High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a serious health issue that affects many older people. The arterial system is the network of blood veins in your body. It changes as you age. The heart pressure goes up because the arteries get harder. This can be true even for people who take good care of their hearts and feel good. High BP is sometimes called “the silent killer” because it doesn’t usually cause visible or felt signs of illness. Even though nearly half of all people have hypertension, many may not even know they have it.
If high blood pressure isn’t managed by making changes to your lifestyle and taking medicine, it can lead to major health problems like heart disease, stroke, vascular dementia, eye problems, and kidney disease. The good news is that most people can take care of their hypertension.
How Does Blood Pressure Work?
Blood pressure is the force of the blood against the walls of the arteries when the heart beats. When a doctor or nurse checks your blood pressure, they wrap your arm with a heart pressure cuff that tightens and then slowly loosens. The answer is given as a pair of numbers. The first number, systolic blood pressure, is the pressure that happens when your heart squeezes and pushes blood out. The second number is your blood pressure when your heart rests and fills with blood. This is called diastolic blood pressure.
The systolic blood pressure number is added to the diastolic heart pressure number to get a blood pressure result. Based on these two numbers, there are different amounts of blood pressure.
Hypotension means that your peak blood pressure is less than 90 or your diastolic heart pressure is less than 60. If your blood pressure is low, you may feel weak, dizzy, or even faint. It can happen if you don’t drink enough fluids, if you lose too much blood, if you have certain medical conditions, or if you take certain medicines, like those for hypertension.
- Most people have normal blood pressure if their peak pressure is less than 120 and their diastolic pressure is less than 80.
- When the systolic pressure is between 120 and 129 and the diastolic pressure is less than 80, this is called high blood pressure.
- High BP means that the peak pressure is at least 130 or that the diastolic pressure is at least 80.
- Usually, the first number (systolic) is 130 or higher for older people, but the second number (diastolic) is less than 80. This problem is called isolated systolic hypertension, and it’s caused by the major arteries getting stiffer with age. It is the most common type of hypertension in people over 65, and it can cause major health problems like shortness of breath during light exercise, dizziness when getting up too quickly, and falls.
One reason to see your doctor often is to check your blood pressure and, if necessary, make a plan for how to handle it.
Do I Have A High Heart Rate?
High heart pressure can happen to anyone. High BP can be caused by things like metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and problems with the thyroid. Because of things they can’t change, some people have a higher chance of getting it. These things are:
Age. As you age, your chances of having hypertension, especially isolated systolic hypertension, go up.
Gender. Before age 55, guys are more likely to have hypertension than women. After menopause, women are more likely to have hypertension.
Family. Some families have a history of hypertension.
Race. African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure than other groups.
Most of the time, there are no signs or symptoms of hypertension, but having your blood pressure checked regularly will help you notice if it is rising. If your blood pressure is high at two or more appointments, the doctor may also ask you to check it at home.
When choosing whether or not to start treatment for hypertension, older people should think about things like their general health and exercise level. Your doctor will work with you to find the best heart pressure goal for your health. He or she may suggest that you exercise, make changes to your food, or take medicine.
How Do I Keep My Heart Pressure In Check?
Most of the time, you can lower your blood pressure by making changes to your everyday life and, if necessary, by taking medicine. The treatment needs to be checked on and talked about with your doctor on a regular basis, especially if you have other health problems like diabetes.
Changes in your way of life can help you avoid or lower high BP:
Try to stay at a good weight. Having hypertension is more likely if you have a lot of extra weight. Find out if you need to lose weight from your doctor. In general, to keep a good weight, you need to burn the same number of calories as you eat and drink.
Exercise. High blood pressure can be lowered with moderate exercise, such as a quick walk or a run. Set goals so you can exercise safely and work your way up to exercising at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per week. If you have health problems that aren’t being handled, talk to your doctor before starting a workout plan.
Eat well for your heart. Your heart pressure can go down if you eat a healthy diet of veggies, fruits, carbs, protein, dairy, and oils, like the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) plan.
Use less salt. As you get older, your body and blood pressure become more sensitive to salt (sodium), which is added to many foods during cooking or preparation. The amount of salt you eat each day may help. The DASH diet is low in salt.
Don’t drink as much. Your blood pressure can change if you drink booze. To lower their chance of high heart pressure, men shouldn’t drink more than two drinks a day and women shouldn’t drink more than one drink a day.
Don’t light up. You are more likely to get hypertension, heart disease, a stroke, and other health problems if you smoke. Quit smoking if you do. Quitting is good for your health at any age; you’re never too old to stop.
Get some good sleep. People may have told you that you snore or sound like you stop breathing for short periods of time when you sleep. This could be a sign of sleep apnea, which is a sleep disorder. Blood pressure can go down if you treat sleep apnea and get a good night’s sleep.
Deal with stress. High heart pressure can be helped by finding ways to deal with issues and lowering stress.
In addition to suggesting changes to your lifestyle, your doctor will probably give you medicine to bring down your blood pressure to a safe level. Isolated systolic hypertension is the most common type of hypertension in older people. It is treated the same way as regular high blood pressure, but it may require more than one type of heart pressure medicine. You may have to try more than one type of medicine or mix of medicines before you find the one that works best for you. Your blood pressure can be controlled with medicine, but it can’t be cured. If your doctor gives you medicine for high heart pressure, you may have to keep taking it for a long time.
How To Take Medicine For Hypertension
If you don’t treat high BP, it can make you more likely to get sick. If your doctor gives you pills to lower your blood pressure, keep these things in mind:
- If you take medicine for high blood pressure and your BP goes down, it means that the medicine and changes to your lifestyle are working. If another doctor asks if you have hypertension, you can say, “Yes, but it is being treated.”
- Changes to your habits that are good for you may help you need less medicine.
- Slowly get up from sitting or lying down and stand for a while before you walk. This lets your blood pressure settle down before you walk, which keeps you from getting dizzy and falling.
- Tell your doctor what medicines you take. Don’t forget to add vitamins, supplements, and over-the-counter drugs. They could raise or lower your heart pressure. They can also change how well your medicine for hypertension works.
- The same time every day should be set aside to take your BP medicine. For example, you could take it with food in the morning or before you brush your teeth at night. If you have any questions about when or how to take your medicine, you should talk to the pharmacy.
- Don’t forget to get your prescriptions refilled before you run out, and bring them with you when you travel. Unless your doctor tells you to stop, it’s important to keep taking your medicine.
- Ask your doctor before surgery if you should take your blood pressure medicine on the day of your surgery.