It's important to remember that high blood pressure is not usually a death sentence. As long as you're regularly working with your doctor on treatment and managing your blood pressure levels, you will likely live a long life. This includes making significant changes to your health and lifestyle for the better.
Now, however, a study that researchers at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany carried out suggests that some older people may not face other health problems if they have high blood pressure. In fact, the researchers note, some people in their 80s may even see some benefits.
While there is no cure for high blood pressure, it is important for patients to take steps that matter, such as making effective lifestyle changes and taking BP-lowering medications as prescribed by their physicians.
High blood pressure can cause many complications. High blood pressure (hypertension) can quietly damage the body for years before symptoms develop. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to disability, a poor quality of life, or even a deadly heart attack or stroke.
Treating out-of-control blood pressure with antihypertensive medication can greatly reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure, but the current approach to treatment can't undo all of the previous damage or restore cardiovascular disease risk to ideal levels, a new Northwestern Medicine study suggests.
What causes high blood pressure? High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure.
Get more exercise.
Regular exercise keeps the body healthy. It can lower blood pressure, ease stress, manage weight and reduce the risk of chronic health conditions. Aim to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of the two.
While only 25% of men ages 35 to 44 have high blood pressure, 64% of men from age 65 to 74, do. Women suffer from the condition at similar rates, but surpass men after age 75.
It's All About Lifestyle Change
It probably just means its working! W – Manage a healthy weight: Make changes to your diet and activity level – even a small amount will help! D – Eat a healthy diet: Start by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. S – Stop smoking and manage stress.
Unfortunately there is no cure for high blood pressure currently, but you can take steps to manage it even without medication. Here are 7 ways to lower your blood pressure naturally: Exercise! Regular exercise is great for your overall well-being, and it can also help with lowering your BP.
Causes and Risk Factors
Aging also plays a role. Even if you do not have hypertension by age 55 to 65, your lifetime risk for developing it is a whopping 90 percent.
Over time, however, they can cause insomnia and sleep disorders, depression, poor circulation (in the form of cold hands and feet), and erectile dysfunction.
Anxiety doesn't cause long-term high blood pressure (hypertension). But episodes of anxiety can cause dramatic, temporary spikes in blood pressure.
Blood pressure is mostly a silent disease
Unfortunately, high blood pressure can happen without feeling any abnormal symptoms. Moderate or severe headaches, anxiety, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, palpitations, or feeling of pulsations in the neck are some signs of high blood pressure.
Magnesium intake of 500 mg/d to 1000 mg/d may reduce blood pressure (BP) as much as 5.6/2.8 mm Hg. However, clinical studies have a wide range of BP reduction, with some showing no change in BP.
Normal blood pressure for most adults is defined as a systolic pressure of less than 120 and a diastolic pressure of less than 80. Elevated blood pressure is defined as a systolic pressure between 120 and 129 with a diastolic pressure of less than 80.
Call 911 or emergency medical services if your blood pressure is 180/120 mm Hg or greater and you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or symptoms of stroke. Stroke symptoms include numbness or tingling, trouble speaking, or changes in vision.
Most of the time, blood pressure medicines do not cause side effects. Some people have mild side effects, including dizziness, headaches, swelling in the legs or feet, or stomach problems.
In general, you shouldn't stop taking blood pressure medications suddenly. If you do, they can cause potentially dangerous side effects that can lead to withdrawal symptoms. Blood pressure medications are often stopped more gradually, utilizing a strategy such as tapering.
There is a long list of medications for high blood pressure, and guidelines recommend both ACE inhibitors and ARBs as first-line options. Both classes have been proven effective in lowering blood pressure and curbing the risks of heart disease and stroke.
Men with normal pressure could expect to live 5.1 years longer than those with hypertension, the study found; women could plan on another 4.9 years of life. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world and high blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for this disease.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke. HBP adds to your heart's workload and damages your arteries and organs over time. Compared to people whose blood pressure is normal, people with HBP are more likely to have a stroke.
In some individuals BP decreases with ageing. This is mostly as a consequence of illness such as Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, cancer or impaired ventricular function which may occur after myocardial infarction.