The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly half of American adults suffer from hypertension. In the United States, almost half a million deaths in 2018 were directly linked to elevated blood pressure.
Although high blood pressure is common, that doesn't mean it’s not dangerous. Below, our experts at Bethel Family Medicine share a few reasons why prevention is the best treatment for high blood pressure.
Medications commonly used for blood pressure management come with side effects. Some patients may take additional pills to counteract the effects of their blood pressure pills.
Also, these medications don’t treat the root cause of elevated blood pressure, as they’re used only for hypertension management.
One study found that even when hypertension is successfully managed by medications, it may still lead to an increased risk for stroke. Therefore, prevention is a vital part of decreasing mortality associated with elevated blood pressure.
When blood rushes faster through veins and arteries, it damages the walls of blood vessels. If your blood vessels become injured, your body uses cholesterol and other substances to seal the wound, similar to how scabs form on your skin after you get a cut or a scrape.
However, when these wound sealants grow too large inside the vein, blood clots occur. Clots can disrupt the blood flow in the veins, leading to heart attacks or strokes.
Hypertension is one of the main indicators of heart disease, the top killer worldwide.
Hypertension isn’t merely a symptom of old age or a consequence of humans living longer lives. In fact, hypertension is now affecting more young adults and teenagers than ever, and the numbers are continuing to climb.
Potential contributors to the rise of hypertension in younger populations include high obesity rates, excess sugar consumption, excess consumption of processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, certain types of birth control pills, and polluted urban areas.
Hypertension can lead to the damage of the arteries everywhere in the body, including in the brain. Damage in the blood vessels inside the brain doesn’t always lead to a massive stroke. Sometimes they can cause mini-strokes.
Mini-strokes don’t have obvious signs, but as they become more and more common, the damage they cause accumulates and the cognitive functions of the sufferer decline.
Knowing your numbers is key in preventing hypertension complications. Although hypertension can sometimes be influenced by genetics, the rapid increase of hypertension cases, even among the young, suggests that other risk factors may play a more significant role in the development of the disease.
If you want to learn more about how to prevent hypertension, contact us to schedule an appointment at our office in Brockton, MA.
