High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) means that blood is pumping through your arteries with such force that it’s causing a significant threat to your health. High blood pressure can lead to severe health issues, especially in older people. It can damage the arteries and cause life-changing and life-threatening problems like:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Kidney failure
• Sight loss
• Vascular dementia
• Impaired memory
• Metabolic syndrome

The challenge with high blood pressure is that it doesn’t cause any symptoms, even when it reaches an advanced stage. Therefore it’s vital to have regular blood pressure screenings at Integrative Family Medicine and Urgent Care.

Having a blood pressure check is quick and easy. Your provider wraps an inflatable blood pressure cuff around your arm and fills it with air. They measure the pressure when your heart beats (systolic pressure) and between beats (diastolic pressure).

Combining these two readings gives you your blood pressure rating, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg):

Normal blood pressure

Normal blood pressure is below 120 systolic and 80 diastolic.

Elevated blood pressure

Elevated blood pressure is a systolic range of 120 to 129 and a diastolic pressure below 80. Elevated blood pressure requires treatment to stop your condition from worsening to stage 1 hypertension.

Stage 1 hypertension

You have stage 1 hypertension if your systolic pressure is 130 to 139, with a diastolic pressure between 80 and 89.

Stage 2 hypertension

Stage 2 hypertension means your systolic pressure is above 140, or your diastolic pressure is 90 or higher.

A blood pressure measurement over 180/120 is an emergency called a hypertensive crisis that requires urgent medical care.

Some people develop secondary high blood pressure because of an underlying condition. But most have primary hypertension, where the cause is unclear. Risk factors for developing high blood pressure include:

• Increasing age
• Family history
• Being overweight or obese
• Not enough physical activity
• Smoking
• Too much salt in your diet
• Not enough potassium in your diet
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Stress
• African ethnicity
• Kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Sleep apnea

Properly managing underlying conditions like diabetes reduces your risk of high blood pressure. Your Integrative Family Medicine and Urgent Care provider can also advise you on making changes to your life, like losing weight, eating a healthier diet, and quitting smoking.

If you make these changes, you can reduce your blood pressure to healthier levels. If your blood pressure is particularly high, your provider might prescribe statins — medication that lowers blood pressure.