If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, talk with your health care team about your blood pressure levels and how these levels affect your treatment plan. Show
What are the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure?High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure. What causes high blood pressure?High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also happen during pregnancy. You can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems that may affect your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. What problems does high blood pressure cause?High blood pressure can damage your health in many ways. It can seriously hurt important organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems. Heart Attack and Heart DiseaseHigh blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to heart disease. In addition, decreased blood flow to the heart can cause:
Stroke and Brain ProblemsHigh blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you. Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia from the National Institutes of Health’s Mind Your Risks® campaign. Kidney DiseaseAdults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or both have a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease than those without these conditions. How do I know if I have high blood pressure?There’s only one way to know if you have high blood pressure: Have a doctor or other health professional measure it. Measuring your blood pressure is quick and painless. Talk with your health care team about regularly measuring your blood pressure at home, also called self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring. High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. What can I do to prevent or manage high blood pressure?Many people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure into a healthy range or keep their numbers in a healthy range by making lifestyle changes. Talk with your health care team about
Learn more about ways to manage and prevent high blood pressure. In addition to making positive lifestyle changes, some people with high blood pressure need to take medicine to manage their blood pressure. Learn more about medicines for high blood pressure. Talk with your health care team right away if you think you have high blood pressure or if you’ve been told you have high blood pressure but do not have it under control. By taking action to lower your blood pressure, you can help protect yourself against heart disease and stroke, also sometimes called cardiovascular disease (CVD). Learn MoreHeart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)Not what you're looking for? OverviewA heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is a medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly and severely reduced or cut off, causing the muscle to die from lack of oxygen. More than 1.1 million people experience a heart attack (myocardial infarction) each year, and for many of them, the heart attack is their first symptom of coronary artery disease. A heart attack may be severe enough to cause death or it may be silent. As many as one out of every five people have only mild symptoms or none at all, and the heart attack may only be discovered by routine electrocardiography done some time later. SymptomsNot everyone has the same heart attack symptoms when having a myocardial infarction.
Other common symptoms include:
Older people, especially women, often take longer than younger people to admit they are ill or to seek medical help During the early hours of a heart attack, heart murmurs and other abnormal heart sounds may be heard through a stethoscope. Causes and Risk Factors A heart attack (myocardial infarction) is usually caused by a blood clot that blocks an artery of the heart. The artery has often already been narrowed by fatty deposits on its walls. These deposits can tear or break open, reducing the flow of blood and releasing substances that make the platelets of the blood sticky and more likely to form clots. Sometimes a clot forms inside the heart itself, then breaks away and gets stuck in an artery that feeds the heart. A spasm in one of these arteries can cause the blood flow to stop. DiagnosisBecause a heart attack (myocardial infarction) can be life threatening, men older than 35 or women older than 50 who have chest pain should be examined to see if they area having a heart attack. However, similar pain can be caused by pneumonia, a blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism), pericarditis, a rib fracture, spasm of the esophagus, indigestion or chest muscle tenderness after injury or exertion. A heart attack can be confirmed within a few hours of its occurrence by:
TreatmentHalf the deaths from a heart attack occur in the first 3 or 4 hours after symptoms begin. It is crucial that symptoms of a heart attack be treated as a medical emergency. A person with these symptoms should be taken to the emergency department of a hospital in an ambulance with trained personnel. The sooner that treatment of a heart attack begins, the better. Chewing an aspirin tablet after an ambulance has been called can help reduce the size of the blood clot. A beta-blocker may be given to slow the heart rate so the heart is not working as hard and to reduce the damage to the heart muscle. Often a person who is having a heart attack is given oxygen, which also helps heart tissue damage to be less. People who may be having a heart attack are usually admitted to a hospital that has a cardiac care unit. Heart rhythm, blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the blood are closely monitored so that heart damage can be assessed. Nurses in these units are specially trained to care for people with heart problems and to handle cardiac emergencies. Drugs may be used to dissolve blood clots in the artery so that heart tissue can be saved. To be effective, these drugs must be given intravenously within six hours of the start of the symptoms of a heart attack. After six hours, most damage is permanent. (People who have bleeding conditions or severe high blood pressure and those who have had recent surgery or a stroke cannot be given these drugs.) Instead of drug therapy, angioplasty may be performed immediately to clear the arteries. This approach is preferred as primary therapy in heart attacks. If the blockages are extensive, then coronary artery bypass surgery may be necessary. Chances of surviving a heart attack can improve when an individual recognizes the symptoms early and seeks immediate medical attention. One out of every 10 people who have heart attacks, however, die within a year - usually within the first three or four months. Typically, these people continue to have chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms or heart failure. Older people and smaller people tend to not do as well after a heart attack as younger people and larger people. This may be one reason why women tend to fare less well than men after a heart attack - they tend to be both older and smaller, as well as have other disorders. They also tend to wait longer after a heart attack before going to the hospital. After a heart attack (myocardial infarction), a doctor may require additional tests or treatment, including:
© 2000-2022 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions. Not what you're looking for? Can taking your blood pressure tell if your having a heart attack?Blood pressure is not an accurate predictor of a heart attack. Sometimes a heart attack can cause an increase or decrease in blood pressure, but having a change in blood pressure reading doesn't always mean it's heart-related. Instead, a better strategy for gauging a heart attack is to look at your overall symptoms.
What are the 4 signs of an impending heart attack?What are the symptoms of heart attack?. Chest pain or discomfort. ... . Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint. ... . Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back.. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms or shoulders.. Shortness of breath.. How do you rule out a heart attack?Tests to diagnose a heart attack include:. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This first test done to diagnose a heart attack records electrical signals as they travel through the heart. ... . Blood tests. ... . Chest X-ray. ... . Echocardiogram. ... . Coronary catheterization (angiogram). ... . Cardiac CT or MRI .. How high is blood pressure during a heart attack?High blood pressure and hypertensive crisis
If your blood pressure readings exceed 180/120 mm Hg and you have any symptoms such as headache, chest pain, nausea/vomiting or dizziness, call 911 immediately.
|