How Can You Prevent It
It is better to prevent a hypertensive emergency than to treat an episode after you have already had one. One of the most common causes of a hypertensive emergency is not taking your blood pressure medicines properly. Sometimes this happens unintentionally. For example, your prescription may run out or you may forget to take a dose. But try to stay on your medicine schedule as best as you can. Another cause is illegal drug use, such as stimulants like cocaine.
Is Neck Pain A Sign Of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can be recognized by various signs and symptoms such as stiffness of the neck. You might experience pounding neck pain along with pain in the shoulders and chest. If there is no apparent reason for your neck pain and stiffness then its time to go to your doctor and seek a diagnosis because yes, neck pain could be a sign of high blood pressure.
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Hairdresser And Chiropractor Cautions
You can also hyperextend your neck while tipping your head back to have your hair washed at a salon sink. Even though there are only a dozen or so such cases described in the medical literature, theres a name for this phenomenon: beauty parlor stroke syndrome. To play it safe, do as Dr. Rost does. Ask your hairdresser for a neck extension, which is a little cushion that props up your head so you dont feel any strain on your neck, she advises.
Not surprisingly, whiplash sustained during a car accident can also cause a cervical artery dissection. And in rare cases, so can the quick, thrusting neck movements some chiropractors and other health care professionals use to treat neck pain, known as cervical manipulative therapy or adjustment. However, its not clear whether the neck therapy itself causes the tear, or whether the pain from an existing tear might prompt people to seek out such treatment.
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Therapeutic Focus And Assessment
Case 1 underwent ACDF at the C5/6 disc level .4). After surgery, strength in all 4 limbs was significantly recovered, and symptoms of neck pain, headache, vertigo, and tinnitus disappeared. Interestingly, her blood pressure also dropped to within the normal range after surgery even without oral medications.
T2-weighted sagittal magnetic resonance imaging 7 days after operation showed disappearance of cord compression at C5/6 disc level.
Case 2 underwent ACDF surgery at C5/6 and C6/7 levels. His symptoms of cervical vertigo completely disappeared, numbness of both upper limbs significantly released, and muscle strength of 4 limbs obviously increased. Similarly to case 1, his blood pressure also restored after the surgery without taking any antihypertensive drugs.
A Tear In One Of The Main Arteries Of The Neck Is A Rare Cause Of Stroke
You probably don’t give much thought to your neck, unless something goes wrong and you start to feel neck pain. This underappreciated body part has to be strong enough to support a heavy weight yet still allow you to tilt, turn, and nod your head easily.
Most of the time, neck pain doesn’t signal a serious medical problem. But it’s worth learning about one of the rare exceptions: a tear in one of the arteries of the neck, known as a cervical artery dissection . Although these occur in only about two in 100,000 people per year, they are one of the most common causes of stroke in people under age 50.
“Over the past two decades, awareness of cervical artery dissection has grown tremendously,” says Dr. Natalia Rost, associate professor of neurology at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. This may stem in part from the recognition that stroke rates seem to be rising among younger people, despite an overall downward trend in deaths caused by stroke.
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How Is Neck Pain A Heart Attack Warning Sign
A heart attack is most often due to a blood clot that blocks blood flow into the heart muscle. Most commonly, this causes a pressure, cramping or squeezing pain in your chest, but the pain can also spread to your neck. Your pain may also extend to your jaw, shoulder, back or arm because you may sense pain more easily in these areas. During a heart attack, your diaphragm and nearby accessory nerve can become irritated causing pain to refer elsewhere including your neck and shoulders. You can also feel pain, aching or discomfort in the neck and upper body without chest pain. Heart attack neck pain is more likely in women than in men.
Take Charge Of Your Heart Health Know Your Numbers
The American Heart Association and the Cardiovascular Institute of Carolina at Aiken Regional believe that it is crucial to get regular preventive screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and BMI. Keeping these numbers in check can help reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Blood Pressure
- Desirable: Less than 200 mg/dL
- Borderline: 200-239 mg/dL
- High: 240 mg/dL and above
Blood Glucose
- Normal: Under 99 mg/dL and below
- Prediabetes: 100-125 mg/dL
- Diabetes: 126 mg/dL and above
HDL Cholesterol
Less than 40 mg/dL is a major risk factor for heart disease
LDL Cholesterol
- Optimal: Less than 100 mg/dL
- Near Optimal: 100-129 mg/dL
- Borderline: 130-159 mg/dL High: 160-189 mg/dL
- Very High: 190 mg/dL and above
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High Blood Pressure After Car Crash
There are many reasons you might experience high blood pressure after an auto accident. It might be a result of financial stress, traumatic anxiety, or injury. As weve discussed, back pain, injury, and misalignment can contribute to high blood pressure.
Common car crash injuries include:
- Vertebral fractures
These conditions can affect high blood pressure. The Atlas bone or C-1 vertebra is of particular interest. When misaligned, the vertebrae located at the top of the spinal column can cause many health issues, including hypertension.
