Your Blood Pressure Results
Youll get your results straight away. The reading on the monitor lets your healthcare team know whether your blood pressure is too high, too low or just right. But its important you understand your results too. Make a note of your reading at each appointment and get to know what the numbers mean.
Your healthcare team will agree a target level thats safe for you. Its important you do everything you can to keep in your target range. The longer your blood pressure is high, the more at risk you are of getting serious complications. Weve got lots of information and advice to help you bring your to the target level you’ve agreed with your healthcare team.
Causes And Risk Factors Of High Blood Pressure
For most people, theres no single cause of high blood pressure. But we know some things can make you more at risk. These are called risk factors, and one of these is having diabetes.
High levels of sugar in your blood can lead to something called atherosclerosis. This is when theres a build-up of fatty material inside your blood vessels, narrowing them. The narrower the blood vessels, the more the pressure builds up.
The more stress your blood vessels are under, the harder it is to push blood around the important areas of your body. This means your feet, eyes and heart are seriously at risk.
There are other risk factors you cant do much about:
- your age
- a family history of high blood pressure
- if your ethnic background is African-Caribbean or Black African
And there are risk factors you do have control over:
- too much salt in your diet
- being overweight
- how you cope with stress
- drinking too much caffeine, such as coffee
If you make changes to your diet and lifestyle, you can reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure. Were not saying its easy, but its vital you understand how you can do this. Theres lots of support to help you and achieve your goals.
What Is Hypoglycemia And Low Blood Sugar
Hypoglycemia is the state of having a blood glucose level that is too low to effectively fuel the bodys cells.
Glucose, which comes from carbohydrates found in foods, is a main source of energy for all of the cells of the body and, especially, the brain. While the body is quite good at extracting glucose from the foods we eat, it relies on a hormone called insulin to actually get the glucose inside the cells of specific organs: the liver, fat, and muscle.
We can think of insulin as holding the key to a cell without insulin, the glucose just remains in the blood, where its also known as blood sugar. During an episode of hypoglycemia, theres not enough glucose in the blood. The normal range is approximately 70 to 150 mg/dl .
Hypoglycemia is most common in newborns. In older children, its most often seen as a complication of insulin therapy for diabetes but can sometimes have other causes as well.
In the majority of cases, hypoglycemia is temporary, easily treated, and usually does not have serious consequences. There are several rare disorders in which hypoglycemia is recurrent and potentially life-threatening. However, with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, these can be effectively managed.
People with diabetes may experience dizziness, either as a symptom of the condition or as a result of dehydration or certain medications. A doctor can help determine the cause and how to manage or treat it.
Other signs of low blood sugar can include:
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How To Identify Diabetes Or High Blood Pressure
Each of these two diseases is easy to identify using simple tests.
Diabetes
To identify diabetes, people use blood glucose tests and a1c testing.
High blood pressure
For high blood pressure, most of the times people are not aware that they have it, and they usually find out that they have high blood pressure after a random blood pressure reading provided by the doctor.
If you experience high blood pressure, it means that your heart pumping blood in higher pressure, so blood vessels are in too much force which over time tires heart muscle.
Very often, people with high blood pressure will not have any signs or symptoms.
Tip: Here are the symptoms of prediabetes and diabetes in women, men and children.
A device known as sphygmomanometer is used to measure blood pressure. It can be done by a health provider, doctor, or at home.
Blood pressure is recorded as systolic, maximum pressure during a heartbeat and diastolic, lowest pressure between heartbeats.
Medical guidelines show that normal blood pressure is less than 120/80mm Hg, and you have hypertension if blood pressure is higher than 130/80.
Tip: Here are all types and stages of hypertension.
Just one high-pressure reading does not mean that you have hypertension since high blood pressure is connected to your age, emotions, medication you are taking and heart conditions.
Diabetes
Early detection of diabetes can prevent limb amputation, stroke, kidney failure, vision loss, heart disease or stroke.
Testing For Heart Disease
Your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and weight will help your doctor understand your overall risk for heart disease. Your doctor may also recommend other tests to check your heart health, which could include:
- An electrocardiogram to measure your hearts electrical activity. Your heartbeat is the result of an electrical impulse traveling through your heart.
- An echocardiogram to examine how thick your heart muscle is and how well your heart pumps.
- An exercise stress test to see how well your heart functions when its working hard.
