Headaches And High Blood Pressure

Headaches and high blood pressure: these are often dubbed as a deadly combination. Although having a headache does not necessarily mean that a person suffers from hypertension, but if coupled by nausea