Corona Bites: Day Twenty-Five
High blood pressure and Coronavirus
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries – the vessels that carry your blood from your heart to your brain and the rest of your body. You need a certain amount of pressure to get the blood moving around your body.
Your blood pressure naturally goes up and down throughout the day and night, and it’s normal for it to go up while you’re moving about. It’s when your overall blood pressure is consistently high, even when you are resting, that you need to do something about it.
High blood pressure is serious. If you ignore it, it can lead to heart and circulatory disease, such as a heart attack or stroke. It can also cause kidney failure, heart failure, problems with your sight and vascular dementia.
Symptoms of high blood pressure
High blood pressure rarely has noticeable symptoms. But the following can be symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Nosebleeds
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Headaches
More than 1 in 4 adults in the UK have high blood pressure but many will not know they have it. Many people with high blood pressure feel fine. But even if you feel fine, you should still have your blood pressure checked regularly. If you’re a healthy adult over 40, it’s recommended that you get it checked at least once every five years. But if you’re at increased risk of high blood pressure, you should have it checked more often, ideally once a year.
Please get in touch to get your BP measured, to speak about family history and your risk, arrange tests and appropriate medication. We believe in medications as a last resort and so try hard to avoid starting patients on medication, concentrating on lifestyle changes first. We also try to wean patients off the medications if appropriate measures result in the blood pressure control improving.
High blood pressure medications and Coronavirus
There has been a lot of speculation about blood pressure medications and the increased risk of getting/worsening the effects of Coronavirus. This has led to many discussions and opinions and the advice of our doctor would be that each case is individual and dependant on your other risk factors and current health issues. Contact us if would like to discuss your individual case with our doctor.
We would also like to reassure you there are currently no shortages of heart medications as a result of Coronavirus and many pharmacies offer a home delivery service if you are self-isolating and are unable to have a friend or family member pick up your prescription. Contact us to help you arrange this if needed.
