Alcohol And High Blood Pressure

At one point, Doctors hesitated to prescribe medication for patients with a blood pressure reading of less than 159/99 Hg. This was described as “mild hypertension” and as such not deemed at the time to be dangerous.

The rationale behind this that Doctors felt that the adverse side effects of the medication used at the time would possibly be of more danger to the patient than the high blood pressure readings.

Times have changed however and this line of thinking is no longer in use. Both of the above perceptions relating to the danger of the side effects and the mild nature of the blood pressure readings have lead to the discontinuance of this practice.

Recent research has firmly established the value of treating “stage 1 Hypertension” (a reading of between 140/90 – 159/99 Hg) with medication if necessary. It is now also considered prudent to treat patients who also suffer from Diabetes and High Blood Pressure if their readings are as low as 130/80 Hg. The sensitivity of medication nowadays is such that blood pressure levels can be controlled with much lower dosages meaning that the danger of side effects can also be reduced.

There has never been a greater variety of medication for High Blood Pressure available to Doctors from which to choose. These “antihypertensive drugs” also include many types of medication where there is a combination of several different types of drug. The newer types of medication quite often have a different chemical makeup and structure compared to the older ones but quite often produce nearly identical effects on the human body.

The range and sophistication of medication is such now that Doctors can produce care plans and treatment programmes tailored to the individual patient and in most cases prescribe medication that have little or minimal side effect to the patient and protect against possible further complications down the line.

On of the most important aspects of where treatment differs nowadays is that Doctors can quite possibly provide one single course of medication that can treat conditions like Hypertension and accompanying medical problems like congestive Heart Failure.

The generally accepted initial approach to Hypertension Treatment nowadays is to start slow & low and then build gradually where possible gradually increasing the dosage of the medicine prescribed until the blood pressure level sinks to a normal level. If this is not shown to work or causes troublesome side effects then a wide number of replacement medications are available for use.

The presently accepted course of treatment for Stage 1 Hypertension is to start with one drug and add a second if the blood pressure reading does not respond or decrease to normal levels. The target levels here are 140/90 Hg. For those with diabetes or chronic kidney disease then the ideal targets are reduced to 130/80 Hg. For “Stage 2 Hypertension” (the old levels of conventional High Blood Pressure) then the accepted treatment programme is to start with at least 2 drugs. Again if the response to this is not within an acceptable timeframe then the introduction of a third drug may occur.

Just when you think that Hypertension can be controlled with purely medication. There is a marked improvement to all of these programmes when the medication is accompanied by the introduction and implementation of lifestyle changes such as a well balanced diet, reduction in the consumption of alcohol, increased exercise and a complete cessation of smoking.

‘Nuff said really.

Arteries carry blood from heart to rest of the parts of the body under a particular constant pressure. If this pressure is elevated then it is called high blood pressure. This pressure is the pressure applied by the blood on the walls of arteries. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm hg). High blood pressure is also called hypertension. Medical practitioners’ record blood pressure as two values, systolic blood pressure that is the pressure in the arteries as the heart squeezes out blood during each beat. Another is diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure when the heart relaxes before the next beat. Though normal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 but there are no hard and fast figures which represent the normal blood pressure. Blood pressure between 110/70 and 125/80 is taken for average blood pressure for an adult. 140/90 or above is considered to be high blood pressure, but when the person grows older this falls to be normal range. It also transfers genetically from one generation to another, so it important to keep an eye on your blood pressure if your parents have history of high blood pressure.Hypertension can be cause of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney and eye problems. It can also cause mental problems such as memory lost. There are no symptoms to identify high blood pressure and therefore many people are unaware that they have it. It usually does not give warning signs and therefore it is also referred as ‘silent killer’. It can be fatal therefore is always necessary to be careful about it. Number of people suffering from it is increasing rapidly. During last 10 years the number of people in America suffering from this disease has increased by 30%. About 34% of African Americans men and women have high blood pressure and this is responsible for over 40% of deaths in this group. This disease is also becoming common in children and teenage.To avoid the complications of high blood pressure a person must adopt a healthy life style which includes exercise on a daily basis, maintaining normal weight, healthy diet, reasonable alcohol consumption, taking sodium in limited amount, increasing the amount of potassium and calcium in diet. These are some keys to maintain normal blood pressure. A person must be conscious if he or she has high blood pressure and should take some steps to control his or her blood pressure.

