Why You Should Pay Attention To Your Blood Pressure
Hypertension can wreak havoc on the body before alarming symptoms appear. Thats why regular checkups are a must.
Sometimes, Dr. Lioudis asks patients to check their blood pressure at different times of the day. Its the only way to spot masked hypertension. People with this condition have normal blood pressure in the doctors office, but high blood pressure at home.
We cant do anything for hypertension unless we know it exists, he says. Thats why we advise everyone to have their pressures checked at least yearly. They should also talk with their family doctor about stress, heart or kidney disease, family history of high blood pressure and any other potential contributing factor. By working together, you can bring your blood pressure under control.
This article originally appeared in Cleveland Clinic Heart Advisor.
Why Would My Blood Pressure Only Spike In The Evening From 7 To 12 Pm
howard90860
I Discovered I had a BP of 206/110 on Nov 27/2017. I have had borderline hypertension for the last 15 years which didn’t require any medication and my doctor couldn’t advise any lifestyle changes that I wasn’t already doing.
I’m 63, healthy, 6.1″ and 184lbs, at the gym 4 times a week, low sodium ovo/lacto vegetarian & daily Zen meditation practitioner for the last 44 years, drink plenty of water, non smoker, non drinker, good sleep regiment, now retired with a low stress lifestyle. My mom did had BP problems with many mini strokes so they think this is an inherited condition. Numerous blood and urine tests for me come back as all good.
My Doctor has now proscribed 4mg daily Coversyl since my high BP reading.. I have been measuring my own BP about 5 times a day since then. This medicine lowers my BP through most of my day to a good range but the systolic still rises by 30mg back to the hyper tension range from 7 – 12 pm every evening. Taking my medication at different times doesn’t change this. Taking a nap; during the day makes no difference to it.
Does anyone have evening BP spikes or any possible explanations for why it consistently rises in the evening?
3 years ago
Hi Howard
It may be because we tend to eat more in the evening, not really sure though. Your BP is very high, yet you seem to have a healthy enough lifestyle. Are you aware that a vit D deficiency can cause high blood pressure? maybe you could ask your doc to test you for a deficiency.;
How To Lower Blood Pressure In Minutes
Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.
High blood pressure can hit at any time, and the results can be devastating. When an acute jump occurs, knowing how to lower blood pressure in minutes can be the difference between life and death.
This is especially true if youre one of the 75 million American adults suffering from hypertension , or one of the other 75 million with prehypertension. When a boost hits, its good to know how to make blood pressure go down quickly.
Your blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day, and this is completely normal. Stress, anxiety, exercise, and activity can all lead to increases, while relaxation, getting ready for bed, and sleep can all bring it back down.
But not all high blood pressure is safe, and the longer it stays at a high rate, the more health risks you assume. Risks include acute responses like sweating, fainting or shortness of breath, and more severe issues like heart disease and heart attack can arise. So when stress hits, knowing how to lower blood pressure quickly can be a great health benefit.
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What Is White Coat Hypertension
White coat hypertension is when a childs blood pressure readings are high at the doctors office , but normal outside of the office .
This is pretty common in kids. By some estimations, between 30 and 40 percent of kids who have high blood pressure in the office actually have white-coat hypertension.
White coat hypertension is still a risk. Everyones blood pressure changes from time to timeits lower when youre asleep, for examplebut if a childs blood pressure continually rises when shes anxious , it can be sign of high blood pressure at other times and potentially cause the same kinds of damage that standard hypertension causes.
White coat hypertension is diagnosed by taking the childs blood pressure outside of the doctors office. This can be done in different ways:
- Some parents feel comfortable doing it at home.
- Sometimes we make arrangements for a school nurse to check the childs blood pressure.
- Your childs doctor might recommend that she wear an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring devicea blood pressure cuff attached to a small device that sits on her belt , and measures her blood pressure at regular intervals over the course of 24 hours. This device is about the size of a deck of cards and is usually tolerated very well.
If your child is diagnosed with white coat hypertension, her doctor may still want to follow her, since some children with white coat hypertension will develop actual hypertension in the future.
Lowering Systolic Blood Pressure More May Cut Health Risks
One major study found;that lowering systolic blood pressure to well below the commonly recommended level also greatly lowered the number of cardiovascular events and deaths among people at least 50 years old with high blood pressure.
When study participants achieved a systolic blood pressure target of 120 mmHg compared to the higher target of 140 mmHg recommended for most people, and 150 for people over 60 issues such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure were reduced by almost one-third, and the risk of death by almost one-fourth.
