High Blood Pressure (Dhiig Kar)

Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into your arteries. Blood pressure is the force of blood as it pumps through your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries are, the higher the blood pressure. Hypertension is the scientific term used to describe high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and usually given as two numbers. For example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mmHg).

• The top number is your systolic pressure, the pressure created when your heart beats. Less than 120 is the normal.
• The bottom number is your diastolic pressure, the pressure inside blood vessels when the heart is at rest. Less than 80 is the normal.

High blood pressure is defined as follows:

• Prehypertension: systolic 120-139 or diastolic 80-89
• Hypertension: systolic over 140 or diastolic over 90

So what are symptoms of high blood pressure?
In most cases, people who have high blood pressure do not know they have it because they have no symptoms; for that reason, it is called the "silent killer”. Some symptoms that may occur include:

• Nonspecific mild headache
• Chest pain
• Nosebleed
• Tiredness
• Vision changes
• Ear noise

So how high blood pressure is treated?
The goal of treatment is to reduce blood pressure so that you have a lower risk of complications. In some cases, making changes in diet and exercise habits can get blood pressure under control. In other cases, you may need medications as determined by your care provider.

So what causes high blood pressure?
Most of the time, the cause is unknown. This is called essential hypertension. High blood pressure that results from a specific condition such as kidney disease is called secondary hypertension.
In general eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure. Smoking, obesity, and diabetes are all risk factors for high blood pressure.

So what can you do to control your blood pressure or prevent high blood pressure?

• Lose weight if you are overweight
• Exercise regularly
• Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
• Reduce salt intake
• Avoid smoking
• Avoid stress
• Caffeine (coffee) can worsen high blood pressure

Please check your blood pressure routinely! If you have high blood pressure and it is not treated properly or if you don’t make changes in your diet and lifestyle, terrible things can happen to you including:

• Stroke
• Coronary artery disease and heart attack
• Congestive heart failure
• Kidney disorder
• Blindness
• Impotence
• Memory problems

I can’t stress enough the importance of taking your medications as prescribed. Do not stop taking your medication without your care provider’s consent. Suddenly stopping some types of blood pressure medications can cause blood pressure to rise to extremely high levels, possibly resulting in stroke and heart attack. If medication side effects are bothering you, talk with your pharmacist!