The ‘Silent Killer’ is a disease to take seriously and I hope that you don’t read this article and think you can throw away your medications today. But, you might be able to throw them away after a couple months of using these helpful home remedies for high blood pressure.Normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called “pre-hypertension. High blood pressure is a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher. High blood pressure is effected age 55. Nearly 1 in 3 American adults has high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your chance (or risk) for getting heart disease and/or kidney disease, and for having a stroke. It is especially dangerous because it often has no warning signs or symptoms. Regardless of race, age, or gender, anyone can develop high blood pressure.Herbs – Herbs are one of the best natural remedies for high blood pressure, and many work as well as prescription drugs. When combined with a good diet and other healthy lifestyle changes, including herbal supplements is one of the most effective ways to reduce hypertension.Hawthorn berries are another natural or home remedy for high blood pressure and to treat heart problems like heart failure that has been around for a very long time. Hawthorn berries are a tall flowering shrub with beautiful white flowers. The plant is beautiful and it smells good, but there are also vicious thorns on the stems. (It is rumored that these are the thorns that were used to make the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus’ head at the crucifixion.)Honey – Honey is an all-natural food that is reputed to have dozens of health benefits. For hypertension you can mix one teaspoon each of honey, ginger, and cumin powder. Drink twice a day for maximum effect.Eating red grapefruits is one of the best high blood pressure remedies there is. Eat several a day, if possible. And when they are not in season, eat white grapefruits. And if that’s difficult, drink grapefruit juice. However, avoid tinned grapefruit if possible, though it’s better than nothing, and make sure that any grapefruit juice you drink is as pure as possible.Dandelion: Many people don’t realize that the dandelion has more vitamins and minerals in it than the majority of vegetables. It’s also a powerful diuretic that’s very efficient at getting rid of the excess buildup of salt so many people who have high blood pressure suffer from. Unlike man-made diuretics, dandelion does not flush out the important mineral potassium along with the salt. In fact, dandelion is a great source of potassium.Grind equal amounts of watermelon seeds and khas khas and keep together. Take one teaspoonful, morning (empty stomach) and evening with water for reducing blood pressure. This mixture melts cholesterol, which starts coming out gradually. Take this for three to four weeks as per need.

High blood pressure is sometimes referred to as the “silent killer” because in its initial stages there tend to be no signs or symptoms to show that someone has elevated blood pressure levels. Unfortunately, unless they have their blood pressure monitored on a regular basis, they only know they have it when certain high blood pressure symptons start to manifest if the condition begins to worsen.
The complications of high blood pressure can be grave, including an increased risk of a stroke, heart attacks, heart failure and kidney failure.
In some cases a person may not realize they have had high blood pressure for many years, and in mildly elevated blood pressure this may not lead to any lasting damage. The only real way of being able to diagnose effectively if a person is suffering from high blood pressure is by having it monitored on a regular basis.
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There are a number of ways this can be done either you visit your doctor or health professional and they will carry out the test or you can do it at home using a home blood pressure monitoring kit. However if you are looking to be provided with an accurate reading as well as ways of helping to treat the condition then the best thing you should do is arrange for regular readings to take place at your doctor’s surgery.
For those that do suffer symptoms with high blood pressure, or those where the blood pressure levels have reached a severe state then they may find that they suffer with the following symptoms:
1. Headaches (more than normal). This is because not enough oxygen is being able to gain access to your brain through the blood being pumped around your body. For many people this is because their arteries and veins have become constricted and so it makes it much more difficult for the heart to pump blood around the body.
2. Dizzy spells – Again caused by insufficient oxygen being supplied to the brain.
3. Shortness of Breath
4. Blurred Vision
5. Nosebleeds
Unfortunately, many people really do not know if they have a problem, and so they risk damaging arteries and potentially damage to the major organs in the body. In fact, it is believed that up to a third of all the people who have hypertension are not diagnosed and are unaware they are suffering with the condition.
It is therefore essential that those people over the age of 40, who suffer from diabetes or other serious conditions including heart problems or if there is a history of high blood pressure in their family are made completely aware of what high blood pressure symptoms are. In this way they will be able to react much more quickly and seek their doctor’s advice if they think at any stage that their blood pressure has risen above what is considered to be normal.
Also, everyone should have their blood pressure monitored on a regular basis, even those that are not considered as high risk and are not showing any high blood pressure symptons.