High blood pressure: Symptoms, causes, treatment & doctors

With every beat, your heart pumps blood to your arteries. As it moves through the body, blood puts pressure on artery walls. When this pressure is too forceful, it’s known high blood pressure (hypertension). Nearly half of Americans have hypertension — boosting their risk for heart attack, heart failure, stroke and kidney disease. That’s why it’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly.

Blood pressure categories

Blood pressure categories are based on two numbers:

Systolic blood pressure is the top number. It measures pressure as the heart beat pumps blood.
Diastolic pressure is the bottom number. It measures pressure between beats when the heart is at rest.

Depending on your systolic and diastolic numbers, your blood pressure reading may fall in one of these four blood pressure categories:

Blood pressure
Category	Systolic mm Hg	and/or	Diastolic mm Hg
Category: Normal	Systolic mm Hg: <120	and/or: and	Diastolic mm Hg: <80
Category: Elevated	Systolic mm Hg: 120-129	and/or: and	Diastolic mm Hg: <80
Category: Hypertension (Stage 1)	Systolic mm Hg: 130-139	and/or: or	Diastolic mm Hg: 80-89
Category: Hypertension (Stage 2)	Systolic mm Hg: >140	City: or	Diastolic mm Hg: >90

Blood pressure higher than 180/120 mm Hg is considered a medical emergency. Seek immediate medical help if you or anyone you know has a reading that falls within the Stage 2 hypertension category.

Hypertension diagnosis

High blood pressure usually doesn’t have symptoms or warning signs. That’s why regular blood pressure checks at least once a year with your primary care doctor are so important. They help track your blood pressure over time and a vital to making a hypertension diagnosis.

An inflatable pressure cuff is used to take blood pressure reading. The cuff compresses the brachial artery in the upper arm to stop blood flow for a short period. As air in the cuff is slowly released, the doctor will listen to the force of blood flow with a stethoscope. A hypertension diagnosis is the first step toward effective hypertension treatment. Your WellMed physician will create a customized hypertension treatment plan to help lower your blood pressure and bring it back into a healthy range.

Hypertension treatment

Your primary care provider will recommend a treatment plan based on your blood pressure category. It may include lifestyle changes for lowering blood pressure, blood pressure medication, or both.

Lifestyle changes
If your blood pressure is elevated or high, your WellMed primary care provider will encourage you to make healthy lifestyle changes. Talk to your doctor about changes you can make for lowering blood pressure. Your doctor is your ally. He or she can help set you on the path to better health.”

Try these natural ways to lower blood pressure:

Eat fresh, healthy foods
Shake the salt habit
Move your body more
Limit alcohol and caffeine
Stop smoking
Trim down

The American Heart Association reveals losing as little as 10 pounds can be a big help in lowering blood pressure in many overweight people with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher.

Blood pressure medication
A lot can be done to control blood pressure. Along with natural ways for lowering blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe blood pressure medication to help keep your blood pressure at a safe and healthy level.

Hypertension medicine can work in several ways. They can help:

Rid the body of water to eliminate excess salt
Relax blood vessels and prevent their narrowing
Make the heart beat with less force

By helping keep your blood pressure at healthy levels, blood pressure medication can reduce your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

There are many types of hypertension medicines. Your WellMed primary care provider may prescribe one or a combination of blood pressure medications to treat yours.

Blood pressure medications include:

Diuretics
Beta-blockers
ACE inhibitors
Angiotensin II receptor blockers
Calcium channel blockers
Alpha blockers
Alpha-2 receptor agonists
Combined alpha and beta blockers
Vasodilators

Each hypertension medicine works differently.

Diuretics help the body get rid of excess salt and water to better control hypertension.
Beta-blockers lower the heart rate to ease the heart’s workload.
ACE inhibitors help the body produce less angiotensin, a chemical that causes arteries to narrow and restrict blood flow.
Angiotensin II receptor blockers block the effects of chemical angiotensin to keep arteries open and lower blood high pressure.
Calcium channel blockers stop calcium from entering muscle cells in the heart and arteries. Without the calcium, blood vessels relax and stay open. This lowers high blood pressure.
Alpha blockers reduce resistance in arteries and relax the muscle tone of vascular walls.
Alpha-2 receptor agonists lower high blood pressure by reducing the production of adrenaline in the nervous system.
Vasodilators relax blood vessel walls so blood can flow more easily.

