A Guide to Managing Hypertension
Hypertension is one of the most commonly diagnosed and potentially serious health conditions in the world. Also known as high blood pressure, hypertension develops in both men and women of all ages, and although there are many possible causes, genetics is one of the major contributing factors to this condition.
Although each case of hypertension is different, the vast majority of patients with this condition have in common a particular abnormality of the arteries, which is an increased resistance in the tiny arteries in the body that are most distant from the heart.
Managing Hypertension
Once you have been professionally diagnosed as having hypertension you will have to take the appropriate steps to finding ways to managing hypertension. Properly managing hypertension means not only dealing with the condition you are presently suffering from but also preventing your blood pressure from elevating in the future.
One of the first and most important steps in managing hypertension is to make a change in your lifestyle. You need to watch what you eat, avoiding fatty and sugary foods and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water, at least six to eight glasses a day. Exercise is also important to include in your new modified lifestyle and will be significantly helpful for managing hypertension.
One of the first suggestions that most doctors recommend for managing hypertension is high blood pressure medication. Diuretics, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers are the most commonly used drugs for high blood pressure and although in most cases these dugs bring success, if they fail to bring a person's blood pressure under control then other classes of drugs may be introduced.
The most important thing is that you work closely together with your doctor, so they can keep an eye on your condition and ensure that you are making the proper improvement. If your condition continues to worsen more serious measures may be taken to get your blood pressure under control.
If left untreated hypertension can result in being potentially dangerous even life threatening. It is known as the silent killer because its symptoms, when noticed at all, are often so subtle and general that they are often mistaken for being associated with other conditions. This is why you need to monitor your own health, especially as you grow older, and if you ever notice any strange symptoms you should speak to your doctor and have a proper assessment made rather than assuming you know what the problem is.
