Capital Women’s Care was founded to nurture “the spirit of caring for every woman”. Our goal is to help our patients maintain their overall health and well-being by providing resources and information. To kick off the new year, we’d like to cover an important women’s health topic – blood pressure, specifically high blood pressure (also called hypertension).
In late 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released new guidelines and recommendations regarding blood pressure. The previous guidelines listed high blood pressure as above 140/90 mm Hg. The new, more conservative readings consider patients with systolic between 130-139 and diastolic between 80-89 as Stage I Hypertension, allowing providers to detect and intervene to prevent complications from high blood pressure.
What are the risks of high blood pressure?
Unmanaged high blood pressure can damage and weaken blood vessels, cause blood clots, and create issues with blood supply throughout the body. Essentially, your heart is working harder but not efficiently, leading to a number of serious conditions, including:
- Angina, or chest pains
- Heart disease, the most common cause of death in women in the U.S.
- Heart attack, a blockage of blood flow to the heart
- Heart failure, when the heart doesn’t pump blood as efficiently as it should
- Stroke, interruption of the blood supply to the brain
- Kidney disease or failure due to insufficient blood supply
- Vision loss due to retina damage
- Lower sexual desire in women (erectile dysfunction in men)
Should you have any questions about overall health, contact your Capital Women’s Care provider. He or she can provide information and resources for the help you need.
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