Living with hypertension. Introduction to dealing with elevated blood pressure

Gaining control of hypertension requires a large effort on the part of not only the patient and physician, but other health care providers as well. Successful hypertension management is defined as lowering blood pressure to less than 140 millimeters of mercury systolic and less than 90 millimeters of mercury diastolic. If blood pressure is lowered gradually, one can expect to feel better. In most situations, there is no benefit in rapidly lowering blood pressure. The down side of rapid blood pressure lowering is that individuals tend to feel bad, at least temporarily, and are likely to discontinue medication. Patience is the key. It takes at least four to six weeks to achieve normal blood pressure when a new medication is started. Almost all of the blood-pressure medications work better when the individual makes lifestyle changes (loses weight, reduces salt and alcohol intake, and increases aerobic activity).