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Diabetes And Healthy Eating
If you have diabetes its important to include a wide variety of nutritious and healthy foods in your diet, and to avoid snacking on sugary foods.
Enjoy a variety of foods from each food group be sure to include foods high in fibre and low in fat and reduce your salt intake. Its helpful to consult with a dietitian to review your current eating plan and provide a guide about food choices and food quantities.
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Vascular Reactivity Before Type 2 Diabetes
Contrary to our hypothesis, the DBP response to the cold pressor test appeared lower in individuals who went on to develop diabetes compared with their nondiabetic counterparts. However, this apparent effect was markedly attenuated in a longitudinal Kaplan-Meier analysis . SBP response to the cold pressor test showed no difference between diabetic and nondiabetic men at baseline or in longitudinal analyses.
Blood Pressure Readings: Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure
Systolic and diastolic are two measurements taken into account when a blood pressure reading is acquired. Patients will typically hear results as a number âoverâ another. For example, a blood pressure reading of 130/85 would be verbally expressed as â130 over 85.â The larger number represents systolic blood pressure, the force of blood as it is exerted from the heart. The smaller number, or diastolic blood pressure, signifies the amount of pressure placed upon the vessels between heartbeats.
The following highlights four categories related to blood pressure:
1. Normal blood pressure:
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Diabetes And High Blood Pressure: What Is The Relationship
Your blood pressure is one of the most important markers of health especially as a person with any type of diabetes.
High blood pressure is very common in people with diabetes. In fact, the two conditions often go hand-in-hand because they can both result from the same lifestyle factors.
In this article, well discuss what high blood pressure is and what causes it, what is a healthy blood pressure measurement, the link between diabetes and high blood pressure, and what you can do to prevent or lower high blood pressure levels.
Preventing High Blood Pressure With Diabetes
There are many lifestyle changes that can lower your blood pressure. Nearly all are dietary, but daily exercise is also recommended. Most doctors advise walking briskly for 30 to 40 minutes every day, but any aerobic activity can make your heart healthier.
The recommends a minimum of either:
- 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise
- 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise
- a combination of moderate and vigorous activity each week
In addition to lowering blood pressure, physical activity can strengthen the heart muscle. It may also reduce arterial stiffness. This happens as people age, but is often accelerated by type 2 diabetes. Exercise can also help you gain better control of your blood sugar levels.
Work directly with your doctor to develop an exercise plan. This is especially important if you:
- havent exercised before
- are trying to work up to something more strenuous
- are having trouble meeting your goals
Start with five minutes of brisk walking each day and increase it over time. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park your car farther from the store entrance.
You may be familiar with the need for improved eating habits, such as limiting sugar in your diet. But heart-healthy eating also means limiting:
- salt
- high-fat meats
- whole-fat dairy products
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High Blood Pressure: Symptoms And Tests
Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood throughout your body each day. The force at which the blood is pumped through your arteries is called blood pressure.
High blood pressure rarely has symptoms. The only way to know if you have it is to have your blood pressure checked by your doctor.
Elevated blood pressure is largely symptomless, which is why its nicknamed the silent killer.
According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of Americans over the age of 20 have high blood pressureand half of those people do not know they have it.
Can High Blood Pressure Cause Diabetes And Vice Versa
Most common diseases and risk factors for a heart attack are definitely hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Their frequency increases with age.
Can high blood pressure cause type 2 diabetes? Lets find out.
Hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus overlap in the population, regardless of the country you are from. The relatively rapid increase in glucose values in blood plasma leads to diabetes mellitus development, which can support the development of hypertension in many people.
There is a strong link between blood pressure and diabetes, according to researches conducted over the years.
Diabetes causing hypertension
Many complications of diabetes, like kidney disease or diabetic eye diseases, are caused by high blood pressure. Commonly, most people with diabetes will develop high blood pressure, as well as other problems with circulation or heart.
Risk of type 2 diabetes increases the possibility of getting hypertension, and both of these conditions lead to various complications, stroke, heart attack and even death.
One of the studies conducted including over 4 million UK citizens, between 30 and 90 years, without any vascular diseases or diabetes, followed up for a period of seven years and when their medical records were screened changes in blood pressure and new cases of diabetes were identified.
There were 186,698 new cases identified during the study period.
Data also found every 20mmHg rise of systolic blood pressure increases the risk of diabetes by 58%.
