How Common Is High Blood Pressure Amongst Diabetics
Approximately 3 in 10 people with type 1 diabetes and around 8 in 10 people with type 2 diabetes develop high blood pressure at some stage of their life.
The level of high blood pressure risk goes up for people of African-Caribbean or Indian origin.
Furthermore, risk increases for those who are overweight, eat low fruit and vegetable levels, dont take much exercise or drink regularly.
Taking Your Own Blood Pressure
To get more accurate readings of your blood pressure, your doctor may ask you to record your blood pressure at home and at work with your own automated blood pressure monitor.
Doing so can help determine if treatment is working, or if your condition is getting worse.
The American Heart Association recommends an automatic, cuff-style upper arm monitor for at-home use.
Before measuring your blood pressure, do not smoke, drink caffeinated beverages, or exercise for at least 30 minutes before the test. Rest for at least five minutes before the measurements and sit still with your back straight and supported. Feet should be flat on the floor and not crossed. Your arm should also be supported on a flat surface like a table with the upper arm at heart level.
Follow the instructions that came with your monitor or are provided by your healthcare provider.
Take readings at the same time every day and take two to three each time about a minute apart and record your results.
Finally, make sure not to take measurements over clothing.
Additional reporting by Ashley Welch
How To Use An Automated Blood Pressure Machine
The easiest way to take your own blood pressure is to purchase an automated cuff. Automatic blood pressure machines are the easiest to use, and theyre helpful if you have any hearing impairments.
These types of blood pressure cuffs have a digital monitor that will display your blood pressure reading on a screen. You can purchase these online, at most grocery stores, or at a health food store.
The American Heart Association recommends an automatic, upper arm blood pressure monitor for at-home use. To use your digital blood pressure monitor, follow the instructions that come with it. You can also take the monitor to your doctors office, or even your local pharmacy, for a demonstration.
You should also purchase a small notebook to start a blood pressure log. This can be helpful for your doctor. You can a free blood pressure log from the AHA.
Machines can give you a different reading than a manual blood pressure reading. Bring your cuff to your next doctors appointment so you can compare the reading from your cuff to the reading your doctor takes. This can help you calibrate your machine and identify levels you should look for on your own device.
Its also important to purchase a high-quality machine and monitor for errors. Even if you check your blood pressure at home, your doctor will still want to manually check it during appointments.
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What Is A Normal Blood Pressure
Both the American Heart Association and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have published guidelines for defining healthy and elevated blood pressure. You can follow either guidelines, depending on what you and your doctor agree is acceptable.
| USPSTF Guidelines for Blood Pressure |
| Normal | Systolic: Less than 120 mm Hg Diastolic:Less than 80 mm Hg |
| Elevated | Diastolic: < Less than 80 mm Hg |
| AHA Guidelines for Blood Pressure |
| Normal | Systolic: Less than 120 mm Hg Diastolic: Less than 80 mm Hg |
| Elevated | Diastolic: Less than 80 mm Hg |
| High Blood Pressure Stage 1 | Systolic: 130-139 mm Hg |
| High Blood Pressure Stage 2 | Systolic: 140 mm Hg or higher Diastolic: 90 mm Hg or higher |
| Hypertensive Crisis | Systolic: Higher than 180 mm Hg Diastolic: Higher than 120 mm Hg |
Why Is High Blood Pressure A Problem
High blood pressure puts an extra strain on your heart and blood vessels, which can damage them and make them weaker. Over time, this can lead to health problems including heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, some forms of dementia, kidney disease and peripheral arterial disease.
If you have other health problems as well as high blood pressure, such as diabetes or high cholesterol, this makes serious health problems in the future more likely, making it more important to take steps to lower your blood pressure.
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Normal Eye Pressure Range By Age
What is good eye pressure? Normal eye pressure is defined as having an intraocular eye pressure measurement of 10 to 21 mm Hg. Your risk of glaucoma and intraocular eye pressure increases as you get older. Experiencing high eye pressure before turning 40 could be a sign of a more serious condition.
According to one study that tested a group of 3135 patients with an average age of 64.1 years old, the average eye pressure measurement was 14.7 mm HG. The results found that most people aged 40 to 54 years old had an eye pressure measurement of 20 to 21 mm Hg while people over the age of 80 had a reading of 18 to 19 mm Hg. The results also showed that a high eye pressure reading was associated with younger age, high blood sugar levels, a higher pulse rate, high diastolic blood pressure, and a higher consumption of alcohol.
The eye pressure measurement decreased by 0.50 and 0.76 mm Hg for every increase in age by ten years. In the group of 50 to 55 year olds, the age-adjusted eye measurements ranged from 9 to 18 mm HG while the group of 75 year olds and above ranged from 8 to 18 mm HG.
