• Very High Blood Pressure Levels Can Create Serious Cardiac Problems


    Medical providers determine your blood pressure in millimeters of mercury. A high systolic blood pressure level is any number higher than 140. An elevated diastolic blood pressure level is any measurement more than 90. Those who test above these numbers over multiple medical screenings have stage one hypertension. Stage 2 hypertension is a diastolic measure above 100 and a systolic blood pressure level of more than 160. People who have stage 2 hypertension are considered to be in a medical emergency. Find out more about dangerously high blood pressure levels.

    What Do We Look For And What Can We Do?

    Dangerously high blood pressure level do not always have a known cause. Nor will an individual with high blood pressure necessarily notice any symptoms. Consequently, high blood pressure is often described as the “silent killer.” In fact a person can have high blood pressure level for several years without even realizing it. The only way to establish whether or not you have hypertension is with regular medical screenings. It is not until a person develops stage 2 hypertension that they begin to notice that anything is a problem.

    A person with critically high blood pressure level may notice a severe headache, nausea, weakness, and vision problems. If you notice any of these symptoms and you know, or think that you might have hypertension, go to the emergency room immediately.

    The Pitfall

    If high blood pressure is left unchecked it can do serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and kidneys. People with dangerously high blood pressure levels, who do not receive the needed treatment are at very high risk of eye damage, stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, and even death. Therefore regular blood pressure screenings from a health care practitioner are most impoprtant.

    What Can Be Done?

    If two or more successive tests show that you have high blood pressure, then there is a lot that you can do to help yourself. A healthy low-fat diet and regular exercise can help to decrease your blood pressure. Even a moderate amount of healthy weight loss can help correct the problem of hypertension.

    You should also take less salt, reduce drinking alcohol, and stop your smoking if you partake in any of these habits. Many medications are also available to treat high blood pressure levels. Diuretics are helpful for people with stage one hypertension because they reduce the amount of sodium in the blood and decrease blood volume.

    Your health care practitioner may also prescribe calcium channel blockers, which lower high blood pressure levels by reducing the tension of the the muscles of the artery walls. Beta blockers are another choice since they lower the heart rate and decrease the strength of heart contractions to reduce some of the pressure. Then there are ACE inhibitors which inhibit a hormone called angiotensin, which is a chemical that makes the blood vessels tighten and can therefore exacerbate hypertension.

    To learn about the full range of medicines available to treat dangerous levels of your own blood pressure, talk to your health care practitioner. Alternative programs are also available for natural control of your own blood pressure. There are exercises which reduce tension and stress.  Acupuncture and meditation can also reduce your stress levels and bring down your blood pressure levels.

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