Hypertension

What is hypertension?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a chronic condition that can put you at risk for many other more serious health complications. Your blood pressure is a reading of the pressure that your blood exerts on the walls of your blood vessels as it flows through them. It becomes higher as your blood vessels become narrower. Hypertension causes your heart to work harder to pump blood through your vessels. 

Your blood pressure gets higher naturally over time, but certain lifestyle factors can narrow your blood vessels very quickly. This happens when a fatty substance called plaque builds up along the walls of your blood vessels. The following behaviors can put you at risk for hypertension:

• Smoking
• Drinking alcohol
• Eating lots of salt
• Eating lots of oil and fat
• Being overweight or obese
• Avoiding exercise and physical activity
• Being stressed 

Without treatment, hypertension can lead to heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, and other serious complications. The team at A Plus Medical helps you lower your blood pressure to manageable levels. 

How can I tell if I have hypertension?

Hypertension is often called a silent killer due to its alarming lack of symptoms for most patients. This is especially dangerous because the condition can cause irreversible damage without you ever knowing you have it. 

Each time you visit A Plus Medical for primary care or treatment, the team checks your blood pressure as part of a standard physical exam. These readings allow them to diagnose hypertension and track your blood pressure changes over time. 

Very severe cases of hypertension can lead to symptoms like sweating, insomnia, headaches, or nosebleeds. These require emergency care. 

How can I manage my hypertension?

At A Plus Medical, the team provides chronic care management of hypertension to help you avoid complications. Hypertension management almost always involves lifestyle changes. Your provider might encourage you to improve your diet, get more exercise, stop smoking, and maintain a healthy weight. Simple changes like these can greatly improve your condition. If they aren’t enough to lower your blood pressure to safer levels, you might need to take prescription medications too.

If you have hypertension, you should make regular visits to monitor it. The team helps you keep track of your blood pressure and address any changes in it. They may adjust your dosage of medication or make further recommendations for healthy lifestyle changes. 

For more information about hypertension and chronic hypertension management, call A Plus Medical or book an appointment online today.