In addition to having your car crash injuries treated, its important to keep an eye on your blood pressure after an auto injury. There are many reasons the accident might contribute to a rise in your blood pressure.
Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure
Usually, high blood pressure doesnt show obvious symptoms. That said, there are a few signs of high blood pressure that shouldnt be ignored:
- Severe headache including neck pain
Or no symptoms at all! You might live with high blood pressure for years, without knowing. Thats why its vital to go for routine checkups and examinations.
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Primary High Blood Pressure
While the specific cause of primary high blood pressure remains unknown, there is compelling evidence to suggest that a number of risk factors increase your chances of developing the condition.
These risk factors include:
- age – the risk of developing high blood pressure increases as you get older
- a family history of high blood pressure – the condition seems to run in families
- being of Afro-Caribbean or South Asian origin
- high amount of salt in your diet
- lack of exercise
- excessive alcohol consumption
A number of health conditions, such as diabetes and kidney disease, have also been linked to an increase risk of developing primary high blood pressure.
Treatment Of High Blood Pressure
Treatment for HBP depends on its severity and associated risks of developing other diseases. Treatment options include:
Lifestyle changes
- Make and keep appointments to see your doctor for routine check-ups and follow-up tests.
Medications
- ACE inhibitors will help blood vessels relax and open up, leading to a lower blood pressure.
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers will help blood vessels open up, leading to a lower blood pressure.
- Beta blockers will help reduce your blood pressure.
- Alpha blockers will help reduce the arteries resistance, relaxing the muscle tone of the vascular walls.
- Alpha-2 receptor agonists will help reduce blood pressure by decreasing the activity of the sympathetic portion of the involuntary nervous system.
- Calcium channel blockers will help relax and open up narrowed blood vessels, reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure.
- Combined alpha and beta blockers are used as an IV drip for those patients experiencing a hypertensive crisis.
- Central agonists will help decrease the blood vessels ability to tense up or contract.
- Diuretics water pills will help reduce the amount of fluid retention in your body.
- Peripheral adrenergic inhibitors will help reduce blood pressure by blocking neurotransmitters in the brain.
- Vasodilators will help the muscle in the walls of the blood vessels to relax, allowing the vessel to dilate.
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Diagnosis Of High Blood Pressure
The best way to diagnose HBP is to have it measured. A blood pressure reading, given in millimeters of mercury , has two numbers.
- Systolic blood pressure indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls during heartbeats.
- Diastolic blood pressure indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart is resting between beats.
Blood pressure measurements fall into four general categories. The American Heart Associations guidelines are as follow:
- Normal blood pressure: A reading of less than 120 and 80
- Elevated blood pressure: A reading ranging from 120 to 129 and below 80
- Stage 1 hypertension: A reading ranging from 130 to 139 or 80 to 89
- Stage 2 hypertension: A reading ranging from 140 or higher or 90
- Hypertensive crisis : A reading higher than 180 and/or 120
*If you have an electronic blood pressure machine and would like to measure your blood pressure at home, please follow The American Heart Associations guidelines:
The Vagus Nerves Have The Ability To Decrease Heart Inflammatory Markers And Reduce Cardiac Inflammation
- If your body cant relax because you have a low vagal tone and the vagus nerves cannot calm down the sympathetic nervous system, systemic inflammation can occur. You can develop chronic inflammation. When the vagal tone is high, the vagus nerve can act as an anti-inflammatory agent, decreasing heart inflammatory markers and thereby reducing cardiac inflammation.
- When the vagus nerve is functions as it should, it decreases inflammation in the heart.
- The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway when vagus nerve activity is deficient, inflammation is excessive.
- We are going to look now at a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Here the relationship between cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and regulation of heart rate variability is noted as an area of intensive study. The researchers of this paper also noted: the available clinical evidence indicates that when vagus nerve activity is deficient, inflammation is excessive. They also note: There are theoretical and practical advantages to developing devices that can selectively activate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway without stimulating cardiac fibers. Further, they note: heart rate variability monitors may one day provide indices of diminished or enhanced vagus anti-inflammatory activity.
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I Had A Root Canal Then Heart Palpitations
Often we will hear a story from someone who had a recent root canal and the day after the dental work they started having heart palpitations and speeding heart rate. They would write that they thought it was the antibiotics or an infection that was causing it but nothing would support that. Suddenly they found themselves going to a cardiologist in in one case reported to us, hundreds of ER visits over the course of a year. In that case the person also reported having a couple of car accidents. Also that a chiropractor suggested it may be cervical spine instability causing their problems.
Regular Blood Pressure Checks If Diagnosed With High Blood Pressure
If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, your blood pressure will need to be closely monitored until it is brought under control.
After your blood pressure has been controlled, your GP or practice nurse will measure your blood pressure at agreed regular intervals .
It is important you attend these appointments to ensure your blood pressure is being maintained within an acceptable range.
