adults, many may not even be aware they have it. If high blood pressure isn't controlled with lifestyle changes and medication, it can lead to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease such as heart disease and stroke , vascular dementia , eye problems , and kidney disease.
The good news is that blood pressure can be controlled in most people. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as the heart pumps blood. When a health care professional measures your blood pressure, they use a blood pressure cuff around your arm that gradually tightens. The results are given in two numbers.
The first number, called systolic blood pressure, is the pressure caused by your heart contracting and pushing out blood. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, is the pressure when your heart relaxes and fills with blood.
A blood pressure reading is given as the systolic blood pressure number over the diastolic blood pressure number. Blood pressure levels are classified based on those two numbers. For older adults, often the first number systolic is or higher, but the second number diastolic is less than This problem is called isolated systolic hypertension and is due to age-related stiffening of the major arteries.
The first number, called systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats. No matter your age, you can take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having blood pressure measures consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure or hypertension.
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such as heart disease , heart attack , and stroke. Your health care team can diagnose high blood pressure and make treatment decisions by reviewing your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and comparing them to levels found in certain guidelines.
The guidelines used to diagnose high blood pressure may differ from health care professional to health care professional:. If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, talk with your health care team about your blood pressure levels and how these levels affect your treatment plan. High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure usually develops over time.
It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions , such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure.
High blood pressure can also happen during pregnancy. You can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems that may affect your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
High blood pressure can damage your health in many ways. It can seriously hurt important organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems. High blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to heart disease.
In addition, decreased blood flow to the heart can cause:.
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