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High Blood Pressure Specialist

Golden Oak Medicine -  - Geriatrics

Golden Oak Medicine

Geriatrics & Adult Medicine located in Asheville, NC

High blood pressure is a stealthy condition that can do a lot of damage before ever causing symptoms, especially in people 55 and older. At Golden Oak Medicine in Asheville, North Carolina, Kate Marshall, MD, Golnosh Sharafsaleh, MD, MS, AGSF, FAAFP, and their highly trained team provide blood pressure readings and help you manage your blood pressure if it’s high. Schedule an appointment by phone or book one online today.

High Blood Pressure Q&A

What is high blood pressure?

Your blood pressure is one of the vital signs that your physician takes every time you visit their office. It refers to the force that blood exerts on the walls of your blood vessels when your heart pumps blood through them. High blood pressure, or hypertension, means the blood is placing consistently high force against the walls of your vessels. 

When you have high blood pressure for a long period of time, it makes your heart work harder and less efficiently. That puts you at a higher risk of many health problems, including cardiovascular issues and others. Without treatment, high blood pressure can lead to:

  • Heart attack
  • Aneurysm
  • Stroke
  • Memory problems and dementia
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Kidney malfunction
  • Vision loss

Some cases of high blood pressure come directly from other health conditions or medications you take. In other cases, high blood pressure appears independently without a cause you can easily identify. It develops gradually with age in these cases. 

How can I tell if I have high blood pressure?

High blood pressure doesn’t cause any signs or symptoms for the overwhelming majority of people who have it. That makes it almost impossible to detect high blood pressure without getting a reading from your doctor, at your local pharmacy, or at home with a portable machine.

At Golden Oak Medicine, the team routinely takes your blood pressure reading and interprets the numbers. Each reading includes a top number, which is the systolic pressure of the blood pumping out of your heart and into your arteries, and a bottom number, which is the diastolic pressure of your heart resting between beats. 

Together, the two numbers in your blood pressure reading look like a fraction. For most adults, a healthy blood pressure reading is around 120/80.

How can I manage my high blood pressure?

If you have high blood pressure, it’s important to find a way to manage the condition and reduce your risk of developing complications. If you have high blood pressure from an underlying condition or because of a medication you take, the team can treat the underlying condition to lower your blood pressure or help you find an alternative medication that won’t contribute to hypertension.

Changing your lifestyle is an important part of high blood pressure treatment for anyone with the condition. The team at Golden Oak Medicine can help you follow a heart-healthy diet, limit smoking and alcohol consumption, and integrate more exercise into your routine. 

Finally, you might need to take medications specifically for high blood pressure. Your provider at Golden Oak Medicine can write prescriptions and monitor your results. You might need to try more than one medication before finding one or a combination that works. 

Schedule your appointment over the phone or online at Golden Oak Medicine for personalized high blood pressure treatment today.