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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious health condition that affects as many as almost half of American adults. Also known as the “silent killer” because it rarely causes noticeable symptoms, high blood pressure quietly damages blood vessels and important organs without proper blood pressure management.
The good news is that by understanding all your options for management, you can take effective steps to control blood pressure and reduce complications down the road.
What Defines High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is a measurement of the amount of force blood places on artery walls as it travels through the body. It comprises two numbers: systolic pressure (the top number) when the heart contracts and diastolic pressure (the bottom number) when the heart relaxes between beats.
A normal or healthy reading falls under 120 systolic as well as 80 diastolic (120/80 mmHg). You have high blood pressure if readings on two or more occasions consistently reach 130/80 mmHg or higher. The ranges in between are considered elevated blood pressure.
Blood pressure between 120-129/less than 80 is elevated. Stage 1 high blood pressure is considered to be somewhere between 130-139/80-89. Stage 2 high blood pressure is considered anywhere from 140/90 or above.
High blood pressure requires treatment because it can eventually damage everything from the heart and blood vessels to kidneys, eyes, and other areas of the body if left uncontrolled.
However, you have excellent chances for effective blood pressure management by understanding all your options.
Lifestyle Changes — The First Line of Therapy
Making positive lifestyle modifications is typically the first line of defense doctors use to control mildly or newly diagnosed high blood pressure. Evidence shows that incorporating healthy lifestyle habits can lower systolic numbers by 5-15 mmHg in many patients. Here are some of the most highly recommended changes:
Eat for Your Heart
Adopting the DASH (aka Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet can significantly help lower blood pressure. The DASH plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, and beans.
It also limits red meat, salt, added sugars, and unhealthy fats. Losing just 10 pounds if overweight and reducing sodium intake are also highly beneficial.
Get Active
Increasing physical activity not only helps manage weight but also beneficially impacts blood pressure. Try to get a minimum of half an hour of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, most days of the week.
But check with your doctor before vigorously working out, especially if you already suffer from high blood pressure or have other medical problems.
Limit Alcohol
Frequently consuming more than moderate amounts of alcohol can raise blood pressure. Healthy limits are one drink maximum per day for females and two maximum for males. One drink is considered to be 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz spirits.
Maintain Healthy Weight
Excess body weight strains the cardiovascular system, increasing blood pressure. Losing even a bit of weight can yield noticeable improvements in your high blood pressure.
So keep your BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 and your waist size below 35 inches for females and 40 inches for males.
Don’t Smoke
Smoking constricts blood vessels and strains the heart. Avoid tobacco use to eliminate this avoidable risk factor, benefitting blood pressure and overall health.
Prioritize Sleep
Not getting enough sleep on a regular basis adversely affects blood pressure. Shoot for at least 7-9 hours per night for optimal rest. Adding stress reduction techniques helps, too.
Medications to Lower High Blood Pressure
If lifestyle therapy alone doesn’t sufficiently reduce blood pressure within about six months, medication may be warranted. A combination of healthy habits and medicines often works best for blood pressure management. Diuretics tend to be the first oral medication doctors prescribe.
Common classes include:
- Diuretics — Also called “water pills,” these medications flush excess fluid and sodium from the body, relaxing blood vessels. They come as thiazides, loops, and potassium-sparing variants. Examples are chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide.
- ACE Inhibitors — These widen blood vessels by blocking the effects of angiotensin-converting enzymes. This prevents arteries from narrowing. Lisinopril, benazepril, and captopril fall into this category.
- ARBs — Angiotensin receptor blockers address high blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels. Unlike ACE inhibitors, which prevent formation, ARBs block receptors’ actions. Losartan and candesartan are two examples.
- Calcium Channel Blockers — Calcium channel blockers curb high blood pressure by relaxing blood vessel walls so they open up. These medications include amlodipine, diltiazem, and others.
- Beta-blockers — This class reduces blood pressure by slowing the heartbeat, helping blood flow more easily. They also moderately expand blood vessels. Examples include carvedilol and metoprolol.
Other medication options doctors might add for resistant high blood pressure are alpha-blockers, alpha-beta blockers, aldosterone antagonists, vasodilators, and additional drug classes.
Strategies for Resistant Hypertension
If you require three or more medications, including a diuretic, to control blood pressure and it remains at 140/90 mmHg or above, you have resistant hypertension. Before adding more meds, doctors exhaust other measures first, such as:
Trying different medication combinations and optimized dosages to determine if any work better.- Reviewing all current prescription and over-the-counter medicines for potential interference.
- Checking for temporary spikes from white coat syndrome anxiety.
- Sticking to dietary, exercise, sleep, and other therapeutic lifestyle changes.
Future treatments being studied for resistant hypertension include renal denervation therapy. This procedure uses heat delivered through a catheter to deactivate nerves around the arteries leading to/from the kidneys tied to elevated blood pressure. It remains under investigation yet shows some initial promise for difficult-to-control high blood pressure.
Work with Imperial Center Family Medicine for Blood Pressure Management
Because so many options exist, determining the best route for managing your high blood pressure may feel overwhelming. However, through a partnership with highly experienced physicians such as those at Imperial Center Family Medicine, you don’t have to go it alone.
Our blood pressure management expertise, earned over years of specialization, makes our team perfectly suited to guide you.
in Durham, NC today at 919-873-4437 or online to take advantage of our blood pressure management skills honed over years of family medicine specialization.
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