High Blood Pressure Symptoms and Easy Remedies

High blood pressure that can ultimately result in hypertension is the result of an increase in blood pressure to unhealthy levels. The blood pressure in your body is based on two factors. The first is the amount of blood that the vessels allow to pass. The second factor is the amount of resistance that your blood ends up at, while the heart is still pumping. In this article, we will discuss high blood pressure symptoms and more concepts related to the same.

You must have already understood that narrowness in the arteries will increase your blood pressure because there is an extra force involved. It is because the heart continuously pumps blood but the narrow openings do not let much of the blood to flow through. If such a problem persists for a longer period, it is more likely that you will develop high blood pressure symptoms.

Hypertension is a fairly common issue, and now there are lots of information about this. Now that medical science has evolved so much, it proves that almost 50% of American adults suffer from this issue. Hypertension does not develop overnight. It takes quite some time before you can start noticing it. It is directly related to high blood pressure. Unfortunately, during the time you don’t notice any symptoms, there is a lot of damage that is already done. In most of the cases, the initial damage happens in the brain, kidneys, eyes, and heart.

In this context, it is important to mention that the early detection of high blood pressure symptoms can be very helpful. So, you must take down regular readings to see the trend of the pressure levels. Also, you must know that you can treat hypertension and blood pressure problems with a healthy lifestyle.

Hypertension or high blood pressure symptoms

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a very silent condition. Most people do not experience any high blood pressure symptoms until quite late. It may even take 10-12 years before the symptoms become obvious. Of course, your age matters a lot and symptoms become obvious as you start getting older. Even several people fail to understand the severity and don’t act upon these problems. Such behavior will only lead to bigger problems.

Here are some of the most common high blood pressure symptoms:

• Headaches
• Blood flow during urination
• Breathlessness
• Visual changes
• Nosebleeds
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Flushing

You must seek the doctor’s assistance if you experience any of the above symptoms. Everyone doesn’t need to experience major symptoms. However, it is not a good idea to ignore even the slightest hint. The best option for you to detect high blood pressure symptoms is by keeping a regular track of the fluctuations. Even most of the doctors prefer tracking blood pressure fluctuations before concluding. Besides, if you have a genetic history of high blood pressure, then tracking the same becomes more important.

Factors leading to high blood pressure symptoms

Several factors increase the levels of normal blood pressure for men and women. The most common factors include two major types of hypertension that we will elaborate on in this section.

• Primary hypertension
• Secondary hypertension

Primary hypertension

Also known as essential hypertension, this type of the disease develops over time for no particular reason. In most cases, a patient is identified with this type of hypertension. Research is still on to find out a proper cause for blood pressure to increase gradually over time of so many years. however, there are a few probable causes that may lead to high blood pressure symptoms and primary hypertension. They are:

Genes

Of course, you will be more prone to conditions such as primary hypertension and high blood pressure if you have a family history of the same. The reason for such probability may be genetic abnormalities or hereditary gene mutations.

Physical changes

It is a very common concept that a single minute change in your body will have a significant effect on your entire system. Changes or fluctuation in blood sugar levels is one such example of a physical change. For example, if your kidney becomes dysfunctional due to age, it is a physical change. As a result, the balance of fluids and salts in the body will get disrupted. As a result, there will be an increase in the level of blood pressure.

Environment

Eventually, a poor diet and a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle may affect your body in every negative way. For example, no physical activity leads to obesity and excessive weight gain. As a result, you become more prone to an increase in blood pressure, hypertension, and heart diseases.

Secondary hypertension:

In most cases, symptoms of secondary hypertension take much lesser time to develop in comparison to the counterpart. Also, it is riskier than the primary category too. the following are a few of the major conditions that may lead to secondary hypertension.

• Kidney disease
• Special types of endocrine tumors
• Sleep apnea
• Issues in the adrenal gland
• Heart defects by birth
• Thyroid problems
• Medication effects
• Illegal drugs use
• Chronic use or alcohol abuse

Diagnosis of high blood pressure

Diagnosing high blood pressure symptoms is not very difficult. Rather, it is easier than keeping a regular track of blood pressure readings. When you visit a chamber, most of the times you will find one thing constant. It is that they check your blood pressure levels as a fixed part of a routine checkup. Besides, if you see it is not happening, you must take the initiative and ask the medical officer to take a reading.

If your blood pressure increases, the doctor may suggest you keep a daily track of blood pressure for the next week or so. It is because nobody declares hypertension after just one session. There needs to be valid evidence that your problem is a pertaining one. There are reasons for such a procedure.

