Blood Pressure Control

What is blood pressure control?

Effective steps can be taken to lower your blood pressure (BP) through changing your lifestyle and by taking the appropriate medication.

Your treatment choice depends on your BP level and on your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as a stroke or heart attack.

• If your BP is slightly over 130/80mmHg, but you have a low risk of cardiovascular disease, you should be able to lower your BP through making a few changes to your lifestyle.
• If your BP is moderately high (140/90mmHg or higher) and you are also at risk of cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years, treatment involves both medication and lifestyle adjustments.
• If your BP is very high (180/110mmHg or higher), and depending on your health, you will need treatment quickly, possibly involving further tests.

Your IPSA blood-pressure consultation

If you are experiencing headaches, or are just feeling generally unwell, come in for a BP check at your IPSA clinic. During your IPSA blood-pressure consultation, your IPSA physician will treat you holistically, and he or she will run through your risk factors for cardiovascular disease and kidney problems. Your IPSA doctor will discuss the range of blood tests available for a full health screen for your peace of mind and for monitoring any of your ongoing medical conditions. Your privacy is paramount to us, and your IPSA clinic is a highly confidential, calm and patient-centred environment.

What should my blood pressure be?

Normal BP is more than 90/60mmHg and less than 120/80mm/Hg. Raised BP is more than 120/80mmHg and less than 140/90mmHg and high BP is anything over 140/90mmHg. If your BP is over 180/110mmHg, then you have very high BP.

Treatments for high blood pressure

If treatment is needed, it can be started immediately, and you will be given full advice on healthy eating and diet and natural supplementation to help improve your BP by your IPSA physician at the time of your blood-pressure consultation.

Lifestyle changes

• Your salt intake should be cut back to less than 0.2oz (6g) per day
• Eat lots of fresh fruit/vegetables and switch to a healthier, low-fat and balanced diet
• Get more active, as becoming more physically active is a very important thing that you can do yourself to control or to prevent high BP
• Cut down on alcoholic drinks
• Stop smoking as smoking greatly increases your risk for both heart and lung disease. (Get help quitting at IPSA with Champix or Varencycline)
• Lose some weight
• Cut back on tea, coffee and caffeine-packed drinks (such as cola)
• Try out some relaxation therapies. Yoga, stress management and meditation can help

Medicines for high blood pressure

There are many BP-lowering medicines from which to choose and you may need to take more than one type of BP medication, as a drug combination is sometimes required to treat high BP.

Different high-BP treatments work for different ethnic groups.

Complications of high blood pressure

High BP (known as hypertension) places an extra strain on both your heart and on your blood vessels.

If this is left untreated, the extra pressure can increase your risk over time of a stroke, heart attack and of kidney disease.

Cardiovascular disease

High BP can lead to many different diseases of the blood vessels/heart including:

• Strokes (when the blood supply cuts off to part of the brain)
• Heart attacks (when a sudden blockage occurs to the blood supply to the heart)
• Embolism (when an air bubble or blood clot blocks the blood flow in a vessel)
• Aneurysm (when the blood vessel wall bursts, leading to internal bleeding)

Kidney disease

High BP might also damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys, stopping them from working properly.

This can produce a number of symptoms, such as:

• Tiredness
• A shortness of breath
• Blood being present in your urine
• Urinating more frequently, particularly at night
• Itchy skin
• Swollen feet, ankles or hands (caused by water retention)

If you have any concerns about your blood pressure or would just like to have it checked out, then book online for your IPSA blood-pressure consultation or phone IPSA for a same-day service.