If you’ve recently been told that you should take better control of your heart health by controlling your blood pressure, you may have some questions about what dietary changes you can make to keep your hypertension in check. Afterall, the last thing you want to have to do is search for an “emergency room near me” because of symptoms you may be experiencing at home.
An Answer to the Question
One of the most common questions about high blood pressure is whether or not hypertension is related to a patient’s salt intake.
The answer is that your kidneys use – and need – salt to retain water. However, when excess water is stored in your body, it can put strain on your kidneys, arteries, brain, and heart. And when there’s excess strain put on the heart, it responds in elevated blood pressure. So, is the culprit salt, or the way your body responds to it? The answer to that is best left to each person’s individual medical profile and recommendations from their physician.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
The only true way to monitor your blood pressure is by taking your readings on a regular basis. You can do this at home with a blood pressure cuff. However, if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms now and wonder whether or not you should seek urgent care, here’s a list of the most common symptoms:
- An unexplained severe headache
- Sudden fatigue, confusion, or vision problems
- Unfamiliar chest pain
- Difficulty in your breathing
- Heartbeat that feels irregular in your chest
- Blood in your urine
- Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears
When to Seek Medical Help
If you’re experiencing any one or more of the above symptoms, you should consider emergency medical treatment at a facility such as Express ER for immediate monitoring of your blood pressure. Leaving the condition unchecked could lead to more serious conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and more. Our experienced emergency doctors are available all day, every day for your convenience. Every physician you will see is Board-Certified in Emergency Medicine with many years of experience.
