What Does A Headache Feel Like With High Blood Pressure
According to the American Heart Association , a headache can be a sign that a person is experiencing a hypertensive crisis, meaning blood pressure reaches 180/120 millimeters of mercury or higher, which is a medical emergency if it does not quickly lower. Anyone who experiences blood pressure this high and has a headache or nosebleed should see a doctor immediately, the AHA notes.
When systolic blood pressure is greater than 180, headache can occur along with confusion and visual changes, adds Monteith.
Any secondary warning signs could be a sign of something much worse, she says. These signs include vision loss, weakness, vertigo, trouble with balance, or change in speech. Pregnant women should be keenly aware of any warning sign that may indicate high blood pressure, including migraine.
Headaches and severe hypertension can sometimes be signs of a stroke, so getting to the emergency room immediately, especially if neurological symptoms develop, is critical, says Monteith.
Research On The Link Between Migraine And High Blood Pressure
Women are three times more likely than men to have migraine, according to the Migraine Research Foundation, and for this reason, much of the research on the link between hypertension and migraine has been conducted on women.
According to Dr. Rist, its difficult to untangle the two conditions, and to do so, we need to look at it from so many different angles. It appears that there is a genetic trait linked with both, but some believe its a causal relationship, meaning that either migraine causes high blood pressure or vice versa.
In a study examining the potential causal relationship, published in February 2018 in the journal Cephalalgia, researchers followed nearly 30,000 women for 12 years. They found that, overall, women who had a history of any type of migraine were more likely to have high blood pressure than women who did not have a history of migraine.
In addition, some types of migraine appeared to be correlated with higher rates of hypertension than others. Compared with women with no history of migraine, those who had a history of migraine without aura had a 21 percent increased risk of hypertension twice that of women who had migraine with aura, whose risk was elevated by roughly 10 percent.
A study looking for a genetic explanation, Nature Communications, identified 12 genes that appeared to have an impact on both blood pressure and susceptibility to migraine.
Pheochromocytoma The Rare Tumor That Causes Extremely High Blood Pressure And Headache
Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor and a rare cause of uncontrolled very high blood pressure. The classic triad of things associated with a pheochromocytoma is episodic headaches, palpitations and sweating. The headaches are typically associated with palpitations, sweating and anxiety. These symptoms, along with the markedly elevated blood pressure are due to hormones / biochemical substances produced by the tumor. The diagnosis is typically made with blood tests.
Don’t Miss: Can Claritin Raise Blood Pressure
In General There Does Not Appear To Be An Association Between High Blood Pressure And Headache
Importantly, here we are talking about general increased blood pressure and not a hypertensive emergency that is discussed a little later. An article outlining some new treatments for extremely high uncontrolled blood pressure is linked here. Many articles, book chapters and other publications have previously, or continue to report that there is an association between high blood pressure and headaches. It has certainly been documented that very, very high blood pressure can cause headache, but does high blood pressure to a lesser degree cause headache? Many of the early studies that looked at this failed to account for a large number of other possible causes of headache.
Recently better-designed studies have looked at this and most have demonstrated that there is not an association between the high blood pressure and headache. This is even true for moderate or severely elevated high blood pressure. The studies appear to be believable and have used robust methods of blood pressure monitoring including wearable blood pressure monitors.
Does High Blood Pressure Cause Headaches
in the United States. This common condition has little to no symptoms, which means that many people who have high blood pressure dont even know that they have it.
Having high blood pressure is also a strong indicator of increased risk for:
Thats why its important to have your blood pressure checked at least annually by a medical professional.
Theres ongoing medical research into the correlation between high blood pressure and headaches.
The verdict is out on whether high blood pressure can cause headaches. Some studies indicate that theres no connection, while others show strong correlation between the two.
The American Heart Association supports research that claims headaches arent a symptom of high blood pressure, except in the case of hypertensive crisis.
Theres one thing that we do know, however. Very high blood pressure can trigger an event known as malignant hypertension. Malignant hypertension is also referred to as a hypertensive crisis.
During a hypertensive crisis, pressure in the cranium builds as a result of your blood pressure suddenly spiking up to critical levels. The resulting headache feels unlike any other kind of migraine or head pain. Traditional headache treatments such as aspirin are ineffective to relieve the pain.
In addition to a headache, malignant hypertension usually is associated with:
Recommended Reading: Symptoms Of Increased Blood Pressure
Blood Pressure Checks During Pregnancy
If you are pregnant, you should have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis, even if it is not high.
Watching your blood pressure while you are pregnant reduces your risk of developing pregnancy-induced hypertension. This can lead to a serious condition called pre-eclampsia where there is a problem with the placenta .
Can Blood Pressure Pills Cause Headaches
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.
