Common Causes of Uncontrolled Hypertension

Most hypertensive people worry about their blood pressure not being controlled, and they visit the emergency room and clinic again and again. The reasons for uncontrolled hypertension are:

• People do not regularly take antihypertensive medicines, they take it for a few days, and once the blood pressure normalizes, they quit. After a few days, their blood pressure shoots up again.

• The other reason is patients not following dietary guidelines to control blood pressure. They eat without reins. They do not limit salt intake, fatty, and junk foods.

• Many a time, they adhere to medicines and diet, but still, come to the emergency department for raised blood pressure. In such cases, the blood pressure is raised due to a panic attack, acute anxiety, and sudden awakening from sleep such as after nightmare. In such cases, medicines do not need to be changed, but only relaxation and counseling by family members may be all that is required in order to normalize the pressure. After which, continue taking the same medicines at the prescribed doses.

• Sometimes, blood pressure is controlled with one medication, but after some time such as a few years, the blood pressure rises again even with medicine. For this, the doctor increases the dosage of that medicine or adds another tablet.

• Sometimes, taking some medicines for cold, pain, etc., may raise the blood pressure. In such cases, blood pressure should be closely monitored, and antihypertensive medicines dose may be increased for a few days and again reduced back to the previous dose, once offending medicine is discontinued.

Remember, only pills cannot control blood pressure when there is no family support, when one is not self-conscious, and when one does not have the knowledge about this condition.