Diets for high blood pressure should include foods that are high in calcium and magnesium.

Signs of High Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure - "The Silent Killer"

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is called the silent killer because by the time you experience its life-threatening effects on your body, it can often be too late. You may have no symptom or sign of high blood pressure until it reaches a life-threatening stage. Many people never realize they have problems with high blood pressure until that first stroke or heart attack.

Every time you visit your doctor, a nurse checks your blood pressure. There are even high blood pressure machines in many pharmacies.

How Can I Recognize Whether I Have Hypertension?

First thing to do is, buy a home blood pressure monitor. This simple, inexpensive and portable equipment, called a “sphygmomanometer” contains a blood pressure “cuff” and a measuring device for determining your diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Since normal adult blood pressure should be about 120/80, you should primarily be concerned with the “top” number, the systolic pressure. If your systolic pressure rises above 135 and hovers there for a week, it is recommended that see your doctor immediately. Checking your blood pressure takes only five minutes of your time so try make it a part of your morning routine.

Ok, So What Are Some Signs of High Blood Pressure?

Since there are few overt signs of high blood pressure, it wears “sneakers.” Because it gradually increases, hypertension is rarely noticed until it has reached an extremely severe stage. Fortunately, other medical conditions can serve as a sign of high blood pressure. If you begin to experience unusually frequent headaches, nosebleeds, vertigo (dizziness), and tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears), these could very well be signs of high blood pressure which your physician can determine.

Medical Conditions that Can Be Caused by High Blood Pressure

Some medical conditions may be a sign of high blood pressure. Fairly sure give-aways include a rare tumor called “pheochromocytoma” that originates in the adrenal gland. Thus tumor causes an over-production of very powerful hormones that create hypertension and other symptoms. If you experience sudden bouts of sweating, heart palpitations and headaches, this may be caused by a pheochromocytoma tumor and also a sign of high blood pressure.

If you have a severe headache from a stroke that’s due to the rupture of an artery in your brain, chances are virtually 100% that this is a sign of high blood pressure that remained hidden until the stroke has already occurred. This type of stroke that results from hypertension is called a “subarachnoid” or cerebral hemorrhage.

Another sign associated with high blood pressure ischest pain that occurs from a rupture of a “thoracic aortic aneurysm” or back pain from and “abdominal aortic aneurysm” are other complications associated with hypertension.

Pregnancy and High Blood Pressure

A pregnant woman must be carefully monitored by her obstetrician for signs of high blood pressure. A condition called “preeclampsia” is characterized by an increase in blood pressure and other symptoms. Preeclampsia endangers the life of the mother and the unborn child, causing convulsions, coma, and death of the mother and/or the child. If a physician suspects that this deadly condition exists in a pregnant woman, she should be taking medication for hypertension until the child is safely born.