SERVICES & PROCEDURES

HYPERTENSION

OVERVIEW

Pulmonary hypertension is a form of high blood pressure which affects the arteries in your lungs as well as the right side of your heart. Some types of pulmonary hypertension are severe conditions which worsen and are potentially fatal.

+What is hypertension?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is when your blood pressure increases to unhealthy levels. Narrow arteries cause resistance, and as your arteries become thinner, so does your blood pressure increase.

+What symptoms are experienced?

Due to the nature of hypertension being the ‘silent killer’, the symptoms are not always experienced. These are the symptoms of severe hypertension:

  • Headaches
  • Shortness of breath
  • Nosebleeds
  • Racing pulse
  • Fatigue
  • Lips and skin turning blue 
  • Dizziness
  • Pain in the chest
  • Visual changes
  • Blood in the urine

+How is it diagnosed?

Testing for hypertension is as simple as doing a blood pressure reading. If your blood pressure continues to increase, Dr Naicker might conduct tests which include an ultrasound of the heart and kidney, cholesterol screening and other blood tests, urine test and testing the heart’s electrical activity. The tests, as mentioned above, will help your doctor identify any secondary issues which are causing your high blood pressure. Your doctor will also look at how your high blood pressure is affecting your organs. 

+What does treatment involve?

Dr Naicker will assess the best treatment option for you based on the type of hypertension you have. In pulmonary hypertension, for instance, this type of hypertension cannot be cured, but the symptoms are treatable through medications and surgery such as atrial septostomy.

For primary hypertension, treatment involves lifestyle changes and medications to help reduce the high blood pressure. For secondary hypertension, treatment is based on what Dr Naicker discovers to be the underlying issue of your high blood pressure.
General treatment for hypertension includes becoming more physically active, managing stress, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, healthy diet and taking medications such as diuretics and beta-blockers.

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