Dangerous Blood Pressure

You’ve heard that high blood pressure is unhealthy, but when does it become dangerous blood pressure?  High blood pressure is usually symptom free, so if you don’t get it tested you may never even know you have it.

High blood pressure over time can be dangerous because it causes your arteries to get harder and can lead to blockages in your blood vessels.  This can lead to risk of heart attack and stroke.  This is in and of itself dangerous. 

However, there are situations when blood pressure can become so high that you have an emergency situation on your hands.  If your blood pressure goes up to 220/140 mmHg, you can have deadly problems.

Usually blood pressure this high will be accompanied by serious symptoms and is caused by problems such as a stroke or heart attack.  You might experience a terrible headache or chest pain.  This situation can also be caused by a head injury or preeclampsia in women who are pregnant.

If you abuse drugs such as cocaine you can also be put at risk of a dangerous blood pressure emergency.  This high level of blood pressure is so serious that it can end your life if you don’t get medical treatment right away.

In addition to a headache or chest pain, you may also feel shortness of breath.  Blood pressure this high for very long can cause you to be incapacitated.  You can even experience brain damage from this blood pressure.

While there are some situations that come up suddenly due to pregnancy or surgery complications, most people can prevent having high blood pressure that becomes debilitating.  It’s important to monitor your blood pressure regularly and to make healthy choices.

If you have high blood pressure, don’t let it go untreated.  Some people don’t want to face the fact that they have a serious medical problem and try to ignore it.  But by ignoring high blood pressure you increase your risk of having a serious health problem.

 Very high blood pressure can be treated with medication before it becomes acutely dangerous.  Mildly high blood pressure and even some moderate blood pressure can be lowered by making changes to your diet, exercise program, and stress levels.

If you don’t know what your blood pressure level is, it’s time to start checking it.  Your doctor will check it in his or her office but you should also check it regularly on your own.  If it seems high, always talk with your doctor about which steps to take.

By keeping tabs on your blood pressure and making healthy lifestyle choices combined with medication, you can avoid having dangerous blood pressure and its deadly consequences.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you’re probably asking, “What is high blood pressure?”  This can be a confusing time and you may feel very worried about your diagnosis.  After all, high blood pressure is one of the greatest risk factors for heart attacks and stroke.

If you have high blood pressure, it means that the blood in your blood vessels is pushing too hard on the walls of the blood vessels.  Eventually this can lead to hardened arteries and even a heart attack or stroke.

It’s important not to ignore this symptom.  Your body is telling you that something is wrong.  For most people high blood pressure means it’s time to make some lifestyle changes.  For example, you’ll need to watch your intake of sodium.

You may also need to lose weight to take some pressure off of your heart.  In addition, exercise can help you to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, which will improve your heart health immensely.

How do you know if your blood pressure is high?  Normal, healthy blood pressure is 120/80 or lower.  Sometimes your blood pressure might be higher if you’ve been exerting yourself physically or if you’re in a stressful situation.

Getting one high measurement of blood pressure doesn’t mean you have high blood pressure.  But if you take repeated readings when you’re at rest that are higher than 120/80, you may have a problem.

It’s always best to talk to your doctor about the options of you’re concerned that your blood pressure is too high.  If your blood pressure is only slightly high, your doctor may want to work with you on lifestyle changes that can help you lower it.

If it’s very high, you may need to take medications to lower your blood pressure so that you can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.  That doesn’t give you a free pass when it comes to lifestyle – but it does give you some relief while you work on making those changes.

Some people have high blood pressure that’s high due to genetics and there isn’t much you can do about it.  But for most people changing some lifestyle factors will help – at least it will help to a degree.

If you’ve taken your own blood pressure and noticed that it seems on the high side, it’s a good idea to make an appointment to talk with your doctor about what your blood pressure means for you.  Understanding what is high blood pressure can help you to take control of your health.