That was a responder from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Let me state this medical fact for the umpteenth time, the greatest symptom of hypertension, is that in 85% of cases there is no symptom.
Hypertension according to Prof Craig Weber does not usually cause any noticeable symptoms. When it does you might experience dizziness, shortness of breath, headaches, and occasional nose-bleeds, which could indicate that your blood pressure is rising.
Complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure can occur if long-term hypertension is not adequately treated.
A hypertensive emergency, which is an uncommon and dangerous event may cause blurry vision, nausea, chest pain and anxiety.
What are the frequent symptoms of hypertension?
Overall, the vast majority of people who have hypertension, which is described as chronically high blood pressure – more than 130 mmHg systolic or more than 90 mmHg diastolic, do not experience any symptoms of the condition as I stated earlier.
● Symptoms that do occur, if present may indicate temporary fluctuations or elevations in blood, and may be related to the timing of medication doses
● Generally, the symptoms of hypertension can happen at any time, do not last long, and may recur. They include;
1) Recurrent headaches : Some people with hypertension notice changes or worsening of headaches, when the blood pressure becomes higher than usual.
2) Dizziness: Shortness of breath is more noticeable with physical exertion or exercise.
3) Nose-bleeds : Not a typical sign of hypertension but could occur.
4) Blurry vision or visual disturbances. These are warning signs in a hypertensive person that you are at a risk of serious health problem, such as stroke or heart attack.
5) Nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite. This could occur in hypertension.
What is hypertensive urgency?
A type of high blood pressure without serious symptoms is called hypertensive urgency.
Hypertensive urgency is defined as a systolic blood pressure greater than 220 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure greater than 120 mmHg. These pressures are considered too high and could put you at a serious risk, of sudden Cerebro-Vascular-Accident(CVA), such as stroke, heart attack and other life-threatening events.
In Gregory Specialist Hospital, Uturu. I have recently seen more than 4 to 5 patients with blood pressures ranging from 200 to 230 systolic and 100 to 120 diastolic, who walked into my Consulting Room, with their two legs without symptoms.
They were always very sceptical when I insisted they must be admitted, to bring down their blood pressures before going home.
One of them, I saw as late as last week, before the public holidays, an Elder sister to one of my staff, was smiling from molar to molar, and blackmailing me, by saying that “God was in control”, as if I did not know.
Yes, I replied her, that God was actually in control, otherwise she wouldn’t have walked into my office with such a high blood pressure with her two legs.
I shuddered to imagine what could have happened to her, if God’s Grace did not bring her, to Gregory Specialist Hospital, Uturu that morning, and if her younger brother, did not bring her to say “Hi”, to their CMD. Again if she hadn’t complained of persistent headache, which made me to check her blood pressure, which was 230/110.
When should you go to the hospital?
A hypertensive emergency requires immediate emergency medical care. The symptoms of hypertensive emergency include:
● Severe headache.
● Chest pain.
● Palpitations.
● Shortness of breath.
● Severe dizziness or fainting spells.
● Vision changes.
● Weakness, numbness, tingling in the arms, legs, or face on one or both sides.
● Slurred speech or inomprehension of spoken words.
● Confusion or behavioural changes.
Please do not attempt to lower extremely elevated blood pressure in yourself or someone else. While the goal is to reduce blood pressure before additional complications develop, blood pressure should be reduced by qualified medical personnel, over the course of hours to days, depending on severity.
It is important not to lower blood pressure too quickly, because rapid blood pressure reductions can cut off the supply of blood to the brain, leading to brain damage or death.
Complications of hypertension
These include – aneurysm rupture, Cerebro vascular accident, vascular disease, heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, heart and kidney failures.
When should you see a doctor?
If you are above 40, and you are not a known hypertensive, please see your doctor today. Always be medically guided.
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