Monthly Archives: November 2009
The Silent Killer: Signs Of High Blood Pressure
By the time you experience its deadly effects, it may be too late. Many people never realize they have hypertension until that first stroke or heart attack. For this reason, hypertension is called ‘the silent killer’ because there may be no sign of high blood pressure (sometimes referred to as BP or HBP in this article) until it reaches a life-threatening stage. Every time you visit your doctor, a nurse checks your blood pressure. There are even machines in many pharmacies that will carry out this check. African Americans of both genders suffer from hypertension more than any other ethnic group, but often have no signs of high blood pressure.
How Will I Know if I Have Hypertension?
First, buy a home BP kit. This simple, inexpensive and portable equipment, called a ‘sphygmomanometer’ contains a BP ‘cuff’ and a measuring device for determining your diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Since normal adult readings should be about 120/80, you should primarily be concerned with the ‘top’ number, the systolic pressure. Using your portable kit, if your systolic pressure rises above 135 and hovers there for a week, see your physician immediately! It takes only five minutes of your time; make it a part of your morning routine.
Since there are few overt signs of HBP, it wears ‘sneakers.’ Gradually increasing, hypertension is rarely noticed until it has reached an extremely severe stage. Fortunately, other medical conditions serve as a sign of high blood pressure. If you start to experience unusually frequent headaches, nosebleeds, vertigo (dizziness), and tinnitus (constant ringing of the ears), these could very well be signs of the ailment which your physician can determine by using a sphygmomanometer.
Other medical conditions may be excellent indicators. Honestly sure give-aways include a rare tumor called ‘pheochromocytoma’ that originates in the adrenal gland. Thus tumor causes an over-production of very powerful hormones that make hypertension and other symptoms. If you experience sudden bouts of sweating, heart palpitations and headaches, this may be caused by a pheochromocytoma tumor and also a sign of HBP.
Severe headache resulting from a stroke that’s due to the rupture of an artery in your brain is a sign of high blood pressure that remained hidden until the stroke has already occurred. This type of stroke that results from hypertension is called a ‘subarachnoid’ or cerebral hemorrhage.
Chest pain that occurs from a rupture of a ‘thoracic aortic aneurysm’ or back pain from and ‘abdominal aortic aneurysm’ are other complications associated with hypertension.
A pregnant woman must be carefully monitored by her obstetrician for signs of high blood pressure. A condition called ‘preeclampsia’ is characterized by an increase in BP and other symptoms. Preeclampsia endangers the life of the mother and the unborn child, causing convulsions, coma, and death of the mother and/or the child. If a physician suspects that this deadly condition exists in a pregnant woman, she should be taking medication for hypertension until the child is safely born.
Eddie Lamb provides an abundance of vital information on a range of health topics. We believe a better understanding of your disorder can help reduce unnecessary anxiety. You’ll find a host of useful articles all about high blood pressure listed on our site map page at High Blood Pressure And You.
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High Blood Pressure Home Monitor
An aneroid monitor has a dial gauge and your blood pressure is read by a pointer. You inflate the cuff by hand using a rubber bulb. With a digital monitor you can choose a manual cuff or an automatic one. You can read your blood pressure reading on a screen digitally as well. You want to choose the one you are more comfortable using.An aneroid monitor is very portable. The cuff that comes with this monitor also has a stethoscope built into it. The aneroid blood pressure monitors range cheaper in price compared to the digital ones. A down side to this monitor is that it may be too hard for some people to hear as well as too hard to squeeze the bulb.Digital monitors are the more well loved blood pressure monitoring devices because they are automatic. Unlike the pointer on an aneroid device, the digital device shows your numbers on a screen. This makes it a lot simpler to read. You can even buy a digital monitor that comes with a paper print out feature. This would make it simpler to keep a record of your blood pressure readings.The digital monitor has a gauge as well as a stethoscope. With the digital monitor it has an error code which can be very beneficial and automatic deflation of the cuff. With a digital monitor you have to use batteries and depending on the model you may have to use your left arm. You can buy a digital monitor anywhere from thirty dollars to ninety and higher.You want to choose a blood pressure monitoring device with a cuff that is the right size for you. The right cuff size will ensure right blood pressure readings. Question your doctor if you are unsure of what size you need. Be sure you can easily read and operate the device.If money plays a factor in your choice choose a device that fits your needs as well as your budget. When it comes to your health you have to choose if you can really place a price on it. While you do not want to spend an unreasonable amount of money on something like this, you still might have to splurge a small extra.Look around and see what your options are. You might know someone that has a home blood pressure monitor. If so, question them what they might recommend. They might recommend whatever device they are using now or tell you to steer clear of it.You want to choose one that is simple for you to use and read. Be sure you can know how to operate it as well. The less confusing it is to use, the more beneficial it will be. Imagine how much better you are going to feel once you gain control of your blood pressure. It will be much simpler by monitoring from home as well as having regular check ups at your doctor visits. Lower blood pressure lessens your risks of a stroke or heart and kidney disease. This alone should make you feel much better.
Diagnose the Root Cause of Complexities With Blood Pressure Cuff
In the past few years, blood pressure deviation has received more attention by doctors, as it is thought to be related with major health complications. Complexities such as heart attack; valve failure and kidney problems are the ultimate stages of blood pressure irregularity. There are numerous factors that affect accuracy of blood pressure measurement procedure; even the person, who is reading the blood pressure, sometimes causes erroneous reading. Usually, doctors use equipment to measure blood pressure i.e. the blood pressure cuff. As far as the flaw in blood pressure reading is concerned, this machinery is not liable for flaws. Moreover, stiffness or loose grip of the cuff can affect the measurement to some extent but this affect is minor and does not influence the treatment procedure.