Everyone has heard about the dangers of having high blood pressure but how can you know whether you are at risk for it? The condition itself will often not present any verifiable symptoms, and the majority of patients diagnosed with this condition only find out when they go for a physical. So how do you whether or not you should be concerned about possibly having the silent killer?
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, does have a recognized list of potential factors for development that doctors can use to determine whether you are an at risk patient. The hypertension risks include: being overweight, consuming too much alcohol, and a family history that includes hypertension. You might be at risk for hypertension if you also consume too much salt in your diet, and do not get enough potassium or calcium in your diet on a regular basis. Even being diagnosed as being a borderline diabetic puts you at risk for developing high blood pressure, because being resistant to insulin can help damage cells, arteries and the heart over time, just like hypertension.
Understanding your Numbers
There are two very important numbers to consider when a doctor is trying to determine if you have high blood pressure: systolic and diastolic. The systolic determines how hard your blood is pushing through your body when the heart is pumping. The diastolic will show how hard the blood is pumping throughout your body when the heart is at rest, between heartbeats, when the heart is filling back up with blood. Normal levels of blood pressure are considered to be around 120/80, or 120 systolic over 80 diastolic.
Because so many factors can cause your blood pressure to fluctuate, the doctor needs to record your blood pressure at a level of at least 140/90 or higher on three separate occasions, over a period of 1 to 2 weeks before determining if you are indeed suffering from hypertension. Blood pressure can fluctuate from time to time because of stress, nervousness, or even recovering from another illness. All of this will be taken into account before you are diagnosed as being hypertensive.
Ignorance is Dangerous
Because hypertension does not present symptoms until it is completely out of control, it can lead to a host of serious medical conditions if not caught and treated quickly. That said, if you have a family history of hypertension, or even diabetes, go to your doctor and get tested, now. Out of control hypertension will present the following high blood pressure symptoms:
· Chronic Headaches: these are headaches come on all of a sudden, and seem to beat in time with your pulse.
· Vision Problems: intermittent blurriness, starburst spots, and even dark spots in your field of vision are indicators of pressure building up in your arteries and affecting your optic nerve.
· Nausea and Vomiting: these symptoms are actually aftereffects of the first two, especially if they are recurring time and time again. Immediate medical attention is imperative at this point.
Ignoring the level of your blood pressure can lead to more serious conditions over time, because hypertension can cause cell damage, artery damage, kidney damage, and ultimately, serious damage to your brain and your heart. We depend on blood to live, why ignore potential problems when it can be easily treated and controlled?
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