Do you know your blood pressure target goal? Probably not because it is likely that no one ever told you. This might be the biggest blood pressure secret and likely one of the reasons why so many people have uncontrolled blood pressure. How can you reach a target if you don’t know what it is?
A target goal blood pressure is something that everybody ought to know but many times, we as health care providers forget to disclose it. I suspect we don’t usually disclose it because we know what it is for each patient. However, if the patient doesn’t ask, then it will probably remain a secret.
We will continue to say “it’s good” when your blood pressure is at target. We might say “It’s a little bit high”, “It’s high”, “It’s low”, or in terms like that, you get the picture. However, the next time you get one of those answers, just ask, “What is the number, and what is my target goal blood pressure?
I know it’s hard to believe, but your health care provider is trying to keep you off of pills as much as possible. However, because you don’t know your blood pressure target goal, you wait all year to see your doctor determine if your blood pressure is good or not. So, if you get to the clinic and your blood pressure is high and you have other cardiovascular risk factors, your doctor can’t help but give you a prescription for pills.
Sadly, many health care providers won’t be impressed by this and may even be taken aback? In my opinion, if your health care provider is not happy that you asked, you might need another provider if you are interested in knowing. Start looking for one now, while you tolerate less than adequate care. I am not joking.
Now granted, some people don’t want to know what their target goal blood pressure is because they feel that is something their doctor takes care of. I’m just going to be real with you. Not knowing your target goal of blood pressure is likely a poor strategy for getting your blood pressure controlled. Just think about it. Knowing it will give you many opportunities to take action to get your blood pressure control. Not knowing it, usually means inaction until you visit your health care provider.
Not to mention, that masked hypertension, the most serious type of hypertension, may be ignored, which could lead to poor outcomes. Masked hypertension is when your blood pressure is high at home but at target in the doctor’s office. Poor outcomes are stroke, disability, blindness, heart attack, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and other problems.
You probably visit your health care provider at least once a year or every few years. Just think about all the lost opportunity you have had in that span of time to take action to control your blood pressure. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, you must have a validated blood pressure monitor and routinely measure and log your blood pressure. I will tell you more about monitoring your blood pressure routinely in an upcoming post.
Meanwhile, consider asking your doctor “What’s your target blood pressure”? Give your provider a call today and talk with the nurse, who would, with ease, give you your target blood pressure. Also ask, when should you call the doctor? You want to know the upper and lower limit of when you should take actions like hold medication, titrate medication, and the like. The better your relationship is with your health care provider and the more reliable you are with monitoring your blood pressure at home, the more comfortable your doctor will be with providing this information. Your target goal blood pressure will inform you if your blood pressure is too high or too low. Until next time, be well my friend!
