Allergies
If you are experiencing high blood pressure that does not respond to medication, you may have the type that is known as resistant hypertension. How does this condition come about, and what steps can be taken to correct it?
A combination of medications and changes in lifestyle will generally control the common medical condition that is known as hypertension. Even when consuming multiple medications for high blood pressure, some people cannot seem to control their blood pressure. Doctors will make a diagnosis of resistant hypertension, also known as resistant high blood pressure when blood pressure remains uncontrolled even though three or more different blood pressure drugs are being taken.
One out of four persons having high blood pressure may have resistant hypertension, which is a challenge for the patient and the patient’s doctor. It is fortunate, if you have been identified as having resistant high blood pressure, that there is something you can do to help manage your blood pressure, but you shouldn’t alter your treatment without asking your doctor.
White coat hypertension is a possible factor to look at if your blood pressure always seems to be elevated. Some people have high blood pressure numbers while they are in their doctor’s office but when they test their blood pressure in their house where they don’t have as much stress, their blood pressure is lower. It may prove helpful to have your BP read at different times during the day for several weeks, outside of your physician’s office. Most pharmacies sell the equipment required to test your blood pressure in your house and this isn’t too expensive or hard to do. By recording blood pressures taken at home, you can assist your physician in the determination of whether or not you have resistant high blood pressure.
Lifestyle factors should also be looked at when thinking about resistant high blood pressure. Even though you might be using your blood pressure medications as instructed, if you have a lot of sodium in your diet, you might be exacerbating the problem. Not only does high sodium lead to high blood pressure, but it also increases the possibility of suffering from heart disease. Becoming more aware of how much sodium you’re consuming each day will be important, and you will need to spend more time reading labels when shopping for food at the market. Sodium intake should not exceed 1500 milligrams per day; adhering to this limit may assist in the correction of a resistant hypertension problem. A diet loaded with fruits and vegetables helps to reduce resistant high blood pressure, as well, by giving the body potassium, a necessary mineral for blood pressure management. Reducing extra weight and increasing physical activity do tend to lower blood pressure.
What happens when you make these lifestyle changes and you still don’t see any improvement? If resistant high blood pressure continues despite changing the way you live and your doctor adjusting your medication, there could be a chance that an unidentified medical condition like a kidney ailment could be the reason for it continuing to be high. Additional medical tests may be ordered by your doctor to figure out what is going on.
