High blood pressure (hypertension in medical terms) is a prevalent health condition that targets the arteries in the body. This health condition is a key factor in premature death around the world. A person with this condition experiences blood continually pushing up on artery walls with excessive force. Due to this, the heart needs to pump blood harder.
To diagnose high blood pressure, a person should measure their blood pressure on two consecutive days. MmHg or millimeters of mercury is utilized to measure blood pressure.
A person has hypertension if the systolic blood pressure readings on the first and second day exceed or are equal to 140 mmHg or the diastolic shows greater than or equal to 90mmHg.
The first number to show in measuring blood pressure is systolic, which stands for the blood vessel pressure when the heart beats or contracts. On the other hand, the diastolic indicates the vessel’s pressure when the heart beats rest every after a heartbeat.
A person has hypertension if they have above 120/80 mm Hg blood pressure. Meanwhile, blood pressure that exceeds 180/120 mm Hg indicates a hypertensive crisis or emergency which requires immediate help.
Severe Headaches
A person with high blood pressure may experience severe headaches, affecting their quality of life. A study suggests that severe headaches brought on by high blood pressure frequently affect the head on both the left and right sides. In addition, physical exercise often makes the headache more intense and causes it to pulsate. According to the authors, the blood-brain barrier is impacted by high blood pressure, which results in headaches.
High blood pressure can generate excessive brain pressure in severe situations, mainly when blood pressure is very high. This condition can progress to blood leakage from the brain’s blood arteries.
Since the skull limits the brain for expansion, this leakage results in swelling or edema, which is dangerous. In addition to increasing brain pressure, the swelling can result in high blood pressure symptoms like severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness, confusion, and more.
Moreover, it is challenging to determine whether the severe headache is causing high blood pressure or the high blood pressure is causing the severe headache. So, it’s important to note that a severe headache is not always a symptom of high blood pressure, as it can also be the other way around.
