Dangerous Blood Pressure Level Can Result In Significant Medical Problems

Medical providers determine your blood pressure in millimeters of mercury. A high systolic blood pressure level is any number higher than 140. A high diastolic blood pressure level is any measurement more than 90. Those of us who test higher than these numbers over two or more successive medical screenings are considered to have stage one hypertension. Stage 2 hypertension is a diastolic measure above 100 and a systolic blood pressure level of more than 160. People who have stage 2 hypertension require immediate medical attention.

What Causes This And What Can We Do?

Dangerously high blood pressure level do not always have a known cause. Nor will an individual with high blood pressure levels necessarily notice any symptoms. Consequently, high blood pressure is often described as the "silent killer." In fact a person can have high blood pressure level for several years without even recognizing it. The only way to establish whether or not you have high blood pressure is with regular medical screenings. It is not until a person develops stage 2 hypertension that they begin to notice that anything is a problem.

A person with highly elevated blood pressure level may notice a strong headache, queasiness, weakness, and blurred vision. If you notice any of these problems and you know, or suspect that you might have hypertension, go to the local medical clinic immediately.

The Possibilities

If high blood pressure is left untreated it can do significant damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and kidneys. People with dangerously high blood pressure levels, who do not receive the needed treatment are at very high risk of eye damage, stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, and even death. Therefore regular blood pressure screenings from a health care practitioner are critical.

Treatment Options

If two or more successive tests demonstrate that you have high blood pressure, then there is a great deal that you can do to improve your situation. A healthy low-fat diet and regular exercise can help to decrease your blood pressure. Even a moderate healthy weight loss can help reduce the concern of your high blood pressure.

You should also eat less salt, reduce your consumption of alcohol, and stop your smoking if you partake in any of these habits. Many medications are also available to treat high blood pressure levels. Diuretics are helpful for people with stage one hypertension because they reduce the amount of sodium in the bloodstream and decrease blood volume.

Your health care practitioner may also prescribe calcium channel blockers, which lower high blood pressure levels by reducing the tension of the the muscles of the artery walls. Beta blockers are another option since they lower the heart rate and decrease the strength of heart contractions to lower some of the pressure. Then there are ACE inhibitors which inhibit a hormone called angiotensin, which is a chemical that makes the blood vessels tighten and can therefore exacerbate hypertension.

To learn about the full range of medicines available to treat dangerously high levels of blood pressure, talk to your health care practitioner.

Alternative programs are available for natural control of blood pressure levels.

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