The Dangers of Hypertension

Most people with high blood pressure don’t even know they have it.

It’s estimated that around 1 in every 3 adults over the age of 20 has high blood pressure in the US, according to the American Heart Association. Of those 80 million Americans, almost half don’t have it properly controlled. Early diagnosis of hypertension is key to providing you with the treatment and medication you need to control your blood pressure. From the office of our cardiologist Dr. Ahmet Sayan, here are the danger of high blood pressure if left untreated,

  • Elevated blood sugar levels
  • Heart attack
  • Chronic renal failure
  • Heart failure
  • Angina
  • Peripheral artery disease
  • Hypertensive retinopathy (vision loss)
  • Stroke

If high blood pressure is left untreated this can cause permanent damage to the blood vessels, which also causes cholesterol to buildup along the walls of the arteries. When bad cholesterol levels increase this also increases your risk for heart attack and other serious heart-related complications.

Preventing Hypertension

Whether you have a family history of hypertension or not, there are certain lifestyle changes that everyone can make right now to reduce their risk for high blood pressure. These habits include,

  • Eating a healthy, balanced diet that is low in sodium
  • Quitting smoking
  • Limiting or avoiding alcohol
  • Getting chronic health problems under control
  • Getting regular exercise
  • Monitoring your blood pressure at home

Most people with high blood pressure don’t even know that they have it because it doesn’t cause symptoms. This is why hypertension is known as a “silent killer”. Therefore, the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure is to track it yourself.

Of course, many people can also benefit from visiting our St. Thomas heart doctor for routine checkups, particularly if you are at a high risk for hypertension and other heart problems. We can also provide patients with medication to control their blood pressure when lifestyle changes just aren’t enough.

If you are having trouble getting your blood pressure under control turn to our cardiologist at Virgin Islands Orthopaedics and Medical Specialists. Call our St. Thomas, office at (340) 714-2845 or our St. Croix office at (340) 692-5000.

St Thomas

340-714-2845

St Croix

340-692-5000

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Saint Thomas

Monday:

7:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

7:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

7:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

7:00 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

7:00 am-4:00 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

St. Croix

Monday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed