Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Can You Feel High Blood Pressure Symptoms in Everyday Life, or Is It Always Silent?

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Can You Feel High Blood Pressure Symptoms in Everyday Life, or Is It Always Silent? · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome back to From Recovery to Wellness.
• 0:11
  I'm Arnita, your host, and I'm glad you're here.
• 0:15
  For our first time listeners, this is session
• 0:18
  four, our final session of 2026. And since I
• 0:22
  talked throughout the first three sessions, I
• 0:25
  thought it would be beneficial to address some
• 0:27
  of your questions and concerns regarding aortic
• 0:30
  aneurysm dissection repair, recovery from open
• 0:33
  -heart surgery, and general heart health questions
• 0:36
  which were inspired by the conversations, concerns,
• 0:39
  and questions shared by members of our aortic
• 0:42
  aneurysm open -heart surgery and cardiovascular
• 0:45
  disease communities. If you have any additional
• 0:49
  questions, please feel free to DM me and I will
• 0:53
  include them in this session, which will run
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  till December 31st. So if you have any questions,
• 0:59
  I'll provide answers at the next podcast episode
• 1:02
  after I receive them. But before we begin, I
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  want to offer an important reminder. The information
• 1:10
  shared in this podcast is intended for educational
• 1:13
  purposes only and should never replace the advice
• 1:16
  of your physician, surgeon, cardiologist, or
• 1:19
  healthcare team. Every person and every recovery
• 1:23
  journey is unique. Always consult your healthcare
• 1:29
  providers regarding your individual medical care.
• 1:33
  With that said, let's dive into our question
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  for this segment. Our question for today is regarding
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  blood pressure. Now, one of the most common questions
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  people ask is, can you feel high blood pressure
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  in everyday life or is it always silent? Many
• 1:56
  people have heard high blood pressure also known
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  as hypertension called the silent killer or is
• 2:02
  it always silent? But what does that really mean?
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  The short answer is that most people cannot feel
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  high blood pressure. According to leading medical
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  organizations, including the American Heart Association
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  and the Mayo Clinic and the CDC, which is the
• 2:23
  Centers for Disease Control, they say that most
• 2:28
  people with high blood pressure have no symptoms
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  at all. In fact, many people are surprised when
• 2:36
  they receive a diagnosis because they feel completely
• 2:39
  normal. This is one reason why hypertension can
• 2:43
  be so dangerous. High blood pressure can damage
• 2:48
  the heart, brain, kidneys, eyes, and blood vessels
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  for years before it is discovered. While a person
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  may feel healthy on the outside, elevated blood
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  pressure may be quietly affecting the body on
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  the inside. Many people assume they would know
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  if their blood pressure was high. They may expect
• 3:12
  symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, facial
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  flushing, or feeling generally unwell. While
• 3:21
  some people do report these symptoms, healthcare
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  professionals do not consider them reliable signs
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  of high blood pressure. The truth is that these
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  symptoms can occur for many different reasons
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  and may or may not be related to blood pressure
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  levels. Now, Does that mean symptoms never happen?
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  Not exactly. Symptoms are more likely to occur
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  when blood pressure becomes dangerously elevated
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  and develops into what health care professionals
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  call a hypersensitive crisis or a hypersensitive
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  emergency. At those levels, a person may experience
• 4:03
  severe headache, chest pain, shortness of breath,
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  vision changes, confusion, weakness or numbness,
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  or difficulty speaking. These symptoms require
• 4:19
  immediate medical attention because they may
• 4:23
  indicate damage to vital organs. For those of
• 4:27
  us living with a history of heart disease, open
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  heart surgery, aortic aneurysm repair, or aortic
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  dissection, blood pressure management often becomes
• 4:37
  an important part of long -term health. Healthcare
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  providers frequently emphasize monitoring blood
• 4:44
  pressure because it directly affects the force
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  exerted against artery walls and the cardiovascular
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  system. The reality is that you cannot depend
• 4:56
  on how you feel to determine whether your blood
• 4:59
  pressure is normal. The only reliable way to
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  know your blood pressure is to measure it. That
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  may mean checking it during routine healthcare
• 5:11
  visits, using a home blood pressure monitor,
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  or following the monitoring plan recommended
• 5:17
  by your healthcare provider. One fact that often
• 5:22
  surprises people is that nearly half of U .S.
