The ideal way to check if you have hypertension is to get routine checks and look out for high blood pressure symptoms. Generally, a doctor will monitor your pressure readings over a certain period.
In case your blood pressure remains high, doctors will prescribe some tests. They are as follows:
- Urine tests.
- Cholesterol screening and other tests.
- Echocardiogram.
- Ultrasound of heart and kidney.
These tests will help identify any underlying cause or secondary factor contributing to high blood pressure. Also, the tests show how much effect your organs had due to the elevated blood pressure.
Moreover, to check blood pressure, one must have a clear understanding of the readings. There are two numbers that determine blood pressure reading. They are:
- Systolic: It implies the top number and indicates the pressure inside your arteries when your heart pumps the blood out.
- Diastolic: This reading gives the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats. The lower number signifies diastolic pressure.
A healthy person will have pressure around 120/8 mm Hg, whereas a hypertension patient’s reading will be beyond this standard. However, there is a range of hypertension readings you must know about:
- Elevated: This happens if systolic pressure ranges between 120 and 129 mm Hg, and the diastolic pressure is less than 80 mm Hg.
- Stage 1: In this case, the systolic number is 130 and 139 mm Hg, and the diastolic is between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
- Stage 2: Here, the systolic and diastolic reading is beyond 140 and 90 mm Hg.
- Hypertensive crisis: This is the most severe case where the systolic is over 180 mm Hg and the diastolic is more than 120 mm Hg.
Therefore, after knowing the reading details, one can use a pressure cuff to get accurate readings if they encounter high blood pressure symptoms.