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What Is Pseudohypertension
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A situation in which the blood pressure measurements get abnormally elevated,
whereas the blood pressure is still normal is called as Pseudohypertension.
Usually suspected in elderly patients, Pseudohypertension is not a common problem.
Pseudohypertension can also be characterized as a mean pressure of sphygmomanometric, which exceeds
intraarterial mean pressure by > or = 10 mmHg.
What actually is the cause of Pseudohypertension in most of the cases is the
unusual thickening of the walls of the arteries, on which calcium gets deposited. This deposition
of calcium makes the arteries quite stiff that is even difficult to compress. And, it is a known
fact that the measurement of blood pressure completely depends on the force applied for compression
of arteries. Therefore, arteries that are not easy to compress raise the sphygmomanometer reading
falsely. As per the studies and research conducted, physicians
claim that pseudohypertension cases occur where: * Extraordinarily high blood pressure reading exists for a long time, without
the patient exhibiting any indications of organ damage or other complications.
* An attempt towards treatment of high blood pressure leads to symptoms concerned with low blood
pressure such as reduced urine output, nausea, vision disorders, dizziness, confusion, etc.
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Diagnosis of
pseudohypertension
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The best clue to abnormal type of hypertension or pseudohypertension is unusually high blood
pressure that too in the absence of important target organ impairment. There are many devices that
can help diagnose pseudohypertension like finger blood pressure meter or Osler's maneuver,
etc.
However, the sure shot way to confirm diagnosis of such hypertension is by
determining the intra arterial blood pressure. The physician inserts a needle straightway in the
small artery. Though, earlier people use to rely heavily on the Osler's maneuver i.e. a noninvasive
technique, but due to poor results offered by this technique, its use became insignificant. Pseudohypertension has few risk factors associated with it such as heart
failure, stroke, shortened life expectancy and myocardial infraction.
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Preventive measures to avoid
pseudohypertension
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Dietary as well as lifestyle changes can prevent the occurrence of this serious condition. The
following changes can be incorporated to avoid the risk of persistent hypertension:
* Take up regular aerobic exercises such as walking, running, swimming, etc.
weight reduction and continuous workout improves the blood flow and reduces the latent heart
rate.
* Reduce the intake of salt and sugar
* Increase the intake of Potassium
* Discontinue alcohol consumption as well as tobacco use
* Try to keep yourself away from stress. Do some relaxation therapy such as yoga, meditation,
etc. Therefore, just by changing the way you live and eat, you can avoid the chances
of pseudohypertension majorly.
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