Hypertension Specialist

What is hypertension?

Hypertension, which you might recognize as high blood pressure, happens when the force of blood flowing through your veins is strong enough to increase stress on your heart. This often happens when plaque builds up along the walls of your blood vessels, making them narrower.

Hypertension is extremely common and is linked to unhealthy diet and lifestyle factors, like lacking exercise or eating too much salt. Excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and tobacco use, and certain medications can also elevate your blood pressure. 

While hypertension doesn’t cause symptoms in a wide majority of cases, you can find out what your blood pressure is with readings at the doctor’s office or at your local pharmacy. If Dr. De La Hoz finds that you have high blood pressure, he discusses the issue with you and can work with you to lower it to safer levels. 

What are the complications of hypertension?

Hypertension is a primary risk factor for many different cardiovascular conditions and complications that can be life-threatening if you don’t get the care you need. If you don’t get regular readings and end up going for years with high blood pressure without being aware of it, you can do serious damage to your veins, arteries, and heart. Complications can include:

• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Aneurysm
• Arrhythmias
• Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)

When hypertension damages the brain in the case of strokes and TIAs, it can affect your memory and cognitive function. The effects of hypertension are widespread, but you can often avoid such complications just by making some changes to your lifestyle.

How can I manage my hypertension?

With regular office visits and convenient remote telemedicine follow-ups, Dr. De La Hoz can help you lower your blood pressure or manage it to avoid serious and potentially life-threatening health complications. You can manage hypertension with:

Diet changes

Changing your diet by including more fruits and veggies, limiting salt intake, reducing portion sizes, and limiting alcohol consumption can all help lower your blood pressure or prevent it from getting higher. 

Exercise

You should exercise regularly, at least five days a week, to manage or lower your blood pressure. Exercise can also help reduce stress, which can contribute to hypertension. 

Medications

If diet and lifestyle alterations aren’t enough to lower your blood pressure, Dr. De La Hoz can prescribe medications like diuretics, beta-blockers, or vasodilators to manage your blood pressure with consideration to any other underlying conditions you have. 

If it’s time for a blood pressure reading or if you’d like to learn how to better manage or prevent hypertension, call JAX Family Care for an appointment or schedule online right away.