Read Also: Is Claritin Safe For High Blood Pressure
Understanding High Blood Pressure Headaches
If you are one of the millions of people who live with high blood pressure, you were probably surprised when your doctor told you that your numbers were higher than they should beespecially because you feel fine.
High blood pressure doesnt typically cause symptoms. However, some people may have headachesespecially if their blood pressure skyrockets into the danger zonea condition known as high blood pressure emergency or urgency.
Heres what you need to know about a high blood pressure headache, what other symptoms may occur, and when to call 911.
When To Know When To Worry About A Headache
Headache symptoms you should worry about A headache typically causes pain in your head, face, or neck area. Get urgent medical attention if you have severe, unusual pain or other signs and symptoms. Your headache may be a sign of an underlying illness or health condition.
Waking up with a headache in the morning, simply put, sucks. Regardless of whether its accompanied by nausea or neck pain or not, waking up with a big, banging headache puts a large damper on your routine and can impair whatever activities you try to do throughout the day.
WebMD Symptom Checker helps you find the most common medical conditions indicated by the symptoms early morning waking, headache, muscle cramps or spasms and pain or discomfort including Tension headache, Depression , and Acute kidney failure.
You May Like: Claritin D Blood Pressure
Headache Caused By Infection
Many infections of the nose, throat and ear can cause headache. Depending on the disorder, treatment can include medications such as antibiotics, decongestants or antihistamines. Persistent problems, such as chronic tonsillitis, may need surgery as a final resort. Consult with an ear, nose and throat specialist.
You May Like: Is Lidocaine A Narcotic Drug
The Link Between These Two Conditions Is Complicated And Worth Discussing With Your Doctor
Many people who lead reasonably healthy lives are surprised when they find out that they have high blood pressure. High blood pressure affects one in three adults in the U.S.1 Often, people dont show symptoms, which is why high blood pressure can lead to health problems such as heart attacks, heart disease, and strokes.2
You May Like: Claratin Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure Symptoms You Shouldnt Ignore
Caregiver Duties Aging & Health
If youre worried about developing high blood pressure or youve already been diagnosed with this condition, you may be wondering what symptoms to watch out for.
While the symptoms described here may indicate a high blood pressure crisis, its also very important to understand that a persons blood pressure can be dangerously high and yet there are no symptoms at all, notes retired emergency physician Ben Hippen. This is why high blood pressure is sometimes called the silent killer.
For this reason, its important to monitor your blood pressure often. When youre at your doctors office, or even at the pharmacy, take a few minutes to stick your arm in the cuff and get a reading. If you can afford it and will actually use it, a home blood pressure monitor is a worthwhile investment.
What Headache Symptoms Require Immediate Medical Care
If you or your child has any of these headache symptoms, get medical care right away:
- A sudden, new, severe headache
- A headache that is associated with neurological symptoms such as:
- Weakness
Symptoms requiring an appointment with your health care provider or a headache specialist
Contact your health care provider if you or your child has any of the following symptoms:
- Three or more headaches per week.
- Headaches that keep getting worse and wonât go away.
- Need to take a pain reliever every day or almost every day for your headaches.
- Need more than 2 to 3 doses of over-the-counter medications per week to relieve headache symptoms.
- Headaches that are triggered by exertion, coughing, bending, or strenuous activity.
- A history of headaches, but have noticed a recent change in your headache symptoms.
Don’t Miss: Which Animal Has The Highest Blood Pressure
Most Common High Blood Pressure Symptoms
Most commonly high blood pressure causes no symptoms at all. This means that people with high blood pressure can be having damage occur to their heart, kidneys, eyes, and circulation without feeling badly! It is very important, therefore, to have blood pressure testing as part of the routine physical examination. However, in people with uncomplicated high blood pressure, they may experience
- headache,
- dizziness, and
- shortness of breath.
The consequences of high blood pressure depend on the severity and the duration of the pressure, as well as the underlying medical condition of the individual affected. High blood pressure can affect the heart to cause:
- shortness of breath,
- heart attack.
High blood pressure can impair the function of the kidneys, leading to fluid retention and swelling of the legs, and even kidney failure. High blood pressure can affect the eyes, causing vision loss. High blood pressure can seriously affect the circulation causing pain in the legs with walking, cold feet, and stroke.
Fortunately, when high blood pressure is detected early, treated, and monitored, the consequences of high blood pressure can be avoided.
How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed
Diagnosing high blood pressure in kids can be tricky because there aren’t always symptoms and blood pressure can vary from day to day. Sometimes it can take several blood pressure checks to find out a child has high blood pressure.
Often, kids’ blood pressure will be higher when they are nervous. So, health care providers usually check blood pressure on a few different visits. Then, they use an average of those measurements.
For kids who are anxious and keep having high blood pressure at the doctor’s office, blood pressure may be measured somewhere else, like at home or by the school nurse. Sometimes doctors use a test called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The child wears a blood pressure cuff for a whole day and night. This can be better information than blood pressure tests in the doctor’s office because kids keep doing their usual activities, including sleep.