“That’s important information, because more lives may be saved and more deaths may be prevented if we maintain lower blood pressure in certain patients,” says Lynne Braun, NP, PhD, a nurse practitioner at the Rush Heart Center for Women.
Braun cautions, however, that your personal blood pressure target depends on a variety of things, including your current blood pressure, lifestyle, risk factors, other medications you are taking and your age. “Every person has to be evaluated as an individual,” she says. “Realistically, we can’t get everybody down to 120, and trying to do so may create unintended problems.”
It can be dangerous, for instance, to keep an older person on medications that have unsafe side effects, such as diuretics , which can cause dehydration and dizziness in older adults.
And there can be other issues involved with taking multiple medications, such as cost and compliance.
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Causes Of Sudden High Blood Pressure
Spikes of high blood pressure are always a concern. A client of mine asked me about them because he was getting some himself. While he knew the cause of his, he wanted to know all of them. Therefore, what are causes of sudden high blood pressure?
Causes of sudden high blood pressure include the following:
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Pregnancy Related High Blood Pressure
- Scleroderma
- Illegal drugs
- Smoking
This article will explain in detail each one of the causes. Knowing what causes sudden high blood pressure is a must know for anyone, especially for those struggling with blood pressure already;.
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.
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How To Lower Blood Pressure
There are lots of things you can do to lower your blood pressure.
If your doctor has given you blood pressure medication, take it as prescribed. However, you’ll also need to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with hypertension, following these tips will be good for your blood pressure and good for your heart.
Quit smoking
Stopping smoking is a great thing you can do for your blood pressure and your heart health.
Ask your doctor or nurse for help.
Phone Quitline 0800 778 778, or visit quit.org.nz for information and support.
Eat more heart-healthy foods and less salt
What you put into your body can make a big difference to your blood pressure.
Eat a wide variety of heart-healthy foods like:
- whole grains
Read more about the benefits of exercise.
Manage stress
Researchers are still trying to understand the exact link between stress and long-term high blood pressure. However being stressed contributes to other risk factors like poor diet and drinking more alcohol.
You can’t always remove the sources of stress in your life. But here are some things you can do to manage them.
- Enjoy exercise every day, like taking a walk.
- Take a break for yourself.
- Get 7-8 hours plus sleep each night.
- Talk about how you are feeling.
- Try relaxation music or breathing exercises.
What Medications Are Used To Treat High Blood Pressure
Four classes of high blood pressure medications are considered first line when starting treatment. Sometimes other medications are coupled with these first-line drugs to better control your high blood pressure. First-line drug pressure lowering medications are:
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors block the production the angiotensin II hormone, which the body naturally uses to control blood pressure. When angiotensin II is blocked, your blood vessels dont narrow. Examples: lisinopril , enalapril , captopril .
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers block this same hormone from binding with receptors in the blood vessels. ARBs work the same way as ACE inhibitors to keep blood vessels from narrowing. Examples: metoprolol , valsartan , losartan .
- Calcium channel blockers prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells of your heart and blood vessels, allowing these vessels to relax. Examples: amlodipine , nifedipine , diltiazem .
- Diuretics flush excess sodium from your body, reducing the amount of fluid in your blood. Diuretics are often used with other high blood pressure medicines, sometimes in one combined pill. Examples: indapamide, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide.
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What If Just The First Blood Pressure Number Is High
For older people, often the first number is 130 or higher, but the second number is less than 80. This problem is called isolated systolic hypertension, which is due to age-related stiffening of the major arteries. It is the most common form of high blood pressure in older people and can lead to serious health problems in addition to shortness of breath during light physical activity, lightheadedness upon standing too fast, and falls. Isolated systolic hypertension is treated in the same way as regular high blood pressure but may require more than one type of blood pressure medication. If your doctor determines that your systolic pressure is above a normal level for your age, ask how you can lower it.
What Causes Hypertension
The causes depend on the type of hypertension: primary and secondary. Sometimes the blood pressure may suddenly increase, with or without any history of hypertension. These sudden spikes typically last for a short time and are called sudden high blood pressure or hypertensive urgency. The blood pressure may often return to normal after a while.
Primary or essential hypertension
In most adults, there is no identifiable cause for hypertension. Primary or essential hypertension is not caused by a disease or health condition.
Primary hypertension can result due to multiple factors:
- Genetics
- Physical changes in the body due to age
- Salt sensitivity
Secondary hypertension
In some people, hypertension is caused by an underlying health condition. This is called secondary hypertension and tends to appear suddenly. Secondary hypertension causes higher blood pressure than primary hypertension.
