happen to anyone. There are certain reasons behind getting high Blood Pressure. But if you don’t control it on time this can lead to numerous other complications such as risk for stroke and heart attack.

Read this blog to know possible diagnosis and treatment options for hypertension.

Diagnosis

On asking you about your symptoms and medical history, the doctor will diagnose high Blood pressure. They will use stethoscope for checking the heart condition and beat. Measurement of blood pressure takes place in mm Hg (millimetres of mercury). It has 2 numbers- systolic and diastolic pressure.

Systolic refers to pressure in arteries during beating of heart and diastolic will refer to pressure in arteries within heartbeats. Usually, the range is 120/80. But depending on how high it is the doctor stages the level as Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Stage 1 hypertension ranges within 130-139 and 80-89 and Stage 2 hypertension refers to above 140 and 90 respectively. Many times blood pressure is normal with lower than average bottom number and higher in upper number, this condition refers to as systolic hypertension and it is common in people with above 65.

Tests

In case you have high blood pressure then the doctor will suggest the following tests:

Ambulatory monitoring

Long blood pressure measurement can check for blood pressure at an interval of 24 hours. It refers to as ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. But you cannot find the device at any medical centres. Google with ‘private doctors near me’ to fix an appointment and consult if they use this device for checking high blood pressure or not!

So, consult with the doctor to know if they use this device.

Lab tests

Urine and blood tests in London are necessary for detecting the conditions which will worse down high blood pressure for sure. Lab tests check for thyroid, liver and kidney function by checking the blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)

This painless and fast test checks the electrical activity of heart and can detect the rate of beating. During the test, sensors will attach to chest, legs and arms and these are connected to the machine for displaying and printing the results out.

Echocardiogram

Being a non-invasive exam it makes use of sound waves for obtaining clear images of heart beat. Even it shows the movement of blood through heart valves and heart.

Checking blood pressure at home

Most probably after COVID-19 breakout, people start to stay a bit careful with their health. Home monitoring has become the trend afterwards. Moreover, it is really good to keep the track of your health at home. By this way, you can contact the doctor if your condition becomes worse.

You can get home blood pressure monitors at any pharmacies and local stores. But get the one with a cuff to put on upper arm for accurate measurement of blood pressure. Other devices can interfere with the results providing inaccurate results.

Treatment

You have to change the lifestyle in order to keep blood pressure under control. Some recommended lifestyle changes are:

• Having heart-healthy diet low in sodium
• Exercise regularly
• Maintain a good weight or loss some extra pounds
• Limit the consumption of alcohol
• Quit smoking and using tobacco products
• Sleep for 7-9 hours daily

Certain lifestyle changes are not sufficient for controlling high blood pressure. In such instances, the provider will prescribe specific medicine for lowering down the blood pressure.

Medications

The medicines which will doctor suggest depend on the degree of high blood pressure and overall health condition of the patients. However a combination of 2 or more drugs is really effective. Doctor consultation is helpful to know your accurate goal of your blood pressure.

Medicines for treating hypertension are:

Water pills (diuretics)

It removes water and sodium from body. This refers to as initial phase of treating high blood pressure. Various classes of diuretics are available there. Therefore, consult with the doctor to know the right one for you. They will consider a number of health factors to give you the diuretics.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

This relaxes down the blood vessels by blocking the natural chemical formation to narrow down blood vessels. It includes captopril, benazepril (Lotensin), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) and others.

Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)

It relaxes the blood vessels. It resists the action of natural chemical which narrows down the blood vessels. ARBs are losartan (Cozaar) and candesartan (Atacand) and others.

Calcium channel blockers

The key function of this blocker is to slow down the heart rate and relax the muscles in blood vessels. diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac, others), amlodipine (Norvasc) and others are highly effective in Black and aged persons that ACE inhibitors.

However, one should not drink grapefruit and related items as it heightens the level of blood in certain calcium channel blockers. Consult with the doctor for better understanding.

Other medications for treating high blood pressure

In case you have any problem with the goal of blood pressure with above medicine combination then the provider will prescribe:

Alpha blockers

It lessens the nerve signals to blood vessels. As a result, the impact of natural chemicals will lower down. It comprises of prazosin (Minipress), doxazosin (Cardura) and others.

Alpha-beta blockers

It blocks the nerve signal to blood vessels and reduces the heartbeat. Even it lowers down blood amount to pump out through vessels and you can take labetalol (Trandate) and carvedilol (Coreg).

Beta blockers

It lessens the workload on heart by widening blood vessels. It assists in slow beating of heart with minimum force. This medicine is not effective if given as mono and works highly effective on combining with blood pressure drugs. You can take metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL, Kapspargo sprinkle), atenolol (Tenormin) and others.

Aldosterone antagonists

It helps in treating resistant hypertension. It blocks the impact of natural chemical which results in build up of fluid and salt in body. Eplerenone (Inspra) and spironolactone (Aldactone) some examples of it!

Renin inhibitors

Aliskiren (Tekturna) reduces the rennin production the enzyme released by kidneys to begin the chemical chain reaction resulting in high blood pressure. As it possesses certain risks like stroke one must not take aliskiren with ARBs or ACE inhibitors.

Vasodilators

It stops the muscles in artery from tightening down. As a result, the arteries won’t narrow down. Minoxidil and hydralazine are some examples of it.

Central-acting agents

The medications resist the brain to response to nervous system for increasing the heart rate and narrowing down blood vessels. Some of the examples are methyldopa, guanfacine (Intuniv) and clonidine (Catapres, Kapvay).

Resistant hypertension treatment

You are suffering from resistant hypertension in case:

• Right now you are in medication for 3 varied drugs for blood pressure along with diuretic. However, still the level of blood pressure is quite high.
• You take 4 variety of medication for keeping blood pressure under control. The provider must look for the reason of high blood pressure.
• Getting resistant hypertension never means that blood pressure will not low down. On detecting the exact cause the treatment plan will be more effective.

Resistant hypertension treatment consists of numerous steps like:

• Weight management, healthy eating and other lifestyle changes
• Blood pressure measurement at home to verify if appointments lead to high blood pressure. It is also called white coat hypertension
• Medicines reviewing which you buy even without any prescription
• Change in medicines of blood pressure to make the best dosage and combination

High blood pressure at the time of pregnancy

The pregnant women with high blood pressure must contact the doctor to monitor the level of high blood pressure throughout the period.

Possible future treatments

A study has found that heat usage can destroy certain nerves in kidney for controlling hypertension. Medically, it is termed as denervation. Previous studies reflected some results. But robust studies are essential to prove the context. With ongoing research, we can expect this therapy for treating hypertension in near future.

Find a private doctor in London today to make an appointment and seek treatment for your hypertension. They will perform necessary tests to diagnose hypertension and find out its exact cause so that you can control it.

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