How To Treat High Or Low Blood Pressure

Doctors and Healthcare Practitioners are slowly but surely changing the way we not only look at high blood pressure but the way we treat the condition when diagnosed.

According to a study published recently in the Robarts Research Institute in Canada, scientists appear to have developed a simplified and potentially much more effective method of treating high blood pressure.

The project leader, Dr Ross Feldman, a clinical pharmacologist, demonstrated through the study that more patients had their blood pressure lowered and actually to a greater extent when the healthcare practitioners or family doctors involved used a simplified treatment protocol rather than having to choose from the rather large (and growing) number of drugs available to treat the condition.

The other side effect of this particular study was that though the primary focus of the study was purely in relation to hypertension or high blood pressure it would appear from the initial results of this study that it could cause a massive change in the way healthcare practitioners and doctors treat a whole series of chronic conditions and diseases.

The trial, otherwise know as the Simplified Treatment Intervention To Control Hypertension (STITCH) trial was a programme that analyzed the results of the treatment of both the 2100 patients with high blood pressure spread over 45 family practices in Ontario in Canada.

What is it about high blood pressure that makes it a problem and when ignored so lethal?

Barring a definitive diagnosis, most sufferers of high blood pressure, that is to say usually 19 out of every 20, are tragically ignorant of their condition.

Quite often an apparently symptom less disorder, a diagnosis of high blood pressure can be missed for years and hence the morbid description “the silent killer”.

If spotted there are a couple of signs that can be attributed to high blood pressure and if these are observed and with out apparent cause then they should not be left untreated.

These symptoms can include the following: Dizziness, Ringing in the Ears , Morning Headache , Depression .

Though the above can indicate high blood pressure it has to be emphasised that they might just as easily indicate other associate conditions.

What does high blood pressure mean?

Well, if we are to go back to basics then the body’s major tissues and organs are supplied and fed with blood pumped to them from the heart via a network of hose like vessels called arteries.

In nine cases out of ten then the particular cause of high blood pressure is hard to identify and as such in these cases the high blood pressure is termed “Primary (Essential) High Blood Pressure”.

In the majority of cases where the cause of the high blood pressure can be traced directly to one particular failing organ or cause then it is not uncommon for the associate problems to be treated successfully where this “Secondary High Blood Pressure” is not the direct cause of the associate high blood pressure.

In less than 10% of the incidences of high blood pressure diagnosed, the diagnosis falls into the category known as “Malignant Hypertension”. Quite often this is discovered totally by accident and may be as a result of an associate test such as an eye test whereby the Optician can sometimes detect the condition by merely looking into a patients eye.

It would appear that from this month onwards that treatment of high blood pressure will soon never be the same again.

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ACE inhibitors stop the production of a hormone called angiotensin II that makes the blood vessels narrow. As a result, the vessels expand, improving blood flow. Tension in the circulation is also lowered by the kidneys filtering more fluid from the blood vessels into urine. This also helps reduce blood pressure. If your blood pressure is not easily controlled on simple medication, your doctor will probably use a medicine of this type.

While most cases of high blood pressure arise from an unknown set of factors, in some cases a definite cause is clearly identified. In these cases, treatment will have two different goals. First, to control the high blood pressure. Second, to relieve, if possible, the underlying cause. Someone with high blood pressure because of an underlying hormone disorder, for example, would likely be controlled on blood pressure medications but would also be treated in an attempt to resolve the hormone imbalance at the root of the problem.

The most commonly used diuretic to treat high blood pressure in the UK is called bendroflumethiazide (bendrofluazide) – but there are others. For example, chlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, cyclopenthiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, and indapamide. Diuretics work by increasing the amount of salt and fluid that you pass out in your urine. This has some effect on reducing the fluid in the circulation which reduces blood pressure. They may also have a ‘relaxing’ effect on the blood vessels which reduces the pressure within the blood vessels. Only a low dose of a diuretic is needed to treat high blood pressure. Therefore, you will not notice much diuretic effect (you will not pass much extra urine).

Even people who do not have hypertension know that diet plays a very important role in the cause or prevention of this health condition. And it is true. If your diet is high in fat and sodium, you have an increased risk of having high blood pressure. So you better avoid food that is high in salt, sugar and fat.

But before going on a diet, you should also put into consideration your age and weight. Not all types of diet programs can be applied to everyone. It is important that your diet should not only be healthy, but somehow it should also fit your tastes and lifestyle.

The preferred treatment of choice for those suffering high blood pressure is usually a change of lifestyle. For those who are overweight, smoke, lead highly stressful lives or seldom exercise, sometimes this is the only wake up call they need. Once they make the necessary lifestyle adjustments, they will often find their blood pressure symptom restored to a more normal range.

If you have high blood pressure, or have just been diagnosed with it, you may have concerns and questions about how it is going to be treated and how high blood pressure will affect you in your day-to-day life. You may also be worried about how high blood pressure will affect your future health.

Slightly raised blood pressure may not need to be treated so aggressively, but regular monitoring is important. If you have very severe high blood pressure, you may need to go to hospital for treatment. But it’s much more likely that you will be cared for by your GP and/or a nurse.

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