What Are the Side Effects of High Blood Pressure in Seniors?

Do you regularly feel dizzy? Is your face flushed quite often? These could be signs that you suffer from high blood pressure. However, it could also be the result of some other malady that affects seniors. Below, we will look at some of the side effects of high blood pressure and what you should do if you experience them.

What Are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?

People with high blood pressure or diabetes are much more likely to get blood spots in their eyes. However, blood spots are not caused by either of these conditions. High blood pressure also does not cause floaters in the eyes. Yet, untreated high blood pressure might cause damage to the optic nerve, which could lead to blood spots. An ophthalmologist can accurately diagnose this.

Facial flushing can occur when your blood pressure is higher than normal. It happens when the blood vessels dilate in the face. Triggers like hot drinks, spicy foods, sun exposure, skin care products, wind, and cold weather also lead to facial flushing. This condition commonly occurs at the same time as an increase in blood pressure, such as when you exercise, consume alcohol, or experience emotional distress.

Other Possible Causes of Side Effects

As you may be able to tell, many of the side effects that are common from high blood pressure also occur due to other causes. For instance, having poor dental hygiene can lead to headaches and memory loss in seniors. However, these are also signs that your blood pressure is at a dangerously high level. Though you may be able to rule out dental hygiene if you brush twice a day, floss, and visit the dentist twice a year, you cannot rule out possible other causes for the side effects you are experiencing. It's best to consult with a doctor.

There May Not Be Any Symptoms

Lastly, according to the Mayo Clinic, most seniors suffering from high blood pressure don't exhibit any side effects. This is the case even if the blood pressure readings are dangerously high. Of course, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, and headaches may occur when someone has high blood pressure, but these signs don't usually appear until the levels are at a life-threatening stage. The best way to know for sure is to ask your doctor for a reading at least every year.

The bottom line is that it's best not to self-diagnose high blood pressure. Instead, visit a qualified health professional to get tested.

Your thyroid is a very small gland that wraps around your trachea in the neck, but despite its small size, it plays a huge role in your overall health and wellness. Poor thyroid function is often associated with things like slow metabolism and weight gain, but it can actually impact many other things as well. These symptoms often mimic other maladies, though, so you may not realize that it’s your thyroid that is causing these problems.

What Your Thyroid Does

Before you can understand the problems associated with your thyroid, it’s important to understand the role of this gland in your body. The thyroid is part of the endocrine system, which regulates hormones, and produces the “master metabolism” hormone that interacts with everything from insulin and cortisol (stress hormones) to estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone.

In conjunction with your pituitary gland, which releases thyroid releasing hormone (TRH), and your hypothalamus, which makes thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), the thyroid produced T2, T3, and T4, which regulate metabolism and help balance out things like nutrition, toxins, allergens, and stress in your body.

Symptoms of Thyroid Problems

The symptoms of a poorly functioning thyroid are often general, and are thus attributed to other causes besides thyroid health. The most noticeable symptom for people is unexplained weight gain, but there are often many other signs, including:

• Chronic fatigue
• Irregular menstruation
• Dull or lifeless hair and nails
• Hair loss
• Dry skin
• Cold hands or feet

Potential Risks of Poor Thyroid Function

A thyroid that is not functioning properly can lead to numerous potential problems for people who are unaware and don’t receive treatment, including:

• Depression
• Heart disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Muscle and joint pain
• Bowel and digestion issues
• Autoimmune disease
• High cholesterol
• Gum disease
• Memory problems

Unfortunately many people with hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) are never diagnosed, and those who are diagnosed may not get proper treatment. In order to rebalance your hormones and improve thyroid function, it’s important to eat a healthy diet, get plenty of rest, avoid excessive sugar, processed food, soy-based foods, and chemicals, and keep your stress levels under control.

When these things still don’t help, talk to your healthcare provider or consider a supplement that could help improve your thyroid function. Just like any other chronic illness, correcting a thyroid problem means addressing the underlying issues and improving your overall health to reduce the negative effects.