High Blood Pressure Tests & Treatment

Our knowledgeable and compassionate practitioners can help you diagnose and treat high blood pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common yet serious chronic condition. Most people with high blood pressure don’t notice any symptoms, which means they might go without treatment until they eventually develop a big health problem. An annual physical is one of the best ways to monitor blood pressure so that we can diagnose hypertension early and start treatment.

About the Hypertension Program

Since there are very few high blood pressure symptoms, LCH is diligent about patient testing and education. Many of our patients have common risk factors for hypertension, so we are focused on both prevention and management of this chronic condition.

Patients can visit any of our health centers in West Grove, Kennett Square, or Oxford to have their blood pressure tested and to learn more about hypertension prevention and management.

LCH regularly treats people who are diagnosed with hypertension. Our team works closely with patients to make sure they understand their hypertension medication, know how to recognize unusual symptoms, and make lifestyle changes that naturally improve blood pressure.

Key Tests for High Blood Pressure Diagnosis and Management at LCH

Most adults have had many blood pressure tests already. At the beginning of an appointment, your nurse will wrap a cuff around your arm and pump a small valve to tighten it while listening to your heart and looking at the second hand of a watch.

This very simple test gives us the systolic over diastolic measurement of your blood flow. The nurse will record your number for the doctor to review. Blood pressure does change based on your activity, position during the test, and even time of day. One single blood pressure test is not enough to diagnose hypertension. But if you do have high blood pressure at the time of your test, our team will recommend the next steps.

Additional tests might include:

• Testing blood pressure in our office or at home several times over a few days or weeks
• Blood and urine tests
• Basic heart monitoring with a stethoscope or an echocardiogram using an ultrasound machine
• Eye exam to check for effects of high blood pressure behind your eyes

Our team will recommend tests based on your risk factors and other conditions that you have or might have.

Preparing for High Blood Pressure Tests

Blood pressure does fluctuate throughout the day based on when you last ate, your activity level, having stimulants like caffeine or nicotine in your system, and even whether or not you have to use the bathroom. The best way to prepare for your blood pressure test is to get into as relaxed a state as possible.

We recommend that you avoid eating, smoking, or drinking coffee for at least half an hour before your appointment. Use the bathroom before your test, and try to relax for a few minutes before the cuff is applied. The clinician will ask you to sit with both feet flat on the floor and to relax your arms. Always review your medications with our team before your test so that we know whether or not it will have an effect.

Hypertension is the medical term for chronic high blood pressure. Blood pressure is how we measure the force of blood flowing through your arteries.

The body functions best when the blood moves at a certain rate. When the blood is moving too forcefully, it starts to damage the walls of the arteries, which then causes scarring. As the scars build up, blood has a harder time moving through, and the risk of heart attack and stroke increases.

Blood pressure is made up of two measurements:

• Systolic pressure is the force of blood during a heartbeat (heart contraction).
• Diastolic pressure is the force of blood between heartbeats. (heart relaxed)

Clinicians will explain these measurements as one number over the other. A healthy blood pressure is about 120 over 80. High blood pressure is anything higher than 140 over 90.

The most common risk factors for high blood pressure are genetics, obesity, substance abuse, Type 2 diabetes, and thyroid disease. Some people develop high blood pressure without any risk factors at all. Since there are no obvious symptoms, and high blood pressure can affect anyone, most doctors check blood pressure at every routine appointment.

Besides the increased risk of heart attack and stroke because of blocked arteries, hypertension is also linked with kidney damage or disease. The health problems that happen when someone has high blood pressure can be life threatening.