High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure often goes undetected, and it causes considerable damage to your body in the meantime. Ginger Darty, NP, and the team at Wellness Care Clinic, LLC check your blood pressure at almost every visit so they can pinpoint the condition before it has a chance to harm your heart. As far as treatments are concerned, the team offers lifestyle modifications and medications to help prevent and manage hypertension. Make an appointment by calling the office in Cahokia, Illinois, or requesting one online today. 

What is high blood pressure?

Blood pressure is a measure of the force of your blood against the artery walls. High blood pressure places excess force on your blood vessels, causing damage to the arteries over time.

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, usually develops over several years without any symptoms. It often goes undetected until it reaches dangerous levels, so it’s vital that you don’t miss your routine preventive appointments where the nursing staff checks your blood pressure.

The Wellness Care Clinic, LLC team considers blood pressure readings at 120/80 to be elevated, and three consecutive blood pressure readings over 130/80 meet the criteria for hypertension.

What are the risks of high blood pressure?

Many doctors refer to high blood pressure as a “silent killer” because it creates critical damage inside your blood vessels without your knowledge. Hypertension puts you at risk for:

• Atherosclerosis: thickening of the arteries
• Heart attack or stroke: a clot blocks blood flow to the heart or brain
• Heart failure: thickening of the heart muscle
• Aneurysm: a life-threatening bulge inside a blood vessel

Besides damaging the heart and blood vessels, high blood pressure can also damage the kidneys and the eyes and affect your cognitive abilities.

What can I do to lower my blood pressure?

Many times, you can make lifestyle modifications to control your blood pressure. These healthy habits include:

• Eating a healthy, low-salt diet
• Regular physical activity
• Losing excess weight
• Stress reduction and relaxation
• Not smoking

The Wellness Care Clinic, LLC team can provide more comprehensive information about how to manage your blood pressure at home.

What medical treatments are available for hypertension?

The team at Wellness Care Clinic, LLC promotes healthy lifestyle choices to treat hypertension whenever possible. Your provider can help you follow the DASH diet, implement an exercise regimen, quit smoking, and lose weight.

If you’re unable to get your blood pressure under control with these lifestyle modifications, your Wellness Care Clinic, LLC provider may prescribe medication to help you control your blood pressure. Diuretics, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors are among the most common medications for high blood pressure.

If you have high blood pressure, contact Wellness Care Clinic, LLC, by calling the office or requesting an appointment online today.