Hypertension is a common cause of heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure when left untreated. At Madison Avenue Cardiovascular in Midtown, Manhattan, board-certified cardiovascular disease specialist Mark Meyer, MD, FACP, FACC, and his expert team offer expert treatment and management of hypertension to reduce your risk of serious medical problems. Schedule a blood pressure screening with Dr. Meyer by calling the office in New York City or request your visit online today.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, occurs when the pressure against your artery walls is too high. Over time, it can lead to problems with your heart, including heart disease, stroke, heart attack, or heart failure.
Because hypertension usually doesn’t cause symptoms, having routine screenings is important. Treatment and managing your blood pressure significantly lower your risk of complications.
Hypertension has numerous risk factors, such as:
Along with high cholesterol and smoking, hypertension is a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
Additional complications that can develop with untreated hypertension include aneurysms, heart failure, kidney failure, dementia, metabolic syndrome, narrowed blood vessels, or other blood vessel disorders.
At Madison Avenue Cardiovascular, Dr. Meyer uses a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope or blood pressure machine to diagnose hypertension, determine its severity, and develop a treatment plan.
Dr. Meyer also completes a physical exam and might recommend blood tests, an electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram, or other diagnostic tests to screen you for additional heart disease risk factors or heart problems.
If you have hypertension, Dr. Meyer works with you to develop a treatment plan that matches your needs. He might recommend:
In the vast majority of cases, hypertension responds to lifestyle changes. Dr. Meyer takes an integrative medicine approach, so your treatment may also include stress relief, meditation, and yoga, along with other alternative treatments.
In some cases, you may need medications such as diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, or other types of antihypertensive drugs. You may need a combination of two different drugs, along with lifestyle changes, to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.
Dr. Meyer may recommend daily blood pressure monitoring at home. Although it’s normal to have some minor variations in your blood pressure from day to day, you should let Dr. Meyer know about any significant changes (especially blood pressure spikes) right away.
If you’re at risk of high blood pressure or have a hypertension diagnosis, schedule a screening with Dr. Meyer at Madison Avenue Cardiovascular by phone or online today.