Management of High Blood Pressure

For millions, hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the most significant risk factor for heart disease. Because there are often no symptoms of high blood pressure, it is called the Silent Killer. So, those who may not even know they have it are at special risk. As are those who have it, but don’t take it seriously enough.

It’s a disease we see all the time in our practice. Uncontrolled, it can have serious, even deadly, consequences, especially for middle-aged and older women. Just a 12% increase in your systolic blood pressure (adding 15 to the first number in your reading) results in a 56% increased risk for heart disease according to a recent study in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Some people tell us it is only high at the doctor’s office. The reality is that everyone’s blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day.

If you have a reading above 120/80 at your next check-up, even if your reading is between 120/79 and 129/79 start monitoring your own pressure routinely.

Why? Because blood pressure above 130 or 80 is now considered hypertension according to new guidelines released in November 2017. Home cuffs are easy to find and easy to use, and your local drugstore or big-box store may also provide readings for free.