Post-self-care when diagnosed with hypertension

One in five young adults suffers from a high BP problem, making it the most common chronic diseases we Indians face. Though it doesn't affect your health severely in the early stage, it can become critical if not treated timely. Moreover, it can even lead to other complicated health issues related to the heart.

But what makes it so common?

Because its symptoms are little to no detectable, it is also a reason it is called a "silent killer". In this article, we have covered all the early symptoms that can alert you about your critical health condition. Additionally, we have also thoroughly discussed the things you need to do when you are diagnosed with high blood pressure.

Early signs for hypertension

In most cases, hypertension can live in the body for a year before showing itself. So, often it goes undetectable from the beginning until it starts giving you some early signs. Some of the first symptoms are

• Headaches that can sometimes become severe
• Shortness in breathing
• Nose bleeding
• Temporary reddening of the face
• Dizziness and light-headedness
• Pounding feeling in heart or chest areas
• Pain in the chest region
• Difficulty in vision
• Irregular heartbeat
• A small amount of blood discharge through the urine

Who is more prone to have hypertension?

The problem of high blood pressure becomes more common with the increasing age. Mostly, people from the age of 35 starts getting prone to this disease. Other reasons that can cause your BP to rise are

• Obesity
• Lack of exercise
• Fatty and salty foods
• Excessively smoking and drinking habit
• Someone in your family has hypertension
• Consuming too much preserved and canned food
• Lacks proper sleep and suffers from stress

What to do when you get diagnosed with hypertension?

Like any other disease, high blood pressure also alerts about its presence with the symptoms. So, you must always be careful not to overlook any sign. If you observe any symptoms mentioned above, you must go to a pharmacy to check your BP with a  professional instrument. Or for better analysis, you can make an appointment with doctors.

Consultation with doctor

High blood pressure should not be treated at home by yourself, no matter how confident you are. Even if you have Stage 1 hypertension, you must take a doctor's help. Hypertension can lead to many severe health complications like stroke and heart diseases if not treated properly. It would be best if you had some expert consultation to put your pressure level back to normal. It may sometimes happen that you feel any of the above symptoms but have got the standard measurement in the pharmacy. Don't let the matter slide. As few diseases have some common signs, so make an appointment with a doctor to determine the exact reason for the symptoms.

Taking proper medication

Medication is the quickest method to treat high blood pressure. When you visit a doctor, he/she will prescribe you certain medications for preventing the escalating of your blood pressure and push it back to normal. It would be best to follow the exact routine of medication as prescribed by our doctor, without missing any pills. In case you have forgotten to take any pill, take it immediately when you remember. But if it is nearly time for your next medicine, skip the missed one and go back to your usual medication routine. Though missing a single dose is usually not a problem, don't get off track about taking your doses. And most importantly, never take two pills at once to make up for the missed pill. It is because too much blood pressure dose can make you feel light-headed.

Eating healthy

Medication can bring your blood pressure level to be normal, but you can heal much faster than you expect if paired with a healthy diet. So, here is a list of food items that can assist in treating your high blood pressure.

Fruits & Vegetables

• Citrus Fruits

Fruits like oranges, grapes, lemons,  sweet limes, grapefruits, etc. are loaded with vitamins and minerals. These keep your heart healthy and make it immune from complicated heart diseases, which can be a significant reason for high blood pressure.

• Berries

Berries like blueberries, raspberries, etc. are loaded with antioxidants like anthocyanins. In turn, it promotes a healthy blood flow through the blood vessels, thereby causing your blood pressure to de-escalate.

• Beet Green and Beet Root

Beet green is the nutrient-rich leafy part of the beetroot. It can help your blood pressure to lower down. Unfortunately, most of us discard the leafy part of this vegetable to eat its root part. So, next time you cook, separate the leaf to make some side dishes. Beetroot, on the other hand, can make your blood pressure significantly low after a few hours of consumption. You can either cook it to eat with rice and chapatis or grind it to get its raw juice. But the natural juice is much more effective on your blood pressure than the cooked one.

• Spinach

This leafy vegetable is loaded with nitrates, antioxidants, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc. making it one of the best vegetables for people with hypertension.

• Carrots, Tomatoes, and Broccoli

All these vegetables are rich in nutrients that keep your heart healthy. It also prevents many heart disease, eliminating the chance of complicated blood pressure conditions.

Food

• Fatty Fishes

Fishes like mackerel, salmon, sardines, or mussels are rich in omega 3, preventing the oxylipins from constricting the blood vessels. Hence, it helps the healthy flow of blood, thereby lowering the heightened blood pressure.

• Pumpkin Seeds

They are a great source of proteins and nutrients like iron, calcium, beta-carotene, magnesium, potassium, etc. Moreover, it also has fatty acids like omega-3 and omega-6 that helps a healthy blood flow, thereby bringing down your blood pressure. They can be eaten raw or roasted for better taste.

• Beans and Lentils

They have certain nutrients like potassium and magnesium, that significantly bring down your blood pressure. Having a bowl of beans or lentils can substantially reduce your BP over time.

• Herbs and spices

Certain herbs and spices like celery seed, saffron, black cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, sweet basil, ginger, etc. can effectively lower your blood pressure with regular consumption.

• Greek Yogurt

It is packed with nutrients and minerals like calcium and potassium that regulate your blood pressure. Two servings per week should be consumed to get significant results. Having these fruits, vegetables, and healthy foods can help you to lower your BP. But you must be careful about these DON'Ts below to make sure you don't give any reason to your BP to trigger:

• Canned food
• Table salt
• Frozen pizza
• Pickles
• Canned soups
• Processed food

Improved lifestyle

Medicines help you cure the disease but add chemicals to your blood, which always has side effects. Therefore, depending on it is never the right choice. It would help if you led a healthy lifestyle. It includes:

• No stress

Stress from the workplace or home is one of the primary reasons that affect young people the most. If the conditions prevailed for an extended time, it could lead to high blood pressure. So, try not to take stress.

• Adequate sleep

When you suffer from lack of sleep, your body gradually loses the ability to manage the stress hormone, ultimately leading to high blood pressure. So, a healthy sleeping habit of 7 to 9 hours should be followed.

• Daily exercise

This is the best way to lower your blood pressure naturally. Exercises make your heart stronger, which helps it to pump blood without much effort. Moreover, physical activity can also help you beat obesity, which is one of the significant reasons for hypertension.

• No smoking and alcohol

Excessive smoking and drinking can make your heart weaker, causing your pressure to escalate and leads to several cardiovascular diseases. So, it is better to avoid these habits when you get diagnosed with high BP.

Self-monitorization

It is another essential step to make sure your BP is under control. Most physicians suggest taking your BP Reading at various times of the day and note them down to analyse them during the consultation. It has multiple advantages like

• Helps your physicians to make your treatment plan better
• You get more involved in self-care
• You can get alert in case of sudden BP escalation
• Reduces the number of doctor's appointments, thus decreasing the healthcare expenses
• You can measure your BP from the comfort of home

For this purpose, a digital blood pressure monitor is handy. Furthermore, because of their portable sizes, you can carry it anywhere along with you.

Conclusion

Hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases that, unfortunately, has no permanent cure. That means even after your blood pressure returns to the average level after treatment, it can elevate later if it gets any causes to trigger. So, once you get diagnosed with hypertension, it becomes your lifelong partner. All you can do is to manage your blood pressure level without totally depending on the medication. Moreover, if you can manage to maintain a healthy lifestyle, your doctor may stop your medication. But no matter whether your medication stops or not, don't forget to monitor your blood pressure daily. It gives you confidence about your healthy pressure level.