For a lot of people, hypertension (also known as high blood pressure) is something they don't know they have until they go into the doctor for some other ailment. The reason? Hypertension tends not to change anything in one's overall health or feeling of health until it has existed for some time. A very, very small group of people will experience symptoms with hypertension such as headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness or anxiety, but for most people, this isn't the case. That's why hypertension is known as a Silent Killer. In usual cases of hypertension, a person with high blood pressure is completely asymptomatic (having no symptoms) until there has been significant target organ damage. Once the organ damage has begun the condition is pretty serious. But it takes years of high blood pressure to get here. The problem is that since people don't feel any worse for having high blood pressure they usually don't feel motivated to fix the problems in their lifestyle, which are the cause. It's hard to remember that their body is hurting when their isn't the pain or bruise or bleeding to remind them like with a cut or headache or burn.
It's really important to know that high blood pressure causes serious, lasting and sometimes irreversible consequences within your body. Though you may not feel any different, your body is worse off. You have to make it a priority to take care of what is ailing as you would put antibiotics and a band-aid on a cut. Here are some things you can do:
- Limit/Reduce your salt intake (don't forget to check for hidden sodium such as in frozen foods, restaurants, soda pop, etc.)
- Eat healthily
- Drink plenty of water
- Get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily
- Reduce stress
- Maintain a healthy body weight (or lose weight to get there)
- Quit smoking
- Limit/Reduce alcohol intake
With small changes to lifestyle you can prevent hypertension from developing any symptoms by stopping it's ability to damage your organs.
Love,
Nurse Nina
*Hypertension photo credit: Beth Israel Medical Center*
