Importance of maintaining doctors’ follow ups and taking medications for control of Hypertension.
– Persistently elevated blood pressure (BP) is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease development.
-Making effective hypertension management strategy is the most important step in controlling hypertension and preventing its complications.
– Regular visits to your doctor(Follow up) and compliance to medication are an important part of keeping your blood pressure under control.
– Here are a few important benefits that regular follow up will provide.
- You will be educated by your doctor as to what your blood pressure numbers mean to you and your health.
- Your doctor, will advise you to maintain your blood pressure in a range which is suitable to you. If it is not, your treatment plan will be adjusted by your doctor.
- Follow-up visits are a good time to let your health care provider know about any side-effects you are having from your medication. He or she will have suggestions for coping with side effects or may change your treatment.
- Follow-up visits provide an opportunity for you to be screened for damage to the heart, eyes, brain, kidney, and peripheral arteries that may be related to high blood pressure.
- If you have diabetes or have had a prior heart attack or stroke, your blood pressure control will need to be more stringent to prevent recurrent events. Regular visit to your doctor will help you to maintain safe blood pressure levels on a constant basis.
- Follow-up visits are a great opportunity for monitoring other associated risk factors, such as high cholesterol and obesity.
- With aging and progression of the process of hardening of the arteries, your systolic blood pressure may creep up with time. A treatment that once worked well may no longer work and regular follow up visits are an excellent way to figure it out and change the dosage or the medication.
Importance of taking hypertension medicine as advised by your doctor–
– Blood pressure medications are one of the best weapons against hypertension and when taken properly, can help control blood pressure levels and reduce risk of heart attack and stroke.
-However, medications can only do their job when taken correctly, which means taking the proper dose of medication at the right time and in the right way for as long as you’re supposed to. Failing to adhere to medication can not only render the drug ineffective, it can be dangerous and pose a threat to your health
- Take the medication as advised by your doctor-There are many blood pressure medications that work in different ways to lower your blood pressure. Your doctor chooses 1 medicine or a combination based on your health status. It is very important to take the medicine as and when advised by your doctor.
- If you feel the side effects or costs pose problems, don’t stop taking your medications. Ask your doctor about other options.
- Unless advised by your physician, you should never stop taking your blood pressure medicines even when your blood pressure has reached its goal. Doing so can cause dangerous rebound hypertension that complications.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687379/
https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/high-blood-pressure-follow-up-care
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4998775/
https://www.jwatch.org/jc200403190000006/2004/03/19/how-often-should-we-see-patients-with
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373417
-Dr.Afroze Fatima
#Thinkhealth blog 