High Blood Pressure -

I had never really thought about blood pressure before to be honest. It seemed like something that happened to the older people

Steve aged 44

How it might affect you

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High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common medical condition where the pressure inside your arteries is higher than it should be. If you have it, you probably won’t get any symptoms but you’re more likely to get serious problems like heart disease, a stroke or kidney disease.

As High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms. Therefore, it’s important you get your blood pressure checked regularly. Check with your GP or nurse how often to get it checked.

As already stated most people with high blood pressure don’t experience any symptoms. However, very high blood pressure or rapidly rising blood pressure can cause:

Headaches
Vision problems
Nose bleeds
Trouble breathing
Fits
Black-outs

Find out more about the symptoms of High blood pressure Here

How to Reduce or Improve your Blood Pressure

Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.

The following are the lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your blood pressure:

Cut your salt intake to less than 6g (0.2oz) a day, which is about a teaspoonful – find out how you can reduce the amount of salt in your diet Here
Eat a low-fat, balanced diet – including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables; get tips on eating more healthily Here
Be active – read some tips about getting more exercise Here
Cut down on alcohol – get tips on cutting down, including downloading a drinks diary and keeping track of your drinking Here
Lose weight – find out what your ideal weight is using the BMI healthy weight calculator Here and read advice about losing weight if you’re overweight Here
drink less caffeine – found in coffee, tea and cola
stop smoking – get help quitting Here
get at least 6 hours of sleep a night – read some tips for getting to sleep Here

If your blood pressure is exceptionally high and you are struggling to bring it under control even with lifestyle changes. You may need to take blood pressure medication to lower it further.

There is a wide range of blood pressure medications available. Most of these are grouped under four main types of medicine:

ACE inhibitors
Angiotensin receptor blockers
Calcium channel blockers
Thiazide diuretics

There are other types of medication available, but these four types are most commonly used today.

Finding the right blood pressure medication for you is important. Every person is different, and some types of blood pressure medication work better in different types of people. What works well for a friend or relative may not work so well for you. Many people find that one medicine alone will not lower their blood pressure enough. Each type of medication works in different ways in your body, so taking more than one should have more of an effect on your blood pressure. Doctors have guidelines to help them decide what to use, but it can take time to find the right blood pressure medications for you.

Support and Advice

There’s a lot you can do yourself to reduce your blood pressure and there are national and local organisations and groups to help you get on track to reduce your blood pressure.

There are opportunities to have your blood pressure checked in the summer and autumn of 2019, without having to go to your doctors. Find out more Here

If you are concerned about your blood pressure or would like to know your blood pressure, speak to your GP or practice nurse

Blood Pressure UK is the charity dedicated to lowering the nation’s blood pressure. Their services will help you take control of your blood pressure – for life Find out more Here

Local Health Improvement services can help with a variety of lifestyle changes that will help improve your health. Find out more Be Well

Live Active is a local service that aims to improve your health and wellbeing, by working with you to become more active within your day to day life. The programme is designed to work individually with you to help manage your health condition/s through a tailored physical activity programme, with ongoing support. Find out more Here

Know your Blood Pressure

Even if you do not have high blood pressure at the moment, it is important to keep your blood pressure as low as you can. The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of health problems.

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Move More

Exercise and physical activity lowers blood pressure so make time in your day to move more

Learn more

Keep a healthy weight

For some people, losing weight is all they need to do to get their blood pressure down to a normal level

Learn more

Don't drink too much

alcohol raises blood pressure, so stick to no more than 2-3 units a day and try and have at least 3 alcohol free days

Learn more

Understanding your blood pressure

High Blood pressure may not cause any symptoms, but you should always take high blood pressure seriously. It’s an even bigger problem if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, as it can raise your risk of complications. Once someone has been diagnosed, they can reduce their risk with treatments and lifestyle changes.

It’s important to have your blood pressure checked because there are rarely any symptoms, so you may not know it’s high until it’s too late. Around seven million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed high blood pressure.

If you’re over 40 and haven’t been diagnosed with a long-term condition, ask your GP if you can have a health check.

Your doctor wouldn’t usually give a diagnosis based on one blood pressure reading. This is because your blood pressure varies through the day, and some people experience higher readings when their doctor measures it – known as ‘white coat hypertension’. These days, high blood pressure is usually diagnosed after you’ve used an ambulatory or home blood pressure monitor. An ambulatory monitor is worn for 24 hours, with a cuff around the upper arm and an electronic device attached to your belt to record the data, which your GP can download onto a computer. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring provides a much better assessment of your blood pressure and your GP can base your treatment on that.

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About High Blood Pressure

How it might affect you

How to Reduce or Improve your Blood Pressure

Support and Advice

Know your Blood Pressure

Move More

Keep a healthy weight

Don't drink too much

Understanding your blood pressure