Signs Of High Blood Pressure And Stages Of Hypertension
Posted by Dr. Chris
Heart attacks and strokes are the leading causes of death in the United States and high blood pressure is one of the main factors that contributes to these conditions. With 1 in 3 American adults suffering with hypertension , it is understandable why this condition is a major public health concern. It is estimated that as many as 20% of adults with hypertension do not even know that they have an elevated blood pressure.
What Blood Pressure Level Is Considered Hypertension
Blood pressure categories in the new guidelines, according to the American Heart Association, are:
- Normal: Less than 120/80 mm Hg
- Elevated: Top number between 120-129 and bottom number less than 80
- Stage 1: Systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89
- Stage 2: Systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90 mm Hg
- Hypertensive crisis: Top number over 180 and/or bottom number over 120, with patients needing prompt changes in medication if there are no other indications of problems, or immediate hospitalization if there are signs of organ damage.
Why Is Your Blood Pressure Important
Your blood pressure is important because if it is too high, it affects the blood flow to your organs. Over the years, this increases your chances of developing heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, eye disease, erectile dysfunction and other conditions.
Very occasionally, people with very high blood pressure are at serious risk of problems and need urgent treatment in hospital to reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack.
Current Australian guidelines recommend that if you have persistent raised blood pressure over 160/100 mmHg, but are at low risk of having a stroke or heart attack, you should talk to your doctor or specialist about taking medication to lower your blood pressure.
For further information, visit the Choosing Wisely Australia website.
If youre over 18, you should have your blood pressure checked by your doctor at least every 2 years, or more often if advised.
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Which Number Is More Important
Typically, more attention is given to systolic blood pressure as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for people over 50. In most people, systolic blood pressure rises steadily with age due to the increasing stiffness of large arteries, long-term buildup of plaque and an increased incidence of cardiac and vascular disease.
However, either an elevated systolic or an elevated diastolic blood pressure reading may be used to make a diagnosis of high blood pressure. According to recent studies, the risk of death from ischemic heart disease and stroke doubles with every 20 mm Hg systolic or 10 mm Hg diastolic increase among people from age 40 to 89.
Diet Hypertension Of Iii Degree
The daily menu of a patient with hypertension should consist mainly of vegetable and cereal dishes. As often as possible should be included as greens and fruits, less fat boiled meat and fish dishes. It is necessary to restrict the diet butter cakes, animal fats, smoked food, pickles and marinades.
Strict limit to be salt. An excess of sodium salts in the body causes water imbalance, contributes to the delay and the accumulation of fluid in the body. Fluid accumulates in the bloodstream, increasing the BCC blood volume, thus increases AD and increases the load on blood vessels and heart. The other part is excess fluid accumulates in the tissues, mainly in the subcutaneous fat, forming overweight and causing the increase in AD.
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S To Take At Stage 3 Kidney Disease
- Make healthy lifestyle choicesEating a kidney-friendly diet, quitting smoking, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight can help you slow progression at stage 3 kidney disease.
- Monitor your healthManaging underlying conditions and risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or infection can also help slow the progression of CKD. Talk to your doctor about whether or not you need to modify any of the vitamins, supplements, or medications you may be taking for other health conditions , or if you start taking any new medications.
- Talk to your doctor about a referral to see a kidney doctorSeeing a kidney doctor can help you manage your kidney health. Your doctor can help you determine when it’s time to see a nephrologist and give you a referral. Once you start seeing a nephrologist, you’ll still see your regular doctor to monitor you overall health.
- Meet with a renal dietitianFollowing a kidney-friendly diet is key to slowing the progression of CKD, and you dont have to do it alone. A renal dietitian can help you address any nutrition concerns and learn about eating well.
- Learn everything you can about CKDTaking a KidneyCare:365 class can help you learn more about how to manage and slow the progression of CKD.
How Serious Is Your Hypertension
Doctors classify hypertension according to systolic pressure and diastolic pressure readings and the effects various levels can have on your health.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a health condition that affects about one in three American adults. But not everyone who has hypertension has high blood pressure to the same degree. Doctors use four hypertension categories to help classify how likely your blood pressure level is to affect your health: prehypertension, stage 1, stage 2, and hypertensive crisis.
Normal Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is measured by taking two different measurements of the pressure within your arteries: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure, the first or top number of the blood pressure reading, is the highest level of pressure in your arteries, which occurs when your heart muscle contracts and forces a burst of blood into the aorta. Diastolic pressure, which is the bottom number, is the pressure that exists within your arteries between heart muscle contractions, which is when your heart is filling with blood.
If your blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury or mm Hg , you have normal blood pressure. This means that your systolic pressure is less than 120 mm/Hg and your diastolic reading is less than 80 mm/Hg.