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The Relationship Between Neck Pain And High Blood Pressure
Being able to successfully manage blood pressure is very important and can often be the difference in being able to live a healthy life. Scientists at the University of Leeds have discovered that our neck muscles play a monumental role in brain control functions where we dont actively need to think, such as blood pressure and breathing.
How are the neck and brain connected?
For over 100 years, weve known the location in the brain where neck signals are sent. However, it hasnt been clear how it all works.
Today, researchers believe that nervous signals that come from the neck play a role in how the body knows when to transfer blood. Transferring blood is something that occurs frequently throughout the day, especially when changing posture.
If the neck is in pain, it could mean that the signaling system between the brain and the neck is not working properly. If the signaling system in your neck is not working properly, it can be one of the presenting symptoms in high blood pressure.
Managing Pain And Blood Pressure With Medication
Your doctor may also prescribe medications to lower blood pressure. They will often take into account any other existing health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or kidney issues. Medications that manage blood pressure include the following:
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors:Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors help prevent the narrowing of blood vessels.
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers :These drugs relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure by blocking angiotensin II. This compound restricts blood flow and narrows arteries and veins.
- Calcium channel blockers: This medication prevents excessive calcium from constricting blood flow and increasing pressure.
- Diuretics:Diuretics remove extra water and sodium from the body.
- Beta-blockers:Beta-blockers lower blood pressure by lowering your heartbeat.
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Way More Than Just A Pain In The Neck
You may think that a sore neck is just a sore neck, but sometimes there is a lot more going on. Because of this, its important to take neck pain seriously and address it as soon as possible otherwise, you could be inflicting damage to your vital organs.
Some of the other more serious problems associated with neck pain can include balance problems, memory difficulties, endocrine problems, and paresthesias.
So, what should you do?
Visiting a chiropractor is one of the best ways to make sure that your neck pain is relieved in the safest manner possible. They are trained to deal with problems within the musculoskeletal system by adjusting the spine and joints using sudden movements and forces.
Adjustments for neck pain loosens the cervical vertebrae joints in the neck. These can occur due to a variety of reasons, such as muscle spasms and pinched nerves.
Looking For A List Of Symptoms
If you are looking for a list of symptoms and signs of high blood pressure , you wont find them here. This is because most of the time, there are none.
Myth: People with high blood pressure will experience symptoms, like nervousness, sweating, difficulty sleeping or facial flushing.
Truth: High blood pressure is a largely symptomless silent killer. If you ignore your blood pressure because you think a certain symptom or sign will alert you to the problem, you are taking a dangerous chance with your life.
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What Is High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure of your blood as it pushes against your arteries. When the force of blood against the artery walls is too high, it can lead to cardiovascular issues like heart disease and stroke.
Hypertension is blood pressure at or above 130/80.
- Fewer women have high blood pressure than men
- Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in the US
- Nearly half of adults in the US have hypertension
- About 30 million adults may need blood pressure medication
- An estimated 1 in 5 adults is unaware they have high blood pressure
Because high blood pressure can lead to serious health complications, its important to get regular annual checkups. If you know you have hypertension, you can monitor your blood pressure regularly at home.
Measurements In Heart Rate Variability As A Means To Show A Treatment Is Working
Chiropractors in Sweden and Denmark are collaborating on a study in which they can use Heart Rate Variability as a measure to detect if spinal manipulation, by reducing a patients pain, is impacting itself on the Autonomic nervous system.
The posterior cervical sympathetic nervous system signals the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system that controls the head, neck, and face area. In cervical spine neck instability or cervicocranial syndrome, the posterior cervical sympathetic system is underactive because the vertebrae in the neck are pinching the sympathetic nerves.
Lets let the researchers explain:
The pain-reducing effects of on certain spinal pain conditions are well established, as are the normal reactions to such treatment. However, the mechanisms behind these effects are not well understood, although it is hypothesized that the pain-reducing effects could be mediated through the Autonomic nervous system
In other words, spinal manipulation helps people by alleviating pain. But how does the manipulation do it? That is not well understood. So what the researchers hypothesized is that it must have something to do with the function of the Autonomic nervous system and that they may be able to show this by measuring Heart Rate Variability.
So here there is speculation that short-term pain relief achieved with chiropractic care can be shown by restoring normal heart rate variability.
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How Back Pain Can Impact Your Blood Pressure
For patients with severe back pain, finding an effective pain management treatment is essential because it improves your overall quality of life, but it could also be imperative to your cardiovascular health. Medical researchers have there is a link between chronic pain and hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. That means that if you struggle with pervasive back pain, you are at higher risk for high blood pressure and other issues related to cardiovascular health.Many patients attempt to deal with acute back pain on their own. However, if you have not spoken to an orthopedic doctor about back pain treatments, you may be putting yourself at risk for more severe health issues. Dont live with back pain any longer than you have to. By speaking to the specialists at Spine Institute of North America, we will work out a treatment plan to address your back pain, thus helping to stave off the development of hypertension.Schedule a consult
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