Hypertension Treatment Doctor Q&A

Hypertension is also known medically as high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the pressure of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. The arteries are what carry your blood from your heart to other parts of the body. Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day, so depending on the time of day, will depend on what your blood pressure number is.

Hypertension is medically concerning as that is when your blood pressure is higher than average. Even though your blood pressure normally fluctuates throughout the day based on numerous events in your daily routine. Hypertension will measure consistently above normal and will be diagnosed by a medical professional as high blood pressure or hypertension.

Hypertension does not show any warning signs or symptoms, and many patients do not even know they are dealing with this condition. Measuring your blood pressure offers the only accurate way of knowing if you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure develops over time and happens due to an unhealthy lifestyle, such as not getting enough or any exercise or regular physical activity and eating unhealthy. Certain health conditions can also affect this including diabetes and obesity, which can increase your risk of developing hypertension. Hypertension can happen and does often to many women during pregnancy as well.

Hypertension can become damaging to your health if it is not taken seriously. It can damage important organs including your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. However, there is a silver lining, in most cases, you can easily manage your hypertension and lower it, which in turn will lower your risk of any serious health issues.

If you think you may have hypertension or high blood pressure, there may be certain symptoms you can experience and look for including:

• Severe headaches
• Nosebleeds
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Vision issues
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Irregular heartbeat
• Blood in your pee
• Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears

Other symptoms that can also indicate hypertension or other medical issues include:

• Dizziness
• Nervousness
• Sweating
• Trouble sleeping
• Facial flushing
• Blood spots in your eyes

Hypertension is well known as being the “silent killer due to the disease offering no noticeable signs or symptoms that anyone person would immediately indicate as being hypertension, unless its measuring your blood pressure.

If your high blood pressure or hypertension goes undetected and untreated, it can cause serious heart disease issues including congestive heart failure or a heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. Those reasons alone are why it is so important to have regular physical examinations with your doctor to make sure your blood pressure is within normal range, or you are taking the precautions deemed necessary to lower your high blood pressure.

Check in with your doctor regularly with annual physical exams to help continue maintaining your health and ask any questions about your hypertension or other concerns you may have during these checkups to get the answers you need.

Some situations you run into will warrant an immediate call to your doctor, especially if you:

• Are not responding positively to the treatment your doctor has recommended
• Your blood pressure is now lowering
• If you are noticing these symptoms:
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Light-headed
• Headache
• Excessive sweating
• Irregular heartbeats
• Problems with your vision
• Confusion

These symptoms will warrant prompt medical attention from your doctor or they can be uncontrolled signs of high blood pressure or side effects from the medication itself.

If you have any concerns about your hypertension or need to book an annual physical with your doctor, do not hesitate to contact us by phone or booking online. We are conveniently located at 255 Terracina Blvd, Suite 105 Redlands, CA 92373. We serve patients from Redlands CA, Loma Linda CA, Mentone CA, Highland CA, Moonlight Rim CA, Grand Terrace CA, El Casco CA, Greenspot CA, and surrounding areas.