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What Are The Signs Of Hypoglycemia
An individual may frequently wake up in the middle of the night as a result of nighttime hypoglycemia. In other instances, though, people may know if they experienced hypoglycemia during their sleep if they notice the following symptoms:
- Waking up with a headache
- Waking up in a sweat
- Getting unusual feelings of tiredness throughout the day
- Experiencing anxiety or heart palpitations
- Feeling confused, dizzy or weak
Steroid Medications And Diabetes Fact Sheet
This fact sheet is available in two formats.
You can download and print out the PDF version.
Or you can read it as a website page below.
Some people with diabetes may need to take steroid medications to help manage other conditions, such as asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases and dermatitis, or as part of chemotherapy.
Steroid medications reduce pain and inflammation, and they can also be used to prevent nausea during medical procedures .
Your body produces steroid hormones to help it fight stress, injury and disease. Steroid medications have a similar effect to the hormones produced by the body. There are many different types of steroid medications, including cortisone, hydrocortisone, prednisolone, prednisone and dexamethasone.
Steroid medications can be taken in various ways, including:
- orally
- as drops for eyes or ears
- as a cream applied to the skin.
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The Connection Between Diabetes Kidney Disease And High Blood Pressure
It’s a triple health threat faced by tens of millions of Americans. But few think about it until they’re forced to.
Even then, the interplay between diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease can be a challenge for people to grasp. But doctors say having an understanding is key for anybody who wants to reduce their risk or already has the conditions, or who helps a family member with them.
It’s especially important for people who could benefit from new medications but face barriers slowing their use.
More than 34 million people, or 10.5% of the U.S. population, have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases are Type 2, or adult-onset. When someone has diabetes, they can’t make or use insulin as well as they should. That causes blood sugar to rise, which leads to various complications throughout the body.
Dr. Vivek Bhalla, an associate professor of medicine and nephrology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, summed it up: “Diabetes can affect small blood vessels. And that can result in hypertension. And that can also result in kidney disease.”
It can be a vicious cycle, said Bhalla, past chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease.
Much of that cycle goes on invisibly, Bhalla said.
A new generation of diabetes drugs could radically improve that.
Rangaswami said that highlights the need for doctors to better communicate with one another.
Can Hypertension Cause Diabetes
A meta-analysis appearing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2015 looked at data for more than 4 million adults. It concluded that people with high blood pressure have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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The combined impact of diabetes and high blood pressure can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and other health problems.
In 2012, researchers quoted figures suggesting that of people with type 1 diabetes and 5080% of those with type 2 diabetes have high blood pressure in the United States.
There are three ways in which high glucose levels in the blood can increase blood pressure:
- The blood vessels lose their ability to stretch.
- The fluid in the body increases, especially if diabetes is already affecting the kidneys.
- Insulin resistance may involve processes that increase the risk of hypertension.
Controlling blood sugar levels and blood pressure can help prevent complications.
Hypertension and type 2 diabetes also share similar risk factors. These include:
- having excess weight and body fat
- following an unhealthful diet
Other factors that increase the risk of hypertension include:
- having a high fat or high sodium diet
- high alcohol consumption
- low levels of potassium
- other chronic conditions, such as sleep apnea, kidney disease, or inflammatory arthritis
Lifestyle factors are crucial for managing both blood glucose and blood pressure.
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At What Point Does High Blood Pressure Cause A Problem For People With Diabetes
If your resting blood pressure level is above the targets, this puts you at an increased risk of heart and vascular problems as well as other diabetes complications, such as kidney disease and sight damage .
High blood pressure is also associated with poor circulation which increases the risk of foot ulcers and can lead to foot amputation if regular foot care is not taken.
The Peoples Pharmacy Perspective:
Dozens of other drugs, including statins and diuretics, can also interfere with blood glucose control. You can learn more about these in our eGuide to Preventing & Treating Diabetes.
We also discuss nondrug approaches such as cinnamon, vinegar, curcumin and coffee or supplements like selenium, bitter melon, fenugreek or nopal cactus. You will find it in the Health eGuides section.
Physicians should alert patients to the possibility that a medication could raise blood glucose when they prescribe it. There is a clear connection between prednisone and diabetes.
No should ever discontinue prednisone suddenly! If it becomes necessary to stop this corticosteroid, it should only be done under medical supervision. A gradual tapering is essential to prevent other serious complications.
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