Treating Blood Pressure step by step

Many doctors tend to treat hypertension with drugs. However National Institute of Health, India suggest that physicians carefully weigh treatment options, taking into consideration of many factors to undergo a stepped approach..The factors include:

• patient's age
• race
• presence of other disorders

The objective is to reduce and maintain a blood pressure level below 140/90 and lower for people with other conditions, such as diabetes and kidney disease.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

1. Headache
2. Heart palpitation
3. A tough time catching your breath after exertion
4. Fatigue
5. A flushed face
6. Blurry Vision
7. Nosebleeds
8. A strong need to urinate often(especially during the night)
9. Tinnitus( a ringing or buzzing in ears)
10. Vertigo ( feelings that you or the world is spinning dizzily)

Step by Step approach to treat High Blood Pressure

Step 1: Adopting healthy lifestyle

This is an effective first step in both preventing and controlling high blood pressure. These include losing weight, increasing physical activity(walking 30min. per day can help), following a healthy eating plan that emphasis fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy foods, choosing and preparing foods with less salt and sodium and if you drink alcoholic beverages drinking in moderation.

If your diastolic pressure is constantly more than 105, there is no question about it. You should be taking medication as prescribed by the physician to lower blood pressure.

If lifestyle changes alone are not effective in keeping your pressure controlled, it may be necessary to add blood pressure medication.

Step 2: Therapy

If your blood pressure does not respond to lifestyle modifications alone, the physician will go for a combination of lifestyle change and first-line anti hypertensive medication therapy.

Step3: 

Once the blood pressure is brought down to safe levels, slowly reduce the dosage of anti-hypertensives and try to maintain the blood pressure with lifestyle intervention. This will minimize the side effects associated with the long term consumption of these drugs which can be severe in some cases.

If you have any side effect from your medicines, talk to your doctor. He or She may be able to adjust the doses or prescribe other medicines. You should not decide on your own to stop taking your medicines.

Courtesy,

Jag Therapy