HYPERTENSION
Primary care providers are frequently the first to detect signs of prehypertension and hypertension.
However, a confirmed diagnosis of hypertension requires more than an in-office screening. Uncontrolled hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke.
What is Hypertension
Hypertension is a disease in which the blood pressure is excessively high. Hypertension may be defined as having blood pressure of more than 140/90 or being considered severe if it exceeds 180/120. There are no immediate warning signals. Blood pressure has the potential to cause health problems over time if not treated. It can lead to heart disease and stroke if left untreated.
Causes of Hypertension
Hypertension is often caused by an unknown cause. It is frequently the result of an underlying disease in many cases. Primary or essential hypertension, according to physicians, is high blood pressure that isn’t caused by another condition or sickness.
Primary hypertension can result from multiple factors, including:
- blood plasma volume
- Stress and inactivity are other stressors to consider.
- hormone activity in people who manage blood volume and pressure using medication
Secondary hypertension is the result of another illness, and it has a specific cause.
- diabetes
- kidney disease
- pheochromocytoma, a rare cancer of an adrenal gland
- Cushing syndrome that corticosteroid drugs can cause
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a disease of the cortisol-producing adrenal glands.
- hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid gland
- hyperparathyroidism, which affects calcium and phosphorous levels
- pregnancy
- sleep apnea
- obesity
What to Expect at Your Visit
The majority of those with hypertension are treated by family physicians in a primary care setting rather than other specialists.
A blood pressure test is a routine part of most doctor appointments.
One of our medical assistance will your blood pressure while you are seated in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. You rest your arm on a tabletop at the heart level. The blood pressure cuff is wrapped around the top section of your arm. The bottom end of the cuff is placed just above your elbow.
If your blood pressure is high or low, you’ll need to have at least three more blood pressure checks, at least a week apart, to see whether you need treatment.
Treatment for High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can be controlled and managed through a change in your lifestyle. Lifestyle adjustments, such as those listed below, may be recommended by one of our doctors:
- Eating a heart-healthy diet with less salt
- Getting regular physical activity
- Maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight if you’re overweight or obese
- Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink
But sometimes lifestyle changes aren’t enough. If diet and exercise don’t help, one of our providers may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure.
The medicine our doctor prescribes for high blood pressure is determined by your blood pressure readings and overall health. Frequently, the use of two or more blood pressure medications is preferable to one. Occasionally, finding the most efficient medication or drug combination may be a question of trial and error.
Treating Resistant Hypertension
If your blood pressure is still high despite taking at least three different types of high blood pressure medications, one of which should be a diuretic, you have resistant hypertension.
Having resistant hypertension doesn’t mean your blood pressure will never get lower. Together, we can determine the cause, a more effective treatment plan can be created to help you meet your goal blood pressure.