Secondary hypertension is caused by specific conditions and their complications, such as
- Kidney disease
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What To Think About
- The medicine your doctor chooses may be based on other health problems you have. For example, doctors often prescribe ACE inhibitors for people who have diabetes or heart failure.
- Some people who get a cough while taking ACE inhibitors do well with ARBs, which usually don’t cause a cough.
- You may need to avoid some over-the-counter medicines. For example, check with your doctor before you take any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen and ibuprofenwith high blood pressure medicines. NSAIDs may raise blood pressure and keep your blood pressure medicines from working well. NSAIDs may also interact with your blood pressure medicine and cause kidney problems.
- Don’t take any other prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or other natural health products unless you talk to your doctor first. Medicines can interact with each other and keep blood pressure medicines from working right or cause a bad reaction.
White Coat Hypertension Stress And Heart Disease Risk
A new white coat hypertension study, published in Hypertension in June 2015, looked at heart disease risk. The study included 3,200 people in Italy. These patients were seen in a doctors office for three blood pressure measurements. Then they were sent home with a 24-hour blood pressure monitor that sampled their blood pressure every 20 minutes. When the patients returned, they had three more office blood pressure measurements. With these measurements, the researchers could determine what was happening to the blood pressure in the doctors office and throughout the day.
White coat hypertension was diagnosed if the average office blood pressure measurement was higher than 140 mgHg for systolic blood pressure or ;higher than 90 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure but the 24-hour average blood pressures were normal.
Then the investigators divided the group with white coat hypertension into two: those who experienced high blood pressure frequently with stress, and those who experienced high blood pressure occasionally with stress.
This is a summary of their findings about heart disease risk over 20 years of follow-up care:
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Relax Your Mind Body And Blood Vessels
If the notion that you can lower your blood pressure by sitting quietly and calming your mind sounds like hocus-pocus, you’re not alone. “I was pretty skeptical myself,” says Dr. Randall Zusman, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
But after collaborating on several studies with Dr. Herbert Benson, Harvard professor of mind-body medicine, Dr. Zusman is now a big fan of the technique, known as the relaxation response. Coined by Dr. Benson some 40 years ago, the term refers to the slowed breathing, lowered heart rate, and other physiological changes that occur during states of relaxation. Their research, which has included people with both treated and untreated high blood pressure, shows that regularly invoking the relaxation response can lower blood pressure.
Not everyone responds to the technique, but among responders, researchers documented genetic changes that may explain the benefit. “The relaxation response turns on genes involved in dilating the blood vessels and turns off genes associated with vascular inflammation and constriction,” says Dr. Zusman.
To practice the relaxation response, sit in a quiet place with your eyes closed. Relax your muscles and silently repeat a word, phrase, or short prayer of your choosing over and over. When stray thoughts interfere, let them come and go. Return to your word, phrase, or sound. Ideally, you should practice for 10 to 20 minutes every day, but even a few minutes can help.
High Or Low Blood Pressure Complications
High blood pressure doesnt cause symptoms unless youre in hypertensive crisis. Its actually known as a silent killer because it quietly damages your blood vessels and organs, and you may not realize you have it until the damage is done. Unmanaged high blood pressure can lead to:
The good news is that there are things you can do to help prevent blood pressure problems.
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Blood Pressure And Ageing
With advancing years, the arteries tend to become more rigid . This may change a persons blood pressure pattern, with a higher systolic pressure and a lower diastolic pressure. The higher systolic pressure is important because it can further accelerate the rigidity of the arteries. This state is referred to as isolated systolic hypertension. Although these changes are due to ageing, this is not a normal state and may need medication to control the systolic pressures.
Signs And Symptoms Of Hypertension
Often, kids and teens with pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension wont show any symptoms at all. If your child has stage 2 hypertension, she might experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- headaches
- abdominal pain
- breathing problems
An infant with stage 2 hypertension may seem irritable, not be feeding properly, or vomiting. Sometimes these infants are diagnosed with failure to thrive.
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How Blood Pressure Is Controlled
When the heart contracts, the blood inside the left ventricle is forced out into the aorta and arteries. The blood then enters small vessels with muscular walls, called arterioles. The tone in the muscular walls of the arterioles determines how relaxed or constricted they are. If narrowed, they resist flow.Reduced flow of blood is detected in the brain, the kidneys and elsewhere. Nerve reflexes are stimulated and hormones are then produced. The heart is induced to beat more forcefully so that blood pressure is maintained at a higher level, to overcome the restricted flow through the arterioles. The achievement of good flow eases possible problems for function of the brain and kidneys.These adjustments occur normally. However, in some people the adjustments become fixed and high blood pressure persists. These people have developed hypertension.