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  adults have high blood pressure and many do not
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  know that they have it. That's why healthcare
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  professionals encourage regular monitoring rather
• 5:34
  than waiting for symptoms to appear. If you have
• 5:38
  a history of cardiovascular disease, aortic aneurysm
• 5:42
  repair, aortic dissection, or other heart related
• 5:47
  conditions, knowing your numbers can provide
• 5:50
  valuable information for managing your health
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  and supporting long term wellness. So, can you
• 5:59
  feel high blood pressure? Usually not. And that's
• 6:03
  exactly why regular monitoring is so important.
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  Even when you feel perfectly fine, your blood
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  pressure may be telling a different story. As
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  I often say, Knowing your numbers is one of the
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  simplest ways to become an active participant
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  in your own heart health journey. Now, did you
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  know that nearly half of U .S. adults have high
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  blood pressure and don't know that they have
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  it? Because hypertension usually causes no obvious
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  symptoms, healthcare professionals recommend,
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  again, regular blood pressure monitoring rather
• 6:41
  than waiting until you feel something is wrong.
• 6:44
  Now our weekly focus is coming up next and we'll
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  take a look at this week's heart healthy food
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  focus Which is pumpkins which are pumpkins and
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  gourds and why these colorful fall favorites
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  may deserve a place on your plate Pumpkin is
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  rich in fiber potassium and antioxidants such
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  as beta -carotene Which the body converts into
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  vitamin A Diets rich in fruits and vegetables
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  that provide potassium and fiber are associated
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  with better heart health and healthy blood pressure
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  management. Pumpkin is also naturally low in
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  calories and can be incorporated into both savory
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  and sweet dishes. Simple ways to enjoy pumpkin.
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  Add pumpkin puree to oatmeal, blend it into smoothies,
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  stir it into soups and stews. You can roast pumpkin
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  cubes as a side dish. You can sprinkle roasted
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  pumpkin with cinnamon or a simple snack. Now,
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  while decorative gourds are generally not eaten,
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  many edible squashes including acorn and butternut
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  squash offer similar nutritional benefits. Again,
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  please note, this is only for educational purposes.
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  Check with your doctor and nutritionist prior
• 8:11
  to adding this to your meal plan. I would like
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  to give you something also to ponder. Here is
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  our reflection question for the week. When was
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  the last time you checked your blood pressure
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  and what steps can you take to make monitoring
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  your heart health a regular habit? Now we'll
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  recap what we found. briefly discussed and the
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  key takeaways are that most people with high
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  blood pressure have no symptoms at all. High
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  blood pressure can damage the heart, brain, kidneys,
• 8:51
  and blood vessels for years before it's detected.
• 8:56
  Headaches, shortness of breath, and nosebleeds
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  are sometimes reported, but these symptoms are
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  not reliable indicators of high blood pressure.
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  Symptoms are more likely to occur when blood
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  pressure becomes severely elevated or reaches
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  emergency levels. The only way to know whether
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  you have high blood pressure is to measure it
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  regularly. And home monitoring and regular healthcare
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  visits can help identify hypertension before
• 9:23
  complications develop. Now, if you'd like additional
• 9:28
  support with today's topic, I've created a resource
• 9:32
  that may help. You can find more information
• 9:35
  in the show notes, as always, use the tools and
• 9:39
  resources that best support your recovery journey.
• 9:43
  Now, coming next week, we'll answer another community
• 9:46
  question. Someone asked, what is the risk of
• 9:50
  a second aneurysm repair? And I hope you'll join
• 9:54
  me. So in closing, I want to thank you for joining
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  me for this segment of From Recovery to Wellness.
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  I'm blessed to be a part of your wellness journey.
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  and I hope today's episode has provided information,
• 10:08
  encouragement, and practical steps you can use
• 10:11
  to support your heart health. So, until next
• 10:15
  time, take care of your heart, take care of yourself,
• 10:19
  and remember, be well.