Persistent high blood pressure can be very dangerous. Untreated this increases the risk of having a stroke or heart attack, heart failure and arterial aneurysm considerably. Hypertension is a leading cause of chronic renal failure and even a moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. A patient suffering from blood pressure more than 50% above average values can only expect to live  a very short time if left untreated.

There are different factors which might lead to hypertension including insulin resistance, salt sensitivity, genetics and age. But the most dominant factor is being overweight. The risk for the obese is five times higher and more than two thirds of cases are attributed to excess weight.

It is essential to obtain reliable blood pressure measurements which are influenced by many factors and vary with time of day. This is why we use a very modern 24 hour blood pressure monitoring computer which takes measurements every 15-30 minutes during the daytime and 60 minutes at night. The correct evaluation enables me to adjust the blood pressure to a risk free and comfortable level which often requires repeated 24 hour monitoring.