I\u2019d like to talk a bit today about high blood pressure\u2014which we refer to as hypertension<\/em>.\u00a0Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. Furthermore, it is also a risk factor for other cardiovascular problems: heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and aneurysms, not to mention kidney disease (mainly due to its effects on the small vessels of the kidney).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned last week about cholesterol, my patients express frustration that blood pressure goals seem to be a moving target\u2014and they are!\u00a0Currently, the generally accepted goal is a systolic<\/em> (the top number in the blood pressure reading) under 130 (mmHg<\/em> is the unit of blood pressure) and a diastolic<\/em> (the bottom number) under 80 mmHg.\u00a0Just a few years ago we settled for less than 140\/90\u2014and when I started my medical training in 1985, elderly people weren\u2019t treated unless their systolic blood pressure was over 160 mmHg!\u00a0But we have known for many years, based on epidemiologic studies, that the blood pressure that is associated with the lowest rate of cardiovascular events is around 115\/70.\u00a0Over time, studies\u2014conducted in the form of randomized controlled trials\u2014that actually test medications aiming for lower blood pressures have supported more stringent targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone, though, should be treated the same way.\u00a0Some people don\u2019t feel well with their blood pressure that low and we need to back off on medication.\u00a0People who have advanced kidney disease or a recent stroke often need higher blood pressure to perfuse<\/em> (supply blood to) the kidney and brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for most people, having a blood pressure under 130\/80 leads to less wear and tear on the heart, the brain, the kidneys and, generally speaking, all the blood vessels in the body.\u00a0So, if you can tolerate medication to keep your blood pressure in that range, it\u2019s a good number to shoot for.\u00a0Don\u2019t accept a higher number just because \u201cthat\u2019s where it\u2019s always been\u201d or because you feel fine with a high blood pressure\u2014hypertension does its damage silently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And one other thing\u2014try not to fret if your blood pressure is sometimes elevated.\u00a0It generally takes years for hypertension to cause its damage.\u00a0Our goal is to keep the blood pressure mostly in the optimal range\u2014no one is perfect all the time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Koshkarian, MD, FACC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019d like to talk a bit today about high blood pressure\u2014which we refer to as hypertension.\u00a0Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. Furthermore, it is also a risk factor for other cardiovascular problems: heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and aneurysms, not to mention kidney disease (mainly due to its effects on the small vessels of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[80,97,188],"yoast_head":"\n