Tests and Diagnosis for Hypertension or High Blood Pressure
Tests For Hypertension
The test for hypertension is essentially very simple. If your blood pressure reading is too high – then you have high blood pressure. However you could be having an off day or there may be other things affecting you so that your blood pressure is high on that particular day. So one test is not enough to make a confirmed diagnosis.
If you have a high blood pressure reading your doctor will probably ask you to relax for a few minutes then test again. If your blood pressure is still high they will ask you to come back another day.
Your doctor will also ask about other medications you may be taking (some over the counter medicines – like cold remedies or ibuprofen – can raise your blood pressure temporarily). Your doctor will also ask about various lifestyle factors – you may be having an unusually stressful day!
Additional Tests
If it is confirmed that you have high blood pressure for more than one or two days then your doctor will want to ask additional questions, such as whether you have a family history of high blood pressure. They might also want to do additional tests to see if there is an underlying cause. You will probably have a urine test and a blood test, you may also get an ECG (Electrocardiogram)
Diagnosis
Here is the usual range of blood pressure diagnosis:
SystolicDiastolicNormalLess than 120Less than 80Pre-Hypertension120 – 13980 – 89Stage One Hypertension140 – 15990 – 99Stage Two Hypertension160 or higher100 or higher
What treatment options you are offered will depend on more than just your blood pressure readings. Most people are not recommended drugs unless their blood pressure is consistently above 140/90 and lifestyle adjustments have not worked. However for diabetes this is usually lowered to 130/85. But if your blood pressure is significantly higher then you may be asked to start drugs immediately.
Doctors like to catch people who have pre-hypertension so that they can recommend lifestyle changes and prevent people from developing full blown hypertension. Taking drugs to treat hypertension will usually result in nasty side effects so your aim should be to make sure that you never need them.
However, if you are prescribed drugs for high blood pressure it is important to take them – and keep taking them. If your doctor prescribes drugs then they feel that you are in danger of serious side effects.
If you stop taking the drugs suddenly you may suffer “rebound hypertension” that is where your blood pressure rises, often to higher levels than you had before starting the drugs. You can make lifestyle changes and take herbal supplements to naturally lower your blood pressure, and when your doctor sees your blood pressure going down then they can supervise you to come off the drugs.