Diagnosis Facts to Know

Understanding Your Diagnosis Step 1: Know Your Actual Blood Pressure Measurement

The actual blood pressure readings used to make a diganosis of high blood pressure have a great deal of influence on the first steps a doctor will take in treating the disease

You should know the values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure that are being recorded in the medical record, because they provide information on the severity of the disease, treatment options, and appropriate follow up care

Write these numbers down in a small notebook or store them in an electronic device such as a pda or smart phone. Each time you visit the doctor, update your records so that you have an easy to access guide about how treatment and lifestyle changes are influencing your blood pressure. Even this small act can provide an important sense of control and empowerment

Understanding Your Diagnosis Step 2: Determine The Underlying Cause

High blood pressure can sometimes be due to an identifiable underlying cause. These causes can include kidney disease, certain medications, tumors, and more. If an underlying cause is identified, then your doctor will devise treatment to address it along with the high blood pressure.

More commonly, however, no single causal factor can be identified as leading to elevated blood pressure. In these cases, the blood pressure itself is the sole target of treatment, and the medications and strategies used will differ.

Understanding whether your blood pressure has an identified cause (called Secondary Hypertension) or has arisen independently of identifiable factors (called Primary Hypertention) will allow you to focus your physical and mental energy on addressing the next steps in treatment.

It can also actually provide significant peace of mind, since it will either definitively rule in or rule out the possiblility of other underlying diseases.

Understanding Your Diagnosis Step 3: Staging

While the classification scheme used to describe the cause of high blood pressure (Primary and Secondary) does not convey any indication about the actual severity or progression of the disease, staging is a universal system that does convey this information.

When giving a diagnosis of high blood pressure, doctors will record it as being either Stage I or Stage II. This is important information because there are guidelines in place that dictate appropriate treatment options based on stage.

Staging is based on actual numerical blood pressure readings, and has strict cutoff values