Many of us have chronically high blood pressure, yet do little or nothing to alleviate it, until it’s too late. Chronic hypertension is a silent but deadly killer that is often undertreated at great cost to patients and their families. What constitutes chronic hypertension? Daily readings of 140/90 or greater are  strong indicatorts of chronically high blood pressure. Stage 1 hypertension is within this range. Stahe Two hypertension is diagnosed with regular readings of 160/100 and above.

Why is hypertension so dangerous? Because blood pressure readings are taken from the bruits or sounds of blood being pumped against your arterial walls. The harder the heart must work to pump the blood, the higher the blood pressure. The higher the pressure, the more difficult it is for your heart to work effectively. And over the long term, this increased difficulty in pumping blood creates profoundly dangerous conditions within your cardiovascular system.

The main chambers to your heart can become thickened, making pumping blood 3x more difficult. This is known as cardiac hypertrophy. Arteries can become stenosed, further impeding the free flow of blood throughout the circulatory system, or worse, set up conditions for clots to form. Once this occurs, the system becomes life threatening, requiring expert monitoring and care.

What cause chronic hypertension? As my cardiologist explains, much of it is found in your family’s genetics. You are 50% more likely to develop chronic hypertension if one of your parent’s or grandparents had it. You are also much more likely to be chronically hypertensive if you are black, over 35, smoke too much, drink alcohol excessively, become pregnant or eat a diet high in fats and sodium. Certain autoimmune disorders such as SLE, can also contribute to chronic hypertension.

What treatments are there for this disease? Treatment depends on a variety of factors, including how early the first signs of hypertension were caught. Early treatment would focus much more on dietary modifications such as reducing sodium intake, below the 2400 mg a day recommended by the FDA, lowering saturated fat intake and increasing exercise to promote higher cardiac output. Often these early steps can help avoid or minimize potential problems later on.

In my case, I have Stage 1 hypertension with mild cardiac hypertrophy. To minimize the risk of further cardiac episodes, my cardiologist has me on a fairly standard aggressive regimen which includes:

  •                              Toprol XL
  •                               Lotensin
  •                               Norvasc
  •                               HCTZ to help flush water at the cellular level
  •                               Zetia to reduce cholesterol

As you can see from my list of medications, it would have been much better had this been done much earlier, instead of after a major cardiac event. Since hypertension is a silent killer, though the signs are not always easy to pick up on, it is important to pay attention to:

  •                                      Sudden severe headaches
  •                                       Dizziness
  •                                       Blurred vision -transient
  •                                       Fatigue

If you have a familial history of chronic hypertension, invest early in a home blood pressure monitor, try and institute healthier lifestyle changes early, and schedule a yearly visit to a cardiologist, to help you deal with any signs or symptoms. These small, but significant steps don’t involve much time, but they can save your life.

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