Seventy-five million Americans suffer from high blood pressure every year. With this condition, your blood circulates too quickly to ensure smooth and healthy circulation. At Delta Internal Medicine Center in Downtown Orlando, Florida, Michael Akpeke, MD, offers high-quality and effective treatment solutions to stabilize your blood pressure. To learn more about how you can prevent, diagnose, and treat high blood pressure, schedule an appointment online or by phone today.
407-985-1940High Blood Pressure Q & A
What is high blood pressure?
You should think about high blood pressure the same way that you think about the air pressure in your car tires. If there’s too much air pressure in your tire, it will bounce along the road, causing potential damage and injury along the way. High blood pressure functions similarly.
Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure occurs when the blood inside your veins circulates far too fast, causing damage to the artery walls as it slams along their surface.
Blood pressure levels fluctuate throughout the day, though maintaining high blood pressure for too long can lead to serious health complications.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure doesn’t have an exact cause, though there are a series of factors that increase your chances of developing it, including:
- Obesity and overweight
- Alcohol and tobacco use
- Genetics
- Age
- Pre-existing conditions
As you age, your artery walls start to stiffen and narrow. This can increase your chances of high blood pressure.
In some rare cases, high blood pressure is a result of kidney disease or hormonal imbalance.
Dr. Akpeke evaluates your overall health and medical history to determine what’s causing the issue.
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?
It’s possible that your high blood pressure doesn’t exhibit any symptoms. In fact, it’s often referred to as the silent killer, since it exhibits symptoms when it’s too late.
Nonetheless, the most common symptoms of high blood pressure include:
- Shortness of breath
- Blood in urine
- Chest pain
- Severe headaches
- Fatigue
- Problems seeing
- Excessive sweating
- Anxiety
If you think you’ve experienced any of the above symptoms, get in touch with Dr. Akpeke for a blood pressure evaluation.
How do you treat high blood pressure?
The best treatment for high blood pressure is prevention. Since high blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure, preventing irregular blood pressure levels is paramount.
Dr. Akpeke can recommend a series of dietary and lifestyle changes you can make to minimize your risks, such as a low-salt diet, moderate alcohol consumption, and regular exercise.
He tells how often you should come in to monitor your blood pressure and might recommend more extensive treatment if your high blood pressure is related to a more significant underlying condition.
To learn more about how you can prevent high blood pressure, schedule an appointment online or by phone today.