One in three adults has high blood pressure, a condition that silently develops for years without causing warning signs. At Advanced Cardiac Care PLLC, Michael Avaricio, MD, offers ongoing blood pressure screening and customized treatment to prevent high blood pressure from progressing to cause serious problems like a heart attack. If you need to schedule blood pressure screening or you’d like expert long-term management, call the office in the Ozone Park area of Queens, New York, or use the online booking system.
Blood pressure is created as the blood circulating through your body pushes against blood vessel walls. The amount of pressure depends on factors such as the total amount of blood in circulation, the health of blood vessel walls, and the strength of your heartbeat.
When high blood pressure goes untreated, the ongoing force can damage artery walls, creating rough spots where cholesterol easily accumulates. Over time, more cholesterol, fats, and calcium build up, forming plaque that hardens and narrows the blood vessels, a condition called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis can lead to life-threatening problems, including:
If atherosclerosis affects arteries in your brain, it can also contribute to memory problems.
High blood pressure is called the silent killer for good reason: It seldom causes symptoms. You can have high blood pressure for years without having a clue, yet all that time, the condition is damaging your health.
If you don’t keep track of your blood pressure, or you don’t have regular preventive checkups, the first sign of high blood pressure may be a heart attack or symptoms caused by peripheral artery disease and kidney failure.
High blood pressure typically develops over the years, getting worse in response to lifestyle concerns such as:
Less commonly, high blood pressure is caused by an underlying health problem such as obstructive sleep apnea or a thyroid disorder.
Since lifestyle factors are major contributors to high blood pressure, the first step in your treatment is a plan to change the factors affecting your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is mildly elevated, lifestyle changes alone may be enough to get it back to normal.
When lifestyle changes don’t help or your blood pressure is dangerously high, Dr. Avaricio prescribes medication. Several types of medications are available, and each one has a different mechanism of action, so Dr. Avaricio chooses the one that’s best for you.
If you haven’t had your blood pressure checked in the last year, or you need ongoing management to keep hypertension under control, call Advanced Cardiac Care or schedule an appointment online.