Graph source: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/hypertension.htm
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When To See A Doctor About High Or Low Blood Pressure
Your body may go into shock if it does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients because of low blood pressure. You should call 911 immediately if you experience any signs of shock. This can include:
Low blood pressure can leave older adults vulnerable to suffering a fall that causes an injury. If your blood pressure remains too low without treatment, you could also end up with permanent damage to various organs.
Since high blood pressure typically doesnt have any symptoms, its important to be aware of your potential risk from factors like age, heredity, and lifestyle and to have your pressure checked regularly.
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What Should Your Blood Pressure Be
Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure reading between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.
Most people in the UK have blood pressures higher than the ideal, but below the usual cut-off for diagnosing high blood pressure somewhere between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg. If youre in this range, you could develop high blood pressure in the future. Taking steps to lower your blood pressure will keep your risk of health problems down.
What Diet Helps Control High Blood Pressure
- Eat foods that are lower in fat, salt and calories, such as skim or 1% milk, fresh vegetables and fruits, and whole grain rice, and pasta.
- Use flavorings, spices and herbs to make foods tasty without using salt. The optimal recommendation for salt in your diet is to have less than 1500 milligrams of sodium a day. Don’t forget that most restaurant foods and many processed and frozen foods contain high levels of salt. Use herbs and spices that do not contain salt in recipes to flavor your food do not add salt at the table.
- Avoid or cut down on butter and margarine, regular salad dressings, fatty meats, whole milk dairy products, fried foods, processed foods or fast foods, and salted snacks.
- Ask your provider if you should increase potassium in your diet Discuss the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet with your provider. The DASH diet emphasizes adding fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to your diet while reducing the amount of sodium. Since it is rich in fruits and vegetables, which are naturally lower in sodium than many other foods, the DASH diet makes it easier to eat less salt and sodium.
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Regardless Of The Cause Anxiety Needs To Be Controlled
Before getting into the relationship between anxiety and high blood pressure, the reality is that your anxiety needs to be controlled in order to avoid further raising your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure – caused by anxiety or not – you’re putting your body through considerable stress every day. Reducing anxiety is one of the first steps towards reducing the stress on your body.
How Can I Treat High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is very treatable. Treatment includes medications and changes you can make in your everyday life. Changes you can make to lower your blood pressure include:
-
Eating less salt
In some cases, making these changes may be enough to lower your blood pressure. If your blood pressure remains high, you may need to start taking medication to bring it down.
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How To Lower Blood Pressure: The Dash Diet
Dietary changes can help control blood pressure. One diet designed to promote lower blood pressure is known as the DASH diet. This stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet recommends eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, nuts, and fish. Red meat, saturated fats, and sweets should be avoided. The DASH diet can lower blood pressure within 2 weeks. It can also help to reduce your intake of sodium. The following is the DASH diet suggested daily intake:
- 7-8 servings of grain
- 2-3 servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy products
- 2-3 servings of fats and oils
- 2 or less servings of meat, poultry, and fish
What Causes A Hypertension
Blood pressure is given as a reading of two numbers, such as 110/70. The higher number is the pressure when the heart beats. The diastolic, or lower number shows the pressure between the heartbeats, while the relaxed heart is refilling with blood. Normal blood pressure readings are lower than 120/80. The cause of most hypertension is unknown. Occasionally, conditions of the kidney or adrenal gland are the cause of high blood pressure.
There are several factors that may cause high blood pressure, but the exact cause is unknown. The following factors may increase one’s risk for high blood pressure:
- Sleep apnea
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Living With High Blood Pressure
Controlling your high blood pressure is a lifelong commitment. You will always need to monitor your weight, make healthy food choices, exercise, learn to cope with stress, avoid smoking, and limit your alcohol intake. If you need medicine to control your high blood pressure, you will likely need it all your life.
Additionally, you will need to get used to regular blood pressure checks. Your doctor may want you to come to the office regularly. Or you may be asked to check your blood pressure at home and keep track of your numbers for your doctor. Some pharmacies and retail clinics have blood pressure machines on site. You can buy your own, automated arm blood pressure cuff for use at home. Your doctor may want you to check your blood pressure several times a day. Another option is to use an ambulatory blood pressure monitor.
What Are The Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure In Women
Understanding preeclampsia. In the women it affects, it usually develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The symptoms include high blood pressure, bladder problems, and sometimes sudden weight gain and swelling. Preeclampsia is a serious condition, contributing to about 13 percent of all maternal deaths worldwide.
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How Is Blood Pressure Measured
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury using a simple machine. When you have it measured it will be written as two numbers, a top number and a bottom number. For example, if your reading is 120/80mmHg, your blood pressure is 120 over 80.
Find out more about what the numbers mean and if yours is in the healthy range.
Early Warning Sign: Elevated Blood Pressure
An elevated blood pressure reading means that your blood pressure falls just above the normal level, corresponding to a systolic pressure between 120 and 129 or a diastolic pressure of 80 or less. The new guidelines eliminate the previous category of prehypertension. About one-fourth of Americans have elevated levels and they have two times the risk of heart disease compared with those who have lower blood pressures. Lifestyle changes can help many people with prehypertension lower their blood pressure.
Causes
Factors that increase your blood pressure can cause elevated levels. Medications such as birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers, and some prescription drugs may cause a temporary rise in blood pressure. The buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries can also lead to prehypertension. Other conditions that may lead to prehypertension include the following:
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Thyroid disease
Symptoms
There are usually no symptoms with elevated blood pressure. The only way to keep track of your blood pressure is to visit your doctor regularly and have your blood pressure checked.
Treatment
- Losing weight if overweight or obese
- Eating a healthy, low-salt diet
- Exercise regularly
- Quit smoking
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Who Is At Risk For High Blood Pressure
Your family history, lifestyle and medications can increase the chances youll develop high blood pressure. Risk factors for high blood pressure include:
- Age
- Drinking too much
- Some medications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, also known as NSAIDS, some decongestants, weight loss medicines and stimulants)
- Some underlying health conditions, such as obstructive sleep apnea, kidney conditions, adrenal gland tumors and thyroid diseases
- Inactivity
- Tobacco and illicit drug use
- Other
Unfortunately, family history is a large contributing factor. Even if you eat well, are physically active and avoid risk factors, you may still experience high blood pressure.
Don’t Be Too Concerned
High blood pressure spikes can be a concern in those with heart disease, but are generally harmless in those without. Still, you never want to deal with too much high blood pressure. Hypertension can put stress on your heart and possibly damage your blood vessels. That’s why even though there isn’t necessarily any danger to experiencing these blood pressure spikes, you should still make reducing your anxiety a priority.
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Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure
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If you have high blood pressure, you’ll probably experience no signs or symptoms of the condition, even if you have extremely high blood pressure.
In very rare cases, and if blood pressure reaches dangerous levels, a person may get headaches or more nosebleeds than normal.
But in the majority of cases, there are no signs or symptoms of hypertension, which is why it has been dubbed the silent killer.
How To Know If Your Blood Pressure Is High
High blood pressure is a common condition, in which the force exerted by the blood on the blood vessels carrying them increases than the normal values. High blood pressure can be an asymptomatic condition and you may be unaware of its presence. But being aware can increase your chances of preventing further health problems. Then you might wonder, how to know if your blood pressure is high? Understanding high blood pressure, its risk factors and the possible signs and symptoms can help you protect your health.
High blood pressure develops over many years and can cause damage to other structures as well. Persistent high blood pressure is related to increased risk of heart diseases and stroke. High blood pressure is medically known as hypertension and is often associated with other conditions like narrowing of arteries, obesity and diabetes.
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Causes Of High Blood Pressure
Genetics and age both contribute to your likelihood of having high blood pressure. If anyone in your family has a history of high blood pressure, you might face a higher risk of having high blood pressure. Middle-aged and older adults face a higher risk too.
Other risk factors for high blood pressure include:
High blood pressure is also more common in African Americans, women who take oral contraceptives, people who drink a lot of alcohol, and individuals who eat a high sodium diet.
Root Causes And Risk Factors
Knowing what triggers high blood pressure can help you prevent or reverse it. Like with most other chronic diseases, the reason someone develops HBP has to do with several factors.
HBP seems to run in families, but its also highly dependent upon the type of lifestyle someone leads. Women are at an increased risk when taking control pills, during pregnancy, or if taking hormone therapy medications to control menopause symptoms. Obesity or being overweight increases the odds because this puts more pressure on the heart and arteries.
Men and women are equally likely to develop HBP during their lifetimes, but interestingly men are more likely when theyre younger. Before turning 45, men are more likely to have HBP than women but then this flips after age 65, when womens risk becomes higher than mens. When children younger than 10 years old have HBP its usually a side effect of another condition. This can include a kidney problem, medication use or type 1 diabetes.
High blood pressure has a real laundry list of risk factors. The good news is that the majority of these hypertension risk factors are well within your control. They include:
High blood pressure is most prevalent in the adult population, but children are also at risk. Sometimes children can experience high blood pressure symptoms that are caused by problems with the heart or kidneys.
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