High blood pressure is when the blood pressure through the arteries becomes extreme.
The systolic and DIAstolic pressure are the two measurements used in knowing if your blood pressure is at a healthy rate.
Systolic pressure is the top number which reads the amount of pressure in the arteries when your heart contrasts
while the DIAstolic pressure is the lower number, which is the pressure within the margin of beats.
There are peculiar cases where pregnant people have high blood pressure. Studies show that about eight percent of pregnant individuals have hypertension.
Healthy blood pressure for a pregnant person is 120 mm hg and below for systolic and 80 mm hg and below for DIAstolic
any Reading higher than this is high and could boil down to critical issues or damage of organs.
Hypertension during pregnancy can be classified into two major parts:
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Chronic hypertension. This refers to the development of high blood pressure before or during the early period of pregnancy which is before twenty weeks.
High blood pressure disorders of pregnancy. It is a condition peculiar to pregnant people, it sets in after twenty weeks of pregnancy and vanishes after childbirth.
Your doctor may suggest some medication if you develop hypertension during pregnancy.
How do you check the rate of your blood pressure?
oftentimes a nurse measures your blood pressure to ascertain normalcy before the doctor’s appointment. However, it is possible for you to measure it yourself at the comfort of your home.
For this an inflatable cuff like that of your doctor or digital blood pressure monitor with automatic cuff inflation can be used.
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Follow the guidelines when measuring your blood pressure at home, and adhere to the instructions about the instrument.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that some factors could be responsible for a temporary increase in blood pressure. Which are:
- Overstressing
- being anxious
- temperate conditions
- workouts
- smoking
- constant consumption of caffeine
- concealing metabolic waste
- to accurately check if you are hypertensive:
Check your blood pressure in a relaxed and quiet state.
Stay away from exercises, smoking or consume caffeine within at least thirty minutes before blood pressure measurement.
It is advisable you measure within intervals of the day then compare and find a range for your measurements to find the average of the times within a day that you take your pressure Readings to see the range of your Readings.
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How often am I supposed to measure my blood pressure?
when you suffer from any level of hypertensioni it is best you see your doctor for the frequency of check up
If you have a healthy blood pressure it is equally important that you measure your blood pressure over time because they change. Doctors suggest healthy people should:
Check on the rate or blood pressure every two years for people between the age of 18 and 40.
And for those above 40 a margin of a year is expected before another check.
A rapid frequency of measurement is expected from people with:
- Hereditary hypertension
- have cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or any other linked damage.
- Have obesity or heavy body wheight
- have insomnia or is suffering from sleep apnea
it is not a do or die to measure your blood pressure from the doctor, you could make use of a local pharmacy or do it yourself.
Impacts of hypertension
When high blood pressure is not treated it could result in the damage of the heart, brain, kidney, blood vessels and other vital organs.
Some consequential effect of high blood pressure are:
- Aneurysm
- heart seize
- heart attack
- stroke
- kidney damage
- blurry sight
- alzheimer
A pregnant person might be at an higher risk of high blood pressure impacts like:
- Premature delivery
- low birth weight
- preeclampsia
- eclampsia
- placental abruption
Treatment options
your doctor might declare you hypertensive if you have an average Reading that signifies high blood pressure on different occasions.
Also ensure you inform your doctor if you get white coat hypertension. White coat hypertension is the nervousness people get because of doctor appointments.
Moreover, you can also measure your blood pressure at home several times and inform the doctor urgently if there is any consistency of high blood pressure in the results.
Medications used in treating high blood pressure include some of these:
Alpha 1 blockers – it contains substances that narrows your blood vessels
diuretics- responsible for the reduction of excess sodium and water in the body
angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (Ace) or angiotensin ii receptor blockers (Arb)-the restriction of substances that narrow blood vessels
beta-blockers- it maintains heart rate and expands blood vessels
calcium channel blockers – it eases the muscles surrounding your blood vessels and reduces the rate at which your heart beats
in a case where an existing medical issue causes hypertension, attending to the condition becomes priority in order to be able to maintain a normal blood pressure.
For instance, people with the condition of sleep apnea develop hypertensive conditions. Using a CPAP machine could be a splendid treatment for sleep apnea.
Obesity is another medical condition that develops hypertension.
You might have the condition of an independent high blood pressure which is the most common. It is medically regarded as essential hypertension and might require a lifelong journey in maintaining it. T.
Ensure you follow your doctor’s medication and check your blood pressure constantly, report back to your doctor if the medication is not reducing your level of blood pressure.
Preventive methods and self-care
lifestyle changes are major factors when it comes to lowering your blood pressure or even ensuring you maintain normalcy and don’t get elevated. Some the changes include:
Adhering to the DASH foods which means “Dietary approaches to stop hypertension”
decreasing salt intake because of sodium
increase in intake of potassium
working out for at least 150 minutes a week
maintenance of body weight health wise
decrease in alcohol consumption
stop smoking due to the presence of nicotine that is capable of damaging blood vessels and causing hypertension
using stress management skills like yoga, deep breathing and meditation.
Preventing high blood pressure during pregnancy could be a difficulty. However, you can reduce your risk of hypertension through:
Having a healthy weight before pregnancy and maintaining it.
Engaging in activities during pregnancy.
Draw the immediate attention of your doctor to an hypertensive case when any of these is also present:
Stress
nausea
difficulty beathing
dizziness
constant headaches
sweating profusely
visual issues
uncertainty
Chest pain
urine with blood
these other issues might be an indicator of serious problems as a result of high blood pressure and this needs urgent medical intervention.