Blood Pressure
What Is High Blood Pressure?
When your heart beats, it pushes blood out into your blood vessels. Your blood pressure is the amount of force that your blood exerts on your blood vessels.
If you have high blood pressure, your blood pushes against your blood vessels with too much force. Over time, this can lead to serious health problems like heart disease and stroke.
CAUSE
This form of high blood pressure is often due to obesity, family history and an unhealthy diet.
SYMPTOMS
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
With or without chest discomfort.
May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
CARDIAC ARREST SYMPTOMS
No response to tapping on shoulders.
The victim does not take a normal breath when you tilt the head up and check for at least five seconds.
The following can be symptoms of high blood pressure:
What Medicines Treat High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure medication offers several significant benefits, particularly for individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure). Here are some of the primary advantages:
Reduced Risk of Heart Disease: Controlling blood pressure helps prevent heart attacks, heart failure, and other cardiovascular diseases.
Lowered Stroke Risk: Hypertension is a leading cause of stroke, so managing blood pressure can significantly reduce this risk.
Kidney Protection: High blood pressure can damage the kidneys over time, leading to chronic kidney disease. Proper medication can help protect kidney function.
Prevention of Aneurysms: Hypertension can cause blood vessels to weaken and bulge, leading to aneurysms. Controlling blood pressure reduces this risk.
Improved Quality of Life: Effective management of blood pressure can reduce symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath, enhancing overall well-being.
Longer Lifespan: By reducing the risk of serious health complications, blood pressure medications can contribute to a longer, healthier life.
Common types of blood pressure medications include diuretics, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), calcium channel blockers, and beta-blockers. Each type works differently, and doctors often tailor treatments to the individual needs of their patients.
Blood Pressure Medicine Side Effects
Many medicines have side effects, and most will go away over time. Some of the most common side effects of high blood pressure medications include:
Normal vs. High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is shown in two numbers: systolic and diastolic.
The systolic number measures the pressure of your blood in your blood vessels when the heart beats. The diastolic number measures the pressure of your blood in your blood vessels when the heart rests between beats. For example, a blood pressure reading would be 120/80.
If your blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg most of the time, it is considered normal.
If your blood pressure is above 120/80 but below 140/90 most of the time, it is considered pre-hypertension
If your blood pressure is 140/90 or higher most of the time, it is considered high blood pressure, also known as hypertension
Key Considerations for Seniors
Starting Low and Going Slow: Seniors may be more sensitive to medications, so starting with lower doses and gradually increasing them helps minimize side effects.
Monitoring for Side Effects: Older adults are more likely to experience side effects, such as dizziness or kidney function changes, which need to be monitored closely.
Managing Multiple Medications: Many seniors take multiple medications, so it's important to consider potential drug interactions.