Screening Tests For Hypertension Need To Be Conducted Correctly
The most alarming thing about hypertension is that it is not something that affects only a few people because, according to figures recently released, it was revealed that, as many as, it is believed, fifty-eight million Americans are sufferers of hypertension and that hypertension is also the leading cause behind suffering from congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and strokes as well as renal diseases. And, these are just the more common hypertension complications that cause serious diseases amongst Americans, and there are other risks as well to contend with.
Are The Tests Effective?
Furthermore, it is always necessary to have screening tests for hypertension done though before getting one done you also need to learn about the efficacy of conducting such tests. The reason why you need to be sure that you are using the proper devices with which to conduct screening tests for hypertension is because even the most accurate of devices used to measure blood pressure may not be appropriate to conducting routine screening tests for hypertension and this is due to the fact that such devices are invasive and also because of certain technical limitations to their use, and finally, because of the cost involved.
Still, the most common device that is used when conducting screening tests for hypertension is the office sphygomanometry - at least, in the asymptomatic population. This is in fact, a very accurate means of testing blood pressure though it must be performed very correctly because sometimes the results may show a blood pressure that is not representative of the mean blood pressure of the patient.
The reason why screening tests for hypertension need to be done is that normally it is very difficult to diagnose hypertension during normal, routine physical examinations, even when the disease is in an advanced stage. That is why doctors need to do screening tests for hypertension because the results obtained will help rule out the possibility of other possible causes for hypertension in the person being tested.
Screening tests for hypertension include tests such as Echocardiogram, Transesophageal echocardiogram, Pulmonary function test, Perfusion lung scan, right heart catheterization, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, genetic tests as well as open-lung biopsy.
After the results of your screening tests for hypertension have become available, doctors can then classify your condition as being Class I, Class II, Class III or even Class IV. Thus, a Class I condition will mean that you are suffering from pulmonary hypertension though there are no symptoms discovered. In the case of Class II condition, you are not showing symptoms while at rest though you may feel fatigued, as well as breathless and even chest pain. In the case of Class III condition, you are comfortable while at rest though you will notice a few symptoms whenever you exert yourself. Finally, in Class IV condition, you will show symptoms even while resting.
