Controlling High Blood Pressure: Franciscan Health Podcast
Channel: Franciscan Health
Date: 2024-02-08

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is called a “silent disease,” with few symptoms. But left untreated, hypertension can lead to heart disease in many forms, including hardening of the arteries, heart attack and stroke. Hypertension can also damage other organs, namely the kidneys.

The good news is that, for most patients, hypertension can be controlled through medications and lifestyle changes.

In the past five years the American Heart Association revised its hypertension guidelines, chiefly to emphasize that even slightly elevated blood pressure should be taken seriously due to the health risks it can raise.

Franciscan Health cardiologist Derrick J. Plahn, DO, leads a discussion on controlling high blood pressure  in the Franciscan Health DocPod podcast.

Topics include: 
✔️ What exactly is hypertension, and why is it bad for our heart?
✔️ How many people have hypertension?
✔️ Who has hypertension? 
✔️ How does hypertension affect women, i.e., after menopause?
✔️ As a doctor, have you noticed trends in who develops hypertension? (younger patients? occupations?)
✔️ Would you explain the AHA guidelines—what’s normal blood pressure, what’s not? At what level do you like to recommend addressing hypertension?
✔️ Can hypertension be genetic?
✔️ Lifestyle/controllable factors that impact blood pressure: weight, smoking, diet, exercise
✔️ What effects do caffeine and smoking have on blood pressure?
✔️ We hear a lot about salt and blood pressure? What advice do you give patients on this topic?
✔️ If a person needs medication to control hypertension, where do you start when determining what medication will help?

Resources from Franciscan Health: 
▶️ Know Your Blood Pressure Medications https://www.franciscanhealth.org/community/blog/blood-pressure-medications

▶️ How To Take Your Blood Pressure At Home
https://www.franciscanhealth.org/community/blog/take-blood-pressure-at-home

▶️ Hypertension A Silent Killer
https://www.franciscanhealth.org/community/blog/hypertension-high-blood-pressure-a-silent-killer


Listen to the Franciscan Health DocPod podcast: https://www.franciscanhealth.org/podcasts