Article Contents
Introduction
As we grow older, our body becomes susceptible to all kinds of diseases and medical issues. A stroke is no exception. You’ve heard about it. Relatives, friends, or even your community member may have suffered from a stroke. Did you know that preventing strokes via blood pressure monitors is possible?
As you age, strokes may become common and even fatal. Having a stroke depends on many things that are out of your control. Family history determines whether someone will experience strokes in their later years.
But this information is often misrepresented. Medical history impacts whether you’ll get a stroke, but did you know that there are ways to prevent it?
You can’t change the inevitable, but you can lessen the severity of it. Here’s where blood pressure monitors come in. This nifty little medical equipment can track your blood pressure. They can even verify symptoms of strokes and prevent them.
Let’s find out how.
Why Monitoring Blood Pressure Is Necessary
Monitoring blood pressure is very important. It is one of the biggest global health concerns today. So measuring blood pressure must be done. It can help you understand your symptoms and see what your body is trying to tell you.
Accurate blood pressure measurements are required for medical diagnosis by doctors as well. It might surprise you, but blood pressure can inform you of potential health risks.
For instance, if you are suffering from high blood pressure, then there is a chance that you may experience various medical conditions. This can include cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, or a stroke. As you can see, this makes recording blood pressure crucial.
While most doctors and clinics offer blood pressure measurement services, it’s not good to depend on these alone.
After all, everyone goes to the doctor once or twice a month. Things like high blood pressure ought to be monitored all the time. New research recommends monitoring it for 24 hours as you go about your day.
This makes life easier. When you visit your doctor next time, they’ll check your daily blood pressure readings. This way, they can prescribe more efficient and better medication help you in the long run.
Risks Associated with High and Low Blood Pressure
So, by now, you’re wondering why it is so important to keep a check on your blood pressure. Sure, it tells you about any potential health risks, but this is the doctor’s job, isn’t it? So, why should you keep a check on these things?
Well, you need to keep a check on these things since our medical condition can change rapidly. Just because you’re doing well today doesn’t mean that you’ll do well tomorrow.
Since a person’s medical condition is so unpredictable, it’s wise to keep a check on their blood pressure. After all, both high and low blood pressure come with their own set of risks.
What Can High Blood Pressure Do?
A high blood pressure monitor will be the focal point of this blog post as it is linked to causing strokes. But did you know that it can also damage vital organs like your brain, eyes, heart, and kidneys?
Furthermore, high blood pressure can arise suddenly with no warnings or symptoms. This drastically increases the chances of severe health problems. Higher blood pressure can damage your arteries. It can also decrease blood flow and oxygen to your heart. This can develop heart diseases and can even lead to:
- Chest pains
- Heart attacks
- Heart failure
But worst of all, if your brain isn’t getting enough oxygen, it can lead to strokes. As you know, strokes can be fatal. Even when they’re not life-threatening, they can lead to severe disabilities. These include problems with speech, movement, and other essential activities.
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What Can Low Blood Pressure Do?
Unlike high blood pressure, which sneaks up on you, it is quite possible to detect low blood pressure. Make no mistake, though. Low blood pressure can be dangerous as well. Now, low blood pressure might seem desirable to most people. The consequences of high blood pressure might make it seem better. But if it is abnormally low, it can be fatal.
When your blood pressure drops to low amounts, it causes dizziness or lightheadedness. Sometimes you might even faint from it. Additionally, it can lead to blurred or fading vision and nausea. People with low blood pressure have also reported experiencing fatigue.
But don’t think that this is it. Low blood pressure- or hypotension- in elders can be life-threatening and lead to a shock. So, of course, it is very important that you keep track of low blood pressure if you have any one of certain conditions. These include:
- Heat problems
- Endocrine problems
- Dehydration
- Blood loss
- Severe infection
- Lack of nutrients in your diet
- Severe allergic reaction
- Pregnancy
How Does High Blood Pressure Lead to a Stroke?
High blood pressure means that your blood is exerting too much force on your arteries. As you know, this pressure can cause quite a bit of problems as it damages the inner lining of your vessels.
In some cases, it may even lead to small tears. Over time, the arteries will become so damaged that they’re susceptible to raptures. This is where things get bad. When there’s a rupture in the brain, the patient will experience a hemorrhagic stroke.
But that’s not the only type of stroke you could experience. When your blood vessels are damaged, your immune system tries to repair them. As a result, scar tissues form over the tears and can lead to clots and blockages. When these blockages cut off blood supply to the brain, an ischemic stroke occurs.
Those suffering from atrial fibrillation, along with high blood pressure, are at a very high risk of stroke. Due to these diseases, sometimes blood can’t flow out of the atrium and instead forms a clot in the heart. This creates a blockage, causing patients to have a stroke.
Does High Blood Pressure Medication Prevent Strokes?
The short answer to this question is yes! High blood pressure medication can prevent a stroke. But you need to understand some things before deciding to do it yourself. Remember, there’s a reason that the doctor suggests the brand for it.
High blood pressure medication, as it suggests, is given to those suffering from the issue. It’s quite standard procedure, actually. The doctor prescribes the medication to you, and that’s all.
