High Blood Pressure - Living With - Living With

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is important that you continue your treatment plan. You will need regular follow-up care and may want to learn how to monitor your condition at home. Your doctor may need to change or add medicines to your treatment plan over time.

Let your healthcare team know if you are planning to become pregnant. Read the High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy section for more information.

Manage your condition

Keep up your treatment plan, including healthy lifestyle changes, to help control your blood pressure and prevent heart disease. Making lifestyle changes and remembering your medicine every day can be hard, but there are ways to help.

  • Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about apps for monitoring and tracking your blood pressure. They also may know a way to get texts to remind you to take your medicine every day and notify you when it’s time to fill your prescription.
  • Get support from loved ones and others in your community. You can share the Supporting Your Loved One with High Blood Pressure tip sheet with them.
  • Have regular medical checkups and tests, as your doctor advises. Ask questions and discuss your progress. Let your doctor know if you have any new conditions or have been taking new medicines since your last appointment.
  • Your doctor may want you to check your blood pressure at home or other locations that have blood pressure equipment. Return to Screening for reminders on how to prepare for blood pressure testing and how to take your blood pressure yourself.
  • Visit My Blood Pressure Wallet Card to print out and keep a written log of all your results. Take the log to your doctor’s appointments. You may be able to send the readings to your doctor’s office electronically.

Return to Treatment to review possible treatment options for your high blood pressure.

Know when to call for help for complications

Readings above 180/120 mm Hg are dangerously high and require immediate medical attention. Blood pressure this high can damage your organs. Call 9-1-1 if you experience:

  • A sudden, severe headache
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Sudden, severe pain in your abdomen, chest, or back

High blood pressure can also lead to heart attack or stroke. Call 9-1-1 if you suspect this is happening to you or someone else.

Heart attack

The signs and symptoms of a heart attack include:

  • Nausea, vomiting, light-headedness or fainting, or breaking out in a cold sweat. These symptoms of a heart attack are more common in women.
  • Prolonged or severe chest pain or discomfort not relieved by rest or nitroglycerin. This involves uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center or left side of the chest that can be mild or strong. This pain or discomfort often lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back.
  • Shortness of breath. This may accompany chest discomfort or happen before it.
  • Upper body discomfort. This can be felt in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach.

Stroke

If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and perform the following simple test.

  • F—Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
  • A—Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
  • S—Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
  • T—Time: If you observe any of these signs, call for help immediately. Early treatment is essential.