Managing Hypertension

Once the diagnosis of hypertension is made few laboratory investigations are mandatory. These tests may come out as normal, but this gives an important baseline guideline for managing hypertension in future. The test are directed to the organs, the high BP commonly affects. These following tests are done and should be repeated every year.

Basic investigations required for a patient with hypertension:

1. Electrocardiogram or, ECG to know the condition of the heart
2. Echocardiography, to see the heart’s function if ECG is abnormal
3. Serum Cholesterol and its fractions, triglycerides – their relevance with heart attack and stroke and diabetes.
4. Blood sugar levels - Hypertension is frequently associated with diabetes.
5. Serum urea, creatinine and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chlorides) – These will tell the status of kidney.
6. A routine urine examination – will also tell about the kidney status.


Treating the hypertension:

Hypertension treatment has clearly 2 factors.

1. Lowering of blood pressure by medicines
2. Lifestyle modifications.

Medicines are essential to tide over the immediate crisis and in most of the cases has to be continued for life long. But this is not the ultimate solution. Unless lifestyle modification is done, the drugs may not work properly and much higher doses with all their side effects may be required.

Blood pressure lowering drugs acts in many ways. Some relax the vessel wall; some excretes excess water and thus reduce the load. Drugs has definite time periods of working. Some works 12 hrs. some 24 hrs. The doses are to be given accordingly. The doctor, who is treating you is the best judge for the drugs, which will suite you. He might combine different drugs, fortunately there are many to chose from nowadays, to get better results and lesser side effects. You may be wondered why so many drugs while you have no symptoms at all! Hypertension is rightly named “silent killer”. Even if the person is having no symptoms; the major organs get affected slowly and suddenly produces disastrous outcome. So never ignore the treatment, even if you have no symptoms.

Lifestyle modifications must be given equal importance as the drugs. Wrong dietary habits, no exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, mental stress with no relaxation are all common bad habits found in obese, diabetic and hypertesives. These trio are the major killer these days. They are very much interrelated and thrive on our bad habits.
Changing habits is difficult to start with but, once you get the beautiful feelings after getting rid of them, you will never look back to them. Life is beautiful. Don’t ruin it.

This article is republished in India Study Channel