So, it’s not an unreasonable deduction to believe that taking it will prevent strokes. But what you don’t understand about these medications is that they are very dangerous.
You might think that you can skip the doctor’s and have these medicines instead to prevent a stroke. But what you don’t understand is that not every blood pressure medication is the same.
There are different types of blood pressure medications out there. Doctors prescribe those with your medical history in mind. As mentioned earlier, they have side effects. If the doctor does not consider these side effects when prescribing, the results can be very serious.
The wrong medications might affect your cholesterol or sugar levels and increase your blood pressure. This might sound a bit strange. Sure, cholesterol and sugar levels (among other things) might make sense. But the side effect of not researching properly is rising blood pressure.
How does that happen?
Well, that happens because blood pressure can’t just be singularly pin pointed, isolated and cured. Everything else in your body needs to be considered as well. If you eat the wrong medication, it might affect something else, leading to your blood pressure increase. Most probably, that something might be stronger than the effect of your medication. This way, your blood pressure might end up skyrocketing in spite of your self-medication.
These things are very sensitive, and you shouldn’t self-medicate. You could say that you’ll probably research before taking a pill, but that’s not going to help you.
In the end, blood pressure medication can only be helpful to you if you get the proper dosage of the right medicine from your doctor. Your doctor will then monitor your blood pressure and can even recommend changes as per your readings.
Preventing Strokes via Blood Pressure Monitors: 5 Essential Tips
By now, you’re more than well aware of the issues that come with blood pressure (especially high blood pressure). So, let’s look at ways in which you can monitor it. As we have stated multiple times in this blog post, blood pressure monitors are the way to go.
They are available everywhere, easy-to-use, and keep track of your blood pressure throughout the day. So, what can you do to ensure that you’re taking your blood pressure reading properly?
Well, we’ve got 5 tips for Preventing Strokes Via Blood Pressure Monitors.
Place Cuffs on Your Upper Arm
When you place the blood pressure monitor’s cuff on your upper arm, you are guaranteeing a more accurate reading. It doesn’t matter which arm you put the cuff on. As long as it is in the upper arm, it’s fine.
Placing the cuff on the lower arm may give you results close enough to the actual reading, but that’s not enough. You need the most accurate reading possible. Traditionally, hospitals prefer using machines that put cuffs on your upper arm. So, if you want to ensure that your readings are similar to the doctor’s, you should get this one.
Use Cuffs that Fit
People often don’t really care about cuffs. As you’ve learned from the section above, people also tend to use cuffs wherever they feel right. Now, we know that cuffs can get uncomfortable during measurement, but it is necessary. Think of it this way. After a moment’s inconvenience, you have plenty of knowledge of how your body is working.
So, don’t be shy from the discomfort and ensure that your blood pressure monitor has a cuff that fits you. You can easily buy something that’s too loose or too tight. Neither situation is good because they will tell over or underestimate your blood pressure.
If you’re unsure about sizing, then you can even refer to your doctor or nurse to guide you.
Measure Twice a Day
The ideal way to keep a check on your blood pressure is by noticing its changes throughout the day. So, set up a timetable that you can use to track your readings. Once in the morning, once in the evening is fine. You can make a note of doing it before or after a meal or so as well.
But do make sure that you don’t overdo it. It’s so easy to check your blood pressure several times a day. But, since blood pressure changes several times as well, this can create confusion. You can also track your readings, though, as this can significantly help both you and your doctor.
Wait before Your Morning Readings
Blood pressure monitors are designed to take your blood pressure simply. They don’t take environmental or circumstantial changes into account. Perhaps you woke up with a headache or sour throat that may have affected your reading.
Make sure that you allow your body time to adjust a bit before taking the reading. If you’re someone who’s into exercising or yoga, do it before that as well. The same goes for any medications which you’re taking.
Place the Device on Your Bare Skin
We know this might seem something simple, but you wouldn’t believe how often people ignore this? So, when you’re using the blood pressure monitor, make sure to roll up your sleeves so that the cuff is on your bare skin.
Additionally, make sure that your hand rises to the level of your heart. You can use a pillow or table to do so, but it helps maintain consistency. Rolled sleeves may cut off blood circulation, which may lead to inconsistent readings as well.
If you implement these 5 tips into your blood pressure regime, we’re confident that you will see the changes. This way, you can make changes to your lifestyle to prevent strokes and other diseases.
If you see that you’re suffering from high blood pressure, you can cut back on eating out or unhealthy foods. Losing weight also helps to lower high blood pressure.
Remember, controlling your blood pressure is essential to preventing strokes. In the quest to do so, your best friend is Preventing Strokes Via Blood Pressure Monitors. This nifty device will ensure that everything in your life is on track- as long as you use it correctly!SUMMARY
Conclusion
Blood pressure- particularly high blood pressure- can cause some serious damage to our bodies. So, it is necessary that we do whatever it takes to ensure that we’re doing a good job at monitoring. Preventing strokes via blood pressure monitors is now a great possibility.
We highly recommend that you keep a check on your blood pressure at all times. So, don’t forget to protect yourself from future ailments by adopting precautions today. You will be able to save yourself indefinitely and prevent life-changing illnesses.
