Treatments Available for High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a very dangerous medical condition which can cause heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and even kidney disease. The primary goal of hypertension treatment is to bring a patient’s blood pressure back into the healthy range in order to protect the vital organs of the body (including the heart, brain, and kidneys) from damage.
This is a breakdown of the different ranges of blood pressure:
- Normal/Healthy Blood Pressure: lower than 120/80
- Prehypertension: 120-139/80-89
- Hypertension: Higher than 140/90
- Stage 1 Hypertension: 140-159/90-99
- Stage 2 Hypertension: 160 or higher/100 or higher
With a lack of noticeable symptoms, you’ll need to have your blood pressure measured at your doctor’s office. They may recommend some adjustments to your lifestyle, such as eating better, getting regular exercise, and quitting if you are a smoker. Your doctor may recommend that you use medications in order to lower blood pressure if you’re above 140/90. If you also have diabetes or CKD, then your blood pressure should be less than 130/80.
Common Methods Used to Treat Hypertension
One of the most important ways to prevent or treat high blood pressure is by maintaining a healthier lifestyle. There are a number of methods through which you can ensure healthier blood pressure levels, including:
- Maintaining a healthy weight, which could mean shedding a few of those extra pounds
- If you are a smoker, then you should consider quitting
- Adopting a healthier all around diet like the DASH diet, which calls for more fruits, vegetables. less fat consumption, and low fat dairy products
- Exercise on a regular basis, especially aerobic exercise (you can try going on a brisk 30 minute walk several days a week)
- Limit your level of alcohol consumption (one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men)
- Regulate your level of sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams per day if you have hypertension. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, you should not be consuming more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day (about a single teaspoon of salt)
(Making these lifestyle adjustments should also improve the effectiveness of medications used to lower high blood pressure.)
After starting a drug therapy for hypertension, you should be visiting your primary health care provider at least once a month until your blood pressure has fallen back into the healthy range. Also, your doctor should measure the level of potassium, BUN/creatinine (for your kidney health), and other electrolytes in your blood at least once a year.
Depending on the presence of other diseases or medical conditions, you will still need to visit your doctor once every three to six months after you have reached your blood pressure goals