High blood pressure seldom causes symptoms. Unfortunately, the first sign often arrives in the form of a stroke or heart attack. However, you may experience symptoms when the fatty plaque gets large enough to block blood flow significantly.
Symptoms depend on the location of the plaque. For example, coronary artery disease may cause chest pain, while peripheral artery disease leads to non-healing leg wounds and leg pain.
If the blockage affects your kidneys (renal artery stenosis), you may have itchy skin and swollen ankles.
Oxygen rich blood flowing through your arteries puts a lot of pressure on your blood vessel walls. Healthy arteries can stand up to a certain amount of pressure. But when the pressure rises above average (high blood pressure), it damages the walls.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, develops over years of lifestyle habits that affect your blood pressure. The top culprits include:
- Not engaging in regular exercise
- Being overweight or carrying excess weight
- Living with frequent stress
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking cigarettes
- Consuming too much salt
Hypertension can also stem from other health conditions such as thyroid disease, kidney disease, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Damage to your artery walls creates rough areas that snag cholesterol. Over time, more fats accumulate in the same area, causing a condition called atherosclerosis. As fatty plaque continues to enlarge, it increasingly blocks blood flow. This can lead to serious complications, such as:
- Peripheral artery disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Carotid artery disease
- Renal artery stenosis
- Abdominal aortic aneurysms
Without proper treatment for high blood pressure, you’re more at risk for heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
Though the Prime Physicians team always customizes your care, high blood pressure treatment includes several essential elements:
Lifestyle changes
Several lifestyle changes can significantly lower your blood pressure, including limiting salt, weight loss, exercising, and reducing stress. It’s also essential to stop smoking. The toxic chemicals you inhale raise blood pressure and damage the artery walls.
Medications
Medications reduce hypertension by slowing your heartbeat, relaxing the arteries, or eliminating excess water and salt.
Remote patient monitoring
You can use a Bluetooth®-enabled blood pressure cuff at home that sends information to the Prime Physicians team when needed. Treating underlying conditions, the team creates a customized treatment plan to deal with any underlying conditions that may be contributing to your high blood pressure.
To check your blood pressure or receive treatment for high blood pressure, call Prime Physicians or request an appointment online today.