Hypertension
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Thomas Family Practice
Family Medicine located in Houston, TX
One in every three adults in the United States has high blood pressure or hypertension. Dr. Sally Thomas at Thomas Family Practice provides a variety of medical treatments and guidance to implement the healthy lifestyle changes required to reduce high blood pressure. Contact the bilingual team at their Houston office today by phone or online to learn more about treatment options.
Hypertension Q & A
What is hypertension?
Hypertension means you have high blood pressure in your arterial walls. This pressure is essential to help blood circulate but too much can damage arteries, veins, and vessels throughout your body.
Although your pressure level fluctuates daily, consistently high blood pressure can lead to severe health complications, including blood clots and atherosclerosis.
What causes hypertension?
Hypertension doesn’t have an exact cause, but one or more of the following factors can increase your chances of a high blood pressure diagnosis:
- A family history of hypertension
- Excessive alcohol and tobacco use
- Obesity or being overweight
- Narrow and stiff arterial walls due to aging
Medical conditions like kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, or hormone imbalances can lead to high blood pressure, too. Through expert diagnostic care, Dr. Thomas identifies the precise methods you can use to prevent and treat hypertension.
What are the symptoms of hypertension?
Experts refer to hypertension as the “silent killer” because when you begin to notice the symptoms, it’s too late — you already have high blood pressure. In some cases, no symptoms are identifiable.
Contact the team at Thomas Family Practice immediately if you experience one or more of the following symptoms of hypertension:
- Chest pain
- Severe headaches
- Unexplained fatigue
- Vision issues
- Shortness of breath
- Extreme sweating and anxiety
These signs and symptoms indicate that you could have a dangerously high blood pressure of 180/120 mm Hg or higher. This stage of hypertension is a hypertensive crisis and a potentially life-threatening condition.
How is hypertension treated?
Several treatments are available for high blood pressure. As the first step, Dr. Thomas identifies the lifestyle changes that can substantially improve your overall health.
She’s likely to recommend a balanced routine of daily exercise, healthy nutrition, minimal alcohol consumption, and weight loss or maintenance to reduce your blood pressure or chances of developing high blood pressure.
When lifestyle changes don’t stabilize your blood pressure, Dr. Thomas prescribes medication as a complement to your new balanced lifestyle, such as diuretics to eliminate sodium and water in your kidneys or beta blockers to relax your blood vessels.
Dr. Thomas works with you to develop effective approaches to manage your high blood pressure. To learn more about what you can do to treat hypertension, call or go online today to book an appointment with the bilingual team at Thomas Family Practice.