The fact is that doctors believe that the environment may have several ways to contribute to your blood pressure levels. For example, your daily diet or regular stress levels. So, the doctor will try to analyze the real cause after watching the trend. Later, he may suggest some more tests including:

• urine test
• ultrasound for the kidneys or heart
• cholesterol tracking along with other blood tests
• electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

Therefore, these tests can help the doctor to diagnose you in a better way and come to a more specific conclusion.

How to maintain normal blood pressure for men and women?

High blood pressure is one of the riskiest conditions. The main reason for this is that such a condition may lead to heart problems, and heart attacks eventually. The following are a few lifestyle changes that can take you a long way and keep you fit and healthy.

Exercise and walk regularly

Exercise is by far the best way to control increasing blood pressure levels. Exercising regularly ensures healthy functioning of the heart, which in turn pumps blood more efficiently. As a result, the pressure created in the arteries starts reducing, lowering your blood pressure levels. If you can practice 75-150 minutes of vigorous exercise in a week, you will get magical results within a very short span. Besides, if you can walk for just 30 minutes per day, you will benefit the most.

Reduce sodium in your diet

If you take a look at the global diet trend, you will notice that salt intake is very high in particular parts of the world. The main contributor in this scenario are canned and preserved food items. Salt helps in better preservation, and so these canned ingredients contain quite an amount of salt. Although there is no clear proof of the effects of salt regarding high levels of blood pressure, there is no harm in being aware of even the slightest effects. So, the best way to lower sodium intake is by ditching salt for seasoning. Instead, you can shift to fresh herbs and seasonings that can solve the same purpose.

Reduce your alcohol intake

Regular alcohol usage is directly related to the increase in blood pressure levels. In fact, according to research, more than 15% of cases of hypertension globally, can be related to alcohol usage regularly. While on the one hand a measured amount of alcohol consumption helps your heart to stay healthy. On the other hand, the negative effects of excessive alcohol can offset the positives completely. You must know that moderate usage of alcohol means two pegs maximum for men and one for women. Anything more than that is considered extra and harmful.

Include sources of potassium in your regular diet

You may already know that potassium is an important mineral that we tend to ignore in our diet. Potassium helps to release sodium from the body. Besides, it relaxes your blood vessels, thus reducing extra pressure. If you want to include potassium in your daily diet, make sure you switch to fresh food instead of consuming canned stuff. The following foods are rich sources of potassium:

• Vegetables including potatoes, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes
• Fruits including bananas, melons, avocados, apricots, and oranges
• Dairy products including yogurt and milk
• Salmon and tuna
• Seeds and nuts
• Beans

Caffeine

Have you ever had a cup of your favorite coffee and then went for a blood pressure checkup? If yes, then you must be knowing how caffeine boosts up blood pressure instantly. Now imagine what will happen if you consume even a single cup of coffee every day. Yes, your blood pressure level will shoot up drastically. Also, the effect will last for a long time. In fact, according to several pieces of research, people who consume caffeine regularly are more prone to heart problems as compared to others who do not. If you already feel that your body is becoming caffeine sensitive, then it is time that you reduce consumption now!

Stress management

Stress is one main factor that invites blood pressure. So, if you are experiencing regular stress, the body is stuck in between a flight or fight-mode. Talking in physical terms, all these results to constriction in blood vessels, and an increased heart rate. Besides, stress drives a person to start unhealthy habits such as alcohol consumption or smoking. As a result, your body moves closer to hypertension and high blood pressure. Some ways can help you to eradicate stress. For example, you can try to reduce the work pressure or listen to good music. You can also take a break and go for a short trip.

Consumption of cocoa or dark chocolate

Consuming huge amounts of chocolate will probably do nothing for your heart health. However, eating the correct type of chocolate in moderate amounts can work wonders. Yes, we are talking about dark chocolate. It is one food item that is rich in plant compounds and flavonoids. Consuming dark chocolate can have a lasting effect on the body, especially the heart. For even better effects, you can get some non-alkaline variety of cocoa powder. This variety contains almost zero percentage of chocolate, and also contains an extra dose of flavonoids.

Lose weight

If you weight more than what you should, then there is surely a major problem and you must start working to overcome this issue soon. As you start losing weight, the heart starts contracting and expanding faster. As a result, blood circulation becomes easier. To make everything possible, the first two things that you must change is ditching the sedentary lifestyle, and switching to a healthy diet. Start avoiding packaged and junk food. Instead, you should consume as much fresh fruits and vegetables as you can. Also, you must avoid excessive carbohydrates, and shift to protein-rich food items. If you can do all the changes, the effects are inevitable.

Final thoughts

Increasing levels of blood pressure are affecting several people all over the world. While medication is surely a way to a healthier life, a change towards a better lifestyle is mandatory too.