Is Your Doctor Forgetting About Your High Blood Pressure?
When you have multiple unrelated medical conditions -- arthritis, gallstones, and hypertension, for example -- your doctor may focus on only one of these health problems to the detriment of the others.
In a recent study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 148, page 578), researchers examined the medical records of more than 15,000 people with uncontrolled hypertension. Most of them also had at least two other unrelated health issues.
They revealed that when people had a hypertension-related medical condition like coronary heart disease, they were more likely to get appropriate blood pressure treatment. However, the larger the number of unrelated medical conditions, the less likely the doctor was to intensify blood pressure treatment as needed.
One of the diseases most strongly related to under treatment of hypertension was arthritis, likely because it is difficult and time consuming to manage and its symptoms dramatically affect daily life. But even though hypertension is often symptomless and not disruptive, it is still a very important risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.
Our advice: Make sure your doctor measures your blood pressure at each visit. And if your blood pressure is above 140/90 mm Hg (130/80 mm Hg if you have diabetes or kidney disease), do not be afraid to ask your doctor whether you need to start or intensify treatment for your hypertension.
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Posted By: Esther Pinkston
Tuesday, May 11th 2010 at 6:52AM
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