Which blood pressure medication may be right for you?
Your doctor will determine which type of hypertension medicine may be best for you based on your blood pressure levels and other health considerations.

Take your medicine with care.

If you are prescribed high blood pressure medication, remember to take it as directed. Don’t skip doses, and don’t stop taking it without first talking to your doctor. It could put your health at risk. Be sure to ask questions if you don’t understand something, or have any side effects from your medication.

High blood pressure doctor near me

WellMed has hundreds of experienced doctors across Texas and Florida who provide comprehensive care. Now you don’t have to wonder, “Is there a primary care doctor near me?” Use our easy provider lookup tool to find WellMed doctors in your area.

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Frequently asked questions: High blood pressure

Are hypertension and high blood pressure the same thing?

Yes, hypertension and high blood pressure are the same thing — a condition in which blood pressure is higher than normal level — less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic.

Blood pressure normally changes throughout the day based on the level of activity a person is doing. For example, your blood pressure will be different if you are sitting versus jogging. Having a blood pressure level that is consistently higher than normal regardless of activity level may lead to a diagnosis of high blood pressure. Without treatment, hypertension boosts the risk for other serious health issues, including heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?

Hypertension is often called the “silent killer” because there aren’t usually any warning signs or symptoms of high blood pressure. A serious exception to this is the onset of a hypertension headache — also called a high blood pressure headache. A hypertension headache usually only happens when a person is having a hypertensive crisis triggered by an extremely high blood pressure reading of 180/120 mm Hg or above. Hypertension at this level is a medical crisis that requires emergency medical help.

What causes hypertension?

Many factors can contribute to high blood pressure. We can’t control all the risks, but there are many that we can. Risk factors that we can’t control include genetics, age, sex and race or ethnicity.

Genetics: High blood pressure can run in families.

Age: Blood pressure tends to rise as you get older.

Sex: Woman and men are equally likely to have hypertension at some point in their lives.

Race or ethnicity: African Americans have higher risk for high blood pressure than Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The good news is there are many risk factors for hypertension that we can control.

Unhealthy diet
Obesity
Physical inactivity
Too much alcohol and caffeine
Tobacco use

How do you naturally lower high blood pressure?

There are many things individuals can do to have a positive effect on their blood pressure level. Each is a powerful tool on its own, but combined they can help dramatically lower high blood pressure.

Eat healthy foods. Foods that are too high in sodium (salt) and too low in potassium put you at risk for high blood pressure. The DASH diet cuts salt and serves up potassium-rich foods to your diet, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, Fat-free and low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, beans and nuts.

Reach and maintain a healthy weight. It’s one of the most important things you can do to lower your risk for high blood pressure. Losing as little as 10 pounds can help manage and prevent high blood pressure in many people.

Stay active. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity a week, if you’re able. It could be 30 minutes five days a week — or divide the 30 minutes into three 10-minute sessions.

Think before you drink. Too much caffeine and alcohol can raise your blood pressure.

Kick the tobacco habit. Cigarettes and other tobacco products have nicotine. Nicotine narrows blood vessels and keeps the heart from getting the blood and oxygen it needs. This raises your heart rate and blood pressure.

When should you go to the doctor and to the hospital for high blood pressure?

A high blood pressure crisis needs immediate medical help. There are two types of crisis: hypertensive urgency and hypertensive emergency. Here’s what you need to know and do for both.

Hypertensive urgency
If your blood pressure is 180/120 or greater:

Wait one to two minutes
Take your blood pressure again

If the second reading is still as high as the first reading, check for these symptoms:

Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Back pain
Numbness
Weakness
Vision changes
Trouble speaking
Confusion
Dizziness
Vomiting

If you don’t have any of these symptoms, you probably have hypertensive urgency and do not need to go to the hospital.

Contact your WellMed doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will advise you what to do.

Hypertensive emergency
Call 911 if your blood pressure is 180/120 or higher and you have any of these signs of a possible heart attack or stroke: