Indications
Most of the time, elevated blood pressure does not manifest itself through symptoms, which means that it can go undetected for a long time. Often the diagnosis is a random finding during a routine checkup. Nevertheless, early therapy is necessary to avoid later consequences of high blood pressure.
Symptomatically, high blood pressure can manifest itself as dizziness, headaches, sleep disturbances, ringing in the ears, nosebleeds (nosebleeds with headaches), impaired vision or a reddened face. Probably the most common symptom is the headache, which is usually in the back of the head and occurs after waking up. High blood pressure can also manifest itself through increased nervousness and shortness of breath.
If the above symptoms occur, it is advisable to have them clarified by a doctor, as high blood pressure can have harmful consequences in the long term. The severity of the symptoms does not necessarily indicate the level of the blood pressure, even mild symptoms may indicate an elevated blood pressure. If headaches, visual disturbances, dizziness or a feeling of pressure in the chest occur more frequently, this should be clarified by the family doctor.
Especially during pregnancy, you should consult your doctor immediately, as high blood pressure during pregnancy can lead to life-threatening seizures. High blood pressure (arterial hypertension), both the essential and secondary form, goes unnoticed by many patients for a long time, as it is possible that no symptoms will occur for years or even decades. This is particularly treacherous for the patient, since a constantly elevated blood pressure, despite subjective well-being, can already cause severe damage to the vascular system.
However, if the increase in blood pressure becomes symptomatic, many patients complain of palpable palpitations, dizziness, ringing in the ears, shortness of breath during physical exertion and headaches in the morning after getting up as well as nosebleeds. It is important that the elevated blood pressure (arterial hypertension) is treated medically to prevent damage to blood vessels and organs. If there is already vascular and organ involvement, symptoms such as chest pain (angina pectoris) often occur in the context of coronary artery narrowing (coronary heart disease (CHD)) up to heart attacks (myocardial infarction) and strokes (apoplexy). If the latter symptoms occur, it can be a hypertensive emergency, in which the blood pressure values are elevated above 230/130 mmHg. In this case the patient must be treated immediately.
Hypertension headache
Headaches are a common warning sign of high blood pressure. Especially when the headache occurs in the morning hours, this is a sign of a headache caused by high blood pressure. The headache is usually located in the back of the head.
The headache is caused by a failure to lower blood pressure during the night. If the blood pressure is normal, it is lowered during the night. Often the headaches are accompanied by visual disturbances. Patients also often complain that they do not sleep through the night and often wake up, especially in the second half of the night.