Prehypertension: When Blood Pressure Is Above Normal
Stage 1 and Stage 2 Hypertension
Hypertensive Crisis: A High Blood Pressure Emergency
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Is Prehypertension A Result Of Aging
You may wonder if high blood pressure happens with aging, but experts say no.
Some populations across the globe have minimal rise in blood pressure with aging. In some parts of Mexico, the South Pacific, and other parts of the world, people have very low salt intake. In these areas, the age-related rise in blood pressure is small compared with the U.S.
Study Design And Population
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the Study on global AGEing and adult health , WAVE 1 dataset which is a part of longitudinal survey program in WHO’s multicountries study unit. The main SAGE surveys compile comparable longitudinal information on the health and well-being of adult populations and the ageing process from nationally representative samples in six middle- and low-income countries. We used the dataset of two Sub-Saharan countries, Ghana and South Africa. The SAGE study included nationally representative sample of persons aged 50 years and sample from younger adults aged 1849 years as comparison which were also selected from both countries. Multistage cluster sampling was used . The sampling design entailed two-stage probabilistic sample that yielded national and subnational estimates. In the first stage, a total sample of 600 enumeration areas in South Africa and 300 in Ghana were drawn from the master sample and used as the primary selection units . The second stage of the sample design was the selection of households from the EA’s which formed the secondary sampling units. This stage of the process involved georeferenced aerial photograph maps of urbanized areas on which the locations of households were plotted. The total sample size of individuals was targeted to be 1000 people in the age group 1849 years and 5000 people aged 50 years or older in each country.
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How Blood Pressure Is Measured
Blood pressure is measured with an instrument called a sphygmomanometer, through which the user listens for the sound of the force of blood in the patients arteries when the heart beats . Measured in millimeters of mercury , systolic pressure is the top number in your blood pressure reading. The second, or bottom number, is the pressure in the arteries of the heart at rest the diastolic pressure. Generally, as an adult, you are considered to have high blood pressure if your systolic pressure reading is greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg or if your diastolic pressure is greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg. But for every 20 mm Hg your systolic pressure raises above 115, and for every 10 mm Hg your diastolic pressure rises over 75, your risk of cardiovascular disease doubles so lower pressures are generally better.
Stage Three Of Hypertension
Stage three of hypertension is actually referred to as âstage 1.â Systolic is between 140 and 159 mm Hg and diastolic is between 90 and 99 mm Hg. A person at stage 1 is in danger of a variety of health complications due to moderate hypertension. At this point, a person would be expected to try medication to reduce their blood pressure and risk of heart disease and/or stroke. These drugs include ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers, thiazide diuretics, and calcium channel blockers. They would also be expected to make diet and lifestyle changes.
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Hypertension Grade : Symptoms And Treatment
Cardiovascular pathology occupies leading place in the number of severe complications with fatal outcomes. Death rates from cerebrovascular diseases in Russia takes the first place among the 50 countries of Eurasia. The proportion of hypertension in the tragic list of causes of death exceeds 60%. Another adverse outcome of the disease is disability. The reasons for such abysmal statistics are the pace and way of the modern way of life, exhausting compensatory potential of the human body.
How Is Hypertension Treated
With Stage 2 hypertensive patients, we rely on blood pressure medications from the time we identify a patient rather than Stage 1, which we can try lifestyle changes such as reduction in dietary sodium and weight loss, Dr. Chugh said.
Among the medications that are used to treat Stage 2 hypertension are diuretics, beta-blockers and alpha-blockers, calcium channel blocker and ACE inhibitors, which relax blood vessels as well as decrease blood volume, thereby lowering blood pressure and decreasing oxygen demand from the heart.
When it comes to medications for high blood pressure, it’s mostly trial and error in what kind of side effects the patient can tolerate. There’s really no right or wrong answer for it. It’s just a matter of what works the best with the least amount of side effects and has the fewest number of pills so that patients will actually take them, said Dr. Kay.
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Can You Help Control Your Blood Pressure
Yes, you can help. There are three things you can do: have a more active lifestyle, make healthy food choices, and, if needed, take your medicine every day as it is prescribed. With prehypertension, some people can bring blood pressure down to normal through weight loss, exercise and other changes for a healthy lifestyle. Medications are used to control high blood pressure. Medicines may be recommended for some people with prehypertension who also have other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease.
If you have slightly high blood pressure, your doctor may suggest these steps:
- lose weight if you are overweight,
- get regular physical activity,
- cut down on alcohol, and
- change your food choices to those with less salt and fat
A special eating plan called DASH can help you lower your blood pressure. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH eating plan emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fatfree or lowfat milk and milk products, wholegrain products, fish, poultry, beans, seeds, and nuts. The DASH eating plan also contains less salt/sodium, sweets, added sugars, sugar containing beverages, fats, and red meats than the typical American diet.
