What is the main cause of hypertension (High Blood Pressure)?

Common factors that can lead to high blood pressure include: A diet high in salt, fat, and/or cholesterol. Chronic conditions such as kidney and hormone problems, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Family history, especially if your parents or other close relatives have high blood pressure.

What are the 4 stages of hypertension?

Doctors classify blood pressure into four categories: normal, prehypertension (mild), stage 1 (moderate) and stage 2 (severe). Treatment https://www.drsunilthanvi.com/ambien-10-mg/ depends on which category your pressure consistently falls in when readings are taken.

What defines hypertension?

Hypertension, also known as high or raised blood pressure, is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of the body in the vessels.

What are the warning signs of hypertension?

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• Feeling confused or other neurological symptoms.
• Nosebleeds.
• Fatigue.
• Blurred vision.
• Chest pain.
• Abnormal heartbeat.

Diabetes and heart disease

When you have diabetes, you’re more at risk of heart disease. This is also called cardiovascular disease (CVD) or coronary disease, and can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Cardiovascular disease affects your circulation too. And poor circulation makes other diabetes complications worse – like problems with your eyes and feet.

That’s why it’s even more important to take good care of your heart when you have diabetes. We’re here to explain why diabetes increases your risk of heart problems, and how you can reduce this risk.

Why does diabetes increase your risk of heart disease?

If you have high blood sugar levels for a period of time, even slightly high, your blood vessels can start to get damaged and this can lead to serious heart complications.

This is because your body can’t use all of this sugar properly, so more of it sticks to your red blood cells and builds up in your blood. This build-up can block and damage the vessels carrying blood to and from your heart, starving the heart of oxygen and nutrients.

So keeping as close as possible to your target HbA1c level will help protect your blood vessels and in turn your heart. Even mildly raised blood sugar levels can, over time, put you more at risk.

Managing your diabetes and your heart

We’ve talked about the link between high blood sugar levels and your heart health. But it’s not all down to blood sugars. Blood vessels are also damaged by high cholesterol (blood fats) and high blood pressure.

So you can help prevent damage to your blood vessels by looking after your:

• Blood sugar levels
• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol (blood fats)

Getting your HbA1c, cholesterol and blood pressure checked at least once a year is part of your 15 Healthcare Essentials and your legal right. If you’re not getting these, give us a call and we’ll help you get the care you’re entitled to when you have diabetes.

By managing these three things, you’ll be helping to manage your diabetes and protecting yourself against heart complications. But there are lots of other things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease.