Hypertension is a common cardiovascular issue affecting both men and women. However, if left untreated, high blood pressure can be life-threatening. Therefore, keeping your blood pressure under control is vital because as you grow older, this condition becomes harder to manage. The results of a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and which included 2,000 seniors affected with hypertension confirmed this.
To begin with, hypertension negatively affects the function of your arteries, kidneys, and the entire body in general. When not treated timely and adequately, it can result in heart or kidney failure, stroke, and other fatal conditions. Hypertension is generally treated with aggressive therapies.
However, the same treatment method cannot be applied to everyone, as hypertension medicines for fifty-year-olds and eighty-year-olds is a different thing due to the fact that different age groups respond differently to treatment.
How is hypertension diagnosed?
When diagnosing a patient with hypertension, doctors take all aspects into consideration. These include age, lifestyle, diet, genetics as well as full history of the condition. It’s important that the age of twenty is the starting point for the entire process. The American Heart Association advises that even young people should get tested for hypertension at their regular medical checks, at least once in every two years. This particularly applies to young people whose blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg.
The blood pressure varies every minute, depending on the posture, the stress level, sleep, and physical activity. To be more specific, in the interval between the beats, the heart rests and the blood pressure drops. On the other hand, when your heart beats, the blood pressure rises. For adults at the age of 20 or up, the normal blood pressure is lower than 120/80 mm Hg, i.e. lower than 120 systolic and lower than 80 diastolic. Unfortunately, 1/3 of American adults suffer from hypertension.
When the patient’s blood pressure increases in comparison to referential values, a doctor takes more readings over time. It’s also recommended that the patients monitor their blood pressure at home, before a hypertension diagnose is given.
Having high blood pressure once doesn’t necessarily apply that a person is suffering from hypertension. But, if it remains higher than 140/90 mm Hg, which is systolic 140 or more and diastolic 90 or more, starting treatment is vital.
The treatment program generally includes dietary and lifestyle changes, even prescription drugs for patients with blood pressure higher than 140/90.
If a patient’s systolic pressure is 180mm Hg or higher and their diastolic pressure is 110mm Hg or higher, they should rest for a few minutes before taking their blood pressure again. If nothing has changed, they should visit a doctor immediately.
Having normal blood pressure, i.e. within normal values, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look after your health because an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity can easily trigger this dangerous condition.
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