Hypertension, or simply, high blood pressure, occurs when blood flowing through your vessels generates an excess amount of force against the walls of your arteries.  The more volume of blood your heart must pump in a given amount of time and the narrower your arteries become, the higher your blood pressure will be.  Over time, this can lead to a variety of health conditions such as kidney disease, heart disease, sexual dysfunction, vision loss, etc.  Because you can be symptom-free for years while living with uncontrolled high blood pressure and then suddenly have a dire issue arise, such as a heart attack or stroke, hypertension has been called a “silent killer.”

The good news is that hypertension is very simple to diagnose.  When your doctor performs a blood pressure reading, the first top number is the systolic pressure that occurs when your heart beats and the second bottom number is the pressure that occurs when your heart is resting between beats.  If hypertension is detected, you can get it under control with your doctor’s help. 

Dr. Nirav Parikh, MD will work with you to determine the best course of action for diagnosing, managing, and treating hypertension.