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How Is Blood Pressure Measured
When the heart pumps, it produces pressure inside the arteries and moves the blood forward. This is called systolic pressure. Then the heart relaxes as it fills again and the pressure in your arteries falls. This is called diastolic pressure.
Blood pressure readings are given as 2 numbers systolic pressure over diastolic pressure. The pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury .
As a general guide,
- optimal blood pressure is considered to be less than 120 mmHg over 80 mmHg written as 120/80
- normal blood pressure is between 120/80 and 129/84 and
- high-normal blood pressure is between 130/85 and 139/89.
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Understanding The Stages Of Hypertension
High blood pressure is classified in one of several categories and those designations can influence treatment.
Doctors classify blood pressure into four categories: normal, prehypertension , stage 1 and stage 2 . Treatment depends on which category your pressure consistently falls in when readings are taken. The stages are based on the Joint National Committee 7 report done by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which is a part of the National Institutes of Health.
Are you doing everything you can to manage your heart condition? Find out with our interactive checkup.
High Blood Pressure A Silent Killer
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Tags: Anxiety , Blood Pressure , Heart Health , Stress Management , Urinary & Kidney , Structural Heart , Heart Failure , Heart Disease , Heart Attack ,
High blood pressure often runs silent and deep, stealthily building and cloaking its symptoms. As it continues along its insidious path, it can affect organ function and lead to serious and deadly consequences.
It is hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure within the artery walls. There are myriad causes of high blood pressure including genetic factors, hormonal imbalances, a high salt diet, obesity, sleep apnea and stress.
Its been called the silent killer for ages because hypertension does not seemingly have obvious symptoms in many cases,” said Atul Chugh, MD, a cardiologist with Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians in Indianapolis. The more reported symptoms are fatigue and throbbing headaches centered behind the eyes.
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Is There Treatment For Prehypertension
Prehypertension is a warning sign. It means that you’re at a greater risk of high blood pressure. Depending on your blood pressure and risk factors for heart disease, you may only need to make a few lifestyle adjustments. Here are some strategies to help you manage prehypertension:
It’s important to get your blood pressure checked regularly. Know your blood pressure number. Let your doctor know if your blood pressure number is higher.
You can monitor your blood pressure between doctor’s visits with a home blood pressure monitor. Or, you can use an electronic blood pressure monitor at your local pharmacy, grocery store, or fire station.
Talk to your doctor about your blood pressure. Ask if diet and exercise can help lower your risk of getting high blood pressure.
Causes Of Severe Hypertension
- Renal parenchymal disease is disorders that involve abnormal permeability to protein and other macromolecules, such as chronic pyelonephritis , Primary glomerulonephritis or Tubulointerstitial nephritis .
- The systemic disorder affects some organs and tissues or affects the body as a whole with renal involvement. These include lupus erythematosus , systemic sclerosis or vasculitides .
- Renovascular is a condition affecting the blood vessels of the kidney, such as atherosclerotic disease, fibromuscular dysplasia or polyarteritis nodosa .
- Endocrine are glands that secrete hormones or other products directly into the blood gland disorders such as Pheochromocytoma , Conn syndrome or Cushing syndrome .
- Drug abuses such as Cocaine, Amphetamines, Cyclosporin, Clonidine withdrawal or Phencyclidine.
The most common cause of severe hypertension is still longstanding poorly controlled essential hypertension.
Patients are then categorizing as having asymptomatic severe hypertension, hypertension-urgency, and hypertensive emergency.
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Stage Four Of Hypertension
Stage four is known as âstage 2â hypertension. Systolic is at 160 mm Hg or higher and diastolic is at 100 mm Hg or higher. At this point, a personâs hypertension would be classified as severe. Due to this, they would most likely be recommended a two-drug therapy to try and bring their blood pressure down. A person at stage 2 hypertension is at high risk for coronary heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. You will have to have your blood pressure checked regularly and follow a strict regimen that will likely include dietary changes, exercise, and lifestyle changes.
Are You At Risk With Hypertension?
Are you wondering if your blood pressure is high? Are you aware of your high blood pressure and looking to change it? BASS Urgent Care is here for you! With our services, we are not only able to check your blood pressure, but help you determine if you need to make lifestyle changes or consider medication to help lower it. If you are in the Walnut Creek area and looking for medical assistance, look to BASS Urgent Care for help.
When Is High Blood Pressure An Emergency
Patients who suspect they are experiencing a hypertensive crisis should go immediately to the emergency room unless directed by their physician to do otherwise.
If there is evidence of organ damage as a result of hypertension – which manifest with symptoms such as chest pain, headaches, stroke-like conditions and visual changes – that patient or their family should call 911 immediately, Dr. Chugh said. “That situation is quite dangerous and requires medical attention immediately.
Dr. Chugh emphasized that while hypertension can be treated effectively, patients should also do their part by making healthy lifestyle choices to keep their blood pressure within a normal range.
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