High Blood Pressure
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Hugo M Toro, MD, PA
Board Certified Internal Medicine located in Katy, TX
High blood pressure or hypertension is a potentially deadly condition that causes no symptoms. Having a regular blood pressure checkup is the only way to spot rising blood pressure, so visit the team at Hugo M Toro, MD, PA, for a blood pressure screening test before you experience any of the life-threatening outcomes of having untreated hypertension. Call his practice in Katy, Texas, today to schedule your blood pressure checkup.
High Blood Pressure Q&A
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a health problem that can cause life-threatening complications, including:
- Heart attack
- Kidney failure
- Stroke
Blood pressure describes the force of blood as it pumps through your arteries. If this force is too strong, it puts your organs under extreme strain that can lead to the most dangerous outcomes. Unless you have your blood pressure checked regularly, you won’t have any idea how high it is.
High blood pressure doesn’t cause any symptoms until the organ affected reaches a crisis point and stops functioning. You can’t feel the force of your blood pumping, and high blood pressure doesn’t make you feel ill unless it reaches a critical level.
Therefore, one of the easiest and best ways to protect yourself against the potentially devastating effects of high blood pressure is to visit the Hugo M Toro, MD, PA, team regularly to have your blood pressure measured.
How is blood pressure measured?
Measuring blood pressure is a straightforward process that takes just a few minutes. Your provider places a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm and inflates it. They then measure the pressure of the blood in your arteries when your heart pumps, which is the systolic measurement, and in-between each heartbeat, which is the diastolic measurement.
Putting the two measurements together gives you your blood pressure reading. Healthy blood pressure would be below 120 systolic and below 80 diastolic. Raised blood pressure would be between 121 and 140 systolic, or 81 and 90 diastolic.
High blood pressure is over 140 systolic or 90 diastolic. Dangerously high blood pressure is 160 or above systolic or 100 or above diastolic.
Once you have your blood pressure reading, your provider can explain what it means and whether you need any treatment.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is sometimes a symptom of an underlying disease like diabetes. However, in most cases, high blood pressure develops because of an unhealthy lifestyle. There are risk factors that increase your chances of developing high blood pressure. These include:
- High-fat diet
- High cholesterol
- High-salt diet
- Being overweight
- Lack of exercise
- Chronic stress
- Smoking
- Excess alcohol
Your blood pressure naturally rises as you get older, so leading an unhealthy lifestyle gets even riskier as you age.
How is high blood pressure treated?
If you have very high blood pressure, you might need to take medication such as calcium channel blockers. However, the most effective way to lower blood pressure and improve your health is to make better choices in what you eat and how you live your life.
The Hugo M Toro, MD, PA, team can help by supporting you and providing advice and information regarding healthy eating plans, weight loss programs, exercising safely, and stopping smoking.
To find out more about high blood pressure, call Hugo M Toro, MD, PA, today.
More Information
For more information about high blood pressure, Hugo toro, MD, PA recommends the following sources: