Blood Pressure Specialist

What is hypertension?

Hypertension refers to when blood circulates too fast through your body. Otherwise called high blood pressure, hypertension can cause serious damage to your artery walls and lead to severe health complications if left unaddressed.

Your blood pressure fluctuates every day, but it’s important to keep a healthy base level and not exceed it. Your doctor can help you find ways to do so.

What causes hypertension?

The exact cause of hypertension has yet to be determined, though many factors can contribute to its development.

A combination of genetics and age can lead to high blood pressure, as age causes your arteries to stiffen and narrow. As a result, your blood moves faster throughout your body and puts a significant amount of pressure on your artery walls.

If you’ve never been health-minded with regards to your diet, now is the time to start thinking about food consumption differently. Hypertension can come about as a result of an unhealthy diet, which can also include excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption.

You might also have high blood pressure if you have diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, or have high cholesterol.

What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?

Hypertension has been nicknamed the silent killer because it doesn’t often show symptoms. In most cases, you’ll start showing signs of high blood pressure when it’s too late, and even then.

Nonetheless, there are some things to keep an eye out for, including:

• Chronic chest pain and headaches
• Excessive fatigue
• Vision changes
• Blood in your urine
• Sweating and anxiety
• Shortness of breath

While these symptoms might be signs of a different condition, you should get in touch with Arlington Family Practice if any of them feel familiar.

How do you treat high blood pressure?

Treating high blood pressure involves a series of lifestyle changes and medications. This is crucial to avoid the dangerous risks of the condition, including heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.

In most cases, taking steps to stay healthy will significantly reduce your chances of having hypertension.

The Arlington Family Practice team works with you to understand how you lead your life, the food that fills up your fridge, your family history, and your exercise regimen. It’s important you keep a good balance of diet and exercise, and that you consume as little salt and alcohol as possible.

Get in touch with Arlington Family Practice today by phone or online to identify ways in which you can both manage and prevent hypertension.