High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can develop without you knowing, eventually leading to potentially deadly strokes and heart attacks. Kashif Siddiqui, MD, and Sumera Muzaffar, MD, at Broadway Family Clinic in Pearland, Texas, offer routine blood pressure measurements so you can closely monitor your health. If your blood pressure is too high, they can help you lower it and prevent life-threatening complications. Call Broadway Family Clinic to request a blood pressure check or arrange an appointment using the online booking feature today.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure (hypertension) causes no symptoms despite being a potentially life-threatening disease. It develops when the force of blood pumping through your arteries gets too high, damaging the blood vessels.

People with primary hypertension usually have high blood cholesterol. This sticky substance builds up in your arteries, leading to atherosclerosis (narrowed blood vessels) and coronary artery disease. Those with secondary high blood pressure develop the condition because of other health problems, such as:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
• Thyroid disease
• Adrenal gland tumors
• Congenital heart defects
• Kidney disease

Cough and cold medicines, certain pain relievers, cocaine, contraceptive pills, and amphetamines can also cause high blood pressure.

Primary hypertension typically takes years to develop, but secondary hypertension occurs more quickly.

How do I know if I have high blood pressure?

Checking your blood pressure is quick and straightforward. Your Broadway Family Clinic provider wraps and inflates a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm. The cuff squeezes to restrict blood flow, then releases. This enables your provider to measure the blood’s force as your heart beats (systolic reading) and in between beats (diastolic reading).

The two figures combined produce your blood pressure measurement: 120 or below systolic and 80 or below diastolic is healthy blood pressure (although if it drops too low, you may have hypotension — low blood pressure). 

Raised blood pressure measures 120-129 systolic and below 80 diastolic. High blood pressure (stage one hypertension) readings are in the range of 130-139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic. If your blood pressure is 140 or higher systolic or over 90 diastolic, you’ve got stage two hypertension.

What treatment do I need for high blood pressure?

If you identify raised blood pressure soon enough, lifestyle modifications alone are often sufficient to lower it to healthy levels. Changes people may need to make include:

• Losing weight 
• Exercising more
• Quitting smoking
• Reducing dietary salt intake
• Cutting out cholesterol-rich foods
• Reducing alcohol consumption
• Adopting stress management techniques
• Improving sleep quality and quantity

Broadway Family Clinic can help with these changes. The experienced doctors offer advice, support, and expert health monitoring to ensure your blood pressure decreases. If necessary, they can also prescribe medication to lower your blood pressure.

Call Broadway Family Clinic to arrange a blood pressure evaluation or request a consultation online today.