Also Check: How Does Alcohol Increase Blood Pressure Mechanism
High Blood Pressure Not Just Brain Tumors And Sinus Infections Can Cause Headaches
Hypertension can also cause an aneurysm in the brain a bulging blood vessel that can burst and cause life-threatening bleeding.
First off, high blood pressure is often referred to as the silent killer.
Typically it does not cause symptoms. Typically. Thats the key word.
This is why everyone should regularly get their BP measured with a home device in addition to at a medical clinic.
There is no such thing as, I cant have high blood pressure because I feel fine.
Are There Any Medical Conditions Associated With Early Morning Waking
There are 89 conditions associated with early morning waking, headache, muscle cramps or spasms and pain or discomfort. The links below will provide you with more detailed information on these medical conditions from the WebMD Symptom Checker and help provide a better understanding of causes and treatment of these related conditions.
You May Like: Does Apple Watch Have A Blood Pressure Monitor
Understanding Blood Pressure Migraine And Headache
Its called the silent killer.
You may have it and not even know it. Researchers estimate that 1 in 3 adults in the United States have it and only about half of those people have it under control.
This silent killer often has no symptoms. Thats what makes it so dangerous.
For some people, though, the rules dont seem to apply. They do have symptoms and they come in the form of headaches high blood pressure migraines.
These hypertension headaches can be particularly brutal. The pain can be located on the top of the head, squeezing like a vise, or it can be more like a migraine with many of the same symptoms. People often refer to this as blood pressure migraine. Are these headaches related to the increase in blood pressure or is something else going on? A number of doctors will say that individuals do not experience headaches with high blood pressure those who have experienced it beg to differ.
We conducted extensive research on this type of headache, reviewing more than 10 journals, studies, and scholarly articles to get to the bottom of this issue and hopefully clear up some misconceptions. We also talked to Arif Dalvi MD, MBA, Director of the Comprehensive Movement Disorders Center at the Palm Beach Neuroscience Institute so that he could shed some light on this complex condition.
Drink Alcohol In Moderation
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will increase your blood pressure and raise the cholesterol levels in your blood.
Sticking to the recommended amounts of alcohol consumption is the best way to reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure.
The recommended daily limits of alcohol consumption are:
- 3 to 4 units of alcohol for men
- 2 to 3 units of alcohol for women.
A unit of alcohol is equal to about half a pint of normal-strength lager, a small glass of wine or a pub measure or spirits.
More about drinking alcohol reponsibly
Read Also: Claritin And Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure Treatment
The best way to lower blood pressure begins with changes you can make to your lifestyle to help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. Additionally, your doctor may prescribe medicine to lower your blood pressure. These are called antihypertensive medicines.
The goal of treatment is to reduce your blood pressure to normal levels. Your doctor may prescribe medicine thats easy to take and has few, if any, side effects. This treatment is highly successful. If your blood pressure can only be controlled with medicine, youll need to take the medicine for the rest of your life. It is common to need more than one medicine to help control your blood pressure. Dont stop taking the medicine without talking with your doctor. Otherwise, you may increase your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure
Most of the time high blood pressure doesn’t cause symptoms. In rare cases, severe high blood pressure can cause headaches, blurry vision, dizziness, nosebleeds, a fluttering or racing heartbeat, and nausea.
If your child has high blood pressure and gets any of these symptoms, get medical care right away.
Recommended Reading: Heart Attack Symptoms Low Blood Pressure
Treating High Blood Pressure
Treatment for high blood pressure will depend on your blood pressure levels and your associated risk of developing a cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke.
There are seven main risk factors for developing a cardiovascular disease. These are:
- age
- smoking
- obesity
- having a high level of cholesterol in your blood
- having a family history of cardiovascular disease .
A Note From Cleveland Clinic
The good news for headache sufferers is that you can choose from many kinds of treatment. If your first treatment plan doesnt work, dont give up. Your healthcare provider can recommend other treatments or strategies to find the right fix for you.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 06/03/2020.
References
Also Check: High Blood Pressure And Chf
Evidence Supporting The Idea
According to a paper in the , headaches due to high blood pressure typically occur on both sides of the head.
The headache pain tends to pulsate and often gets worse with physical activity.
According to the authors, high blood pressure can cause headaches because it affects the blood-brain barrier.
Hypertension can result in excess pressure on the brain, which can cause blood to leak from the blood vessels in this organ.
This causes edema, or swelling, which is problematic because the brain sits within the skull and has no space to expand.
The swelling places further pressure on the brain and causes symptoms that include a headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, weakness, seizures, and blurred vision. If a person receives treatment to lower their blood pressure, their symptoms will usually improve within an hour.