High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension is known as the silent killer because most people who have these conditions don’t even know they have it. Most people have no clue. Hypertension usually develops first and if not corrected usually leads to a chronic condition known as high blood pressure.
These conditions are normally diagnosed by your doctor or self testing at home. A couple of numbers you’ll hear your doctor or nurse mention when testing you is systolic and diastolic pressures. In other words the first number the nurse reads out to you is the systolic and the second number is the diastolic. 110 over 70 he or she might say. The first number (systolic) is the blood pressure during the heart beat. The second number (diastolic) is the blood pressure between the heart beats.
The American Heart Association states that the ideal pressure is below 120 over 80. Your pressure will fluctuate throughout the day depending on your activity level. Ideally you’ll want to take your pressure reading first thing in the morning after a good nights rest and before you eat or drink anything.
Sometimes there is no identifiable cause for these conditions. This is known as essential hypertension or high blood pressure. The American Heart Association defines HBP as a reading consistently elevated at 140 and or above for the systolic reading and 90 or above for the diastolic reading. A reading of 140 over 90 would put you in the category of having HBP.
Many factors will affect your pressure such as the amount of water in your body, salt, hormone levels as well as the condition of your blood vessels, kidneys and your nervous system. Usually the condition has no symptoms at all and that’s exactly why it’s been called the silent killer. You may experience a headache now and then with elevated blood pressure. It’s very important to check your blood pressure often to catch a high blood pressure condition.
If you experience any of these symptoms get seen by a doctor right away to find out what’s going on.
tired all the time after getting enough sleep Anxiety Pale or red skin pain in your chest or a heavy crushing feeling
Usually no symptoms present themselves so get yourself checked regularly.
Treatment normally consists of lifestyle changes such as weight loss if you’re overweight, eating a diet rich in fish, chicken, fruits and veggies along with regular exercise. Simply walking is a great exercise for the heart. Many times this will be enough but if it’s not then you’ll have to take a medication or two to keep this very serious condition in check. There are over 200 medicines available to treat this condition. If you don’t have insurance or a prescription benefit then buying medicine on a regular basis can present some problems.
Here’s how: Simply use our pharmacy locator and drug pricing tools.
