High blood pressure or hypertension is a dangerous disease because it can put you at risk for heart failure, kidney failure, stroke or other serious medical conditions. But the good thing is that the risks associated with high blood pressure can be greatly reduced by making certain modifications in your lifestyle as well as taking your medicines. Possibility of High Blood Pressure Treatment is something no one should ignore. 

What is High Blood Pressure?

It is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries. When the pressure is consistently higher than the normal, then you are diagnosed with the condition called “Hypertension”

To make it simpler, let’s understand how it works:

The heart is an organ whose primary responsibility is to pump blood. The deoxygenated blood reaches the heart which is then oxygenated and delivered through the blood vessels to other organs of the body. Each heartbeat is the manifestation of this blood pumping process. When the heart beats, it creates pressure which pushes the blood throughout the vessels. 

Blood Pressure is Created by Two Types of Forces: 

Systolic pressure: It is the top number of the blood pressure reading which measures the pressure on the blood vessel walls when the heart contracts or as the blood pumps out of the body.

Diastolic Pressure: It is the bottom number of the blood pressure reading which measures the blood pressure when the heart rests between the beats.

Know your numbers!

If your blood pressure reading is 130/80 mm Hg, the systolic pressure is 130 mm Hg and diastolic pressure is 80 mm Hg. 

Keeping this in mind, let’s understand the stages of hypertension:

Elevated: When the systolic level is between 120- 129 mm Hg and diastolic level is between 80- 89 mm Hg.

Hypertension stage 1: When the systolic level is between 130- 129 mm Hg and diastolic level is between 80- 89 mm Hg.

Hypertension stage 2: When the systolic level is between 140- 180 mm Hg and diastolic level is between 90- 120 mm Hg.

Hypertensive Crisis: When the systolic level  is above 180 mm Hg and diastolic level is above 120 mm Hg.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

Most people with hypertension do not experience any symptoms which is why it is also called the “Silent Killer”. But a few people may have:

• Headache
• Nose bleeding
• Dizziness
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Vomiting
• Blurred vision

Treatment

Medications: The medications will depend upon how severe the hypertension is or whether there is risk of cardiovascular or other diseases. Your doctor may recommend one or combination of several different medicines which may change over time depending upon your condition. Therefore, you should work with a health care provider and only take prescribed medicines in the right dosages. 

The hospitals that you can visit for the treatment of high bp :

1. Ginihealth: Ginihealth is a new-age healthcare provider offering preventive and personalized healthcare services for various lifestyle disorders. They have a specialized “Blood Pressure Management” programme which is designed to bring the blood pressure to optimal levels with the help of medications, nutrition and exercise plans. Along with optimizing the blood pressure levels, the programme also aims at reducing other health complications and improving the overall health of patients.
   

2. Fortis Heart & Vascular Institute: Fortis hospital has a highly specialized and co-ordinated team for the treatment and management of high blood pressure. They use a holistic approach towards hypertensive management which includes medications as well as lifestyle changes. They also provide 24- hour care for patients with critical conditions and heart problems.
   

3. Paras Hospital, Gurgaon:  Paras hospitals provide high-quality and compassionate care to their patients at affordable prices. They help patients control hypertension with medical treatment as well as guiding them about healthy eating and weight reduction, providing them remarkable possible outcomes.
   

Follow the Dash Diet

DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, emphasizes on adding fruits, vegetables, whole grains, high-potassium foods, and low fat dairy products in your diet while reducing sodium intake. Patients are advised to cut back on salt, sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed food such as soda, juice, chips, canned soup etc and increase the intake of healthier foods like avocados, oranges, sweet potatoes, bananas etc. The idea of DAS diet is basically to replace a low carb, low fat diet with a high protein, high fiber diet.

Move Your Body

If you’ve been inactive for a long time it can increase your blood pressure. Therefore you should get regular exercise. For that, you don’t necessarily need to hit the gym but any activity that gets your heart pounding like cycling, swimming, playing a sport or even walking briskly can help you reduce your blood pressure. You can start out slowly and then pick up the pace as you get stronger. The most important thing is to “move your body”.

Maintain a Healthy Weight 

If you are overweight or obese, shedding even a few kilograms can have a significant impact on your blood pressure levels. The extra fat around your waist which is also known as visceral fat can lead to serious health problems including high blood pressure and heart diseases. Therefore, you should try losing a few inches around your waist. 

Reduce Stress

Emotional stress can temporarily increase your blood pressure but if you have chronic stress it can make things even worse and you may experience a high blood pressure for an extended period of time. You should try to find out what triggers your stress and solutions to fix it. You can also try deep breathing, meditation and yoga for relieving stress. Find some time to unwind and relax as it can also help you manage your stress levels.

By making some positive lifestyle changes and consulting a healthcare provider, you can lower your blood pressure, prevent yourself from serious heart diseases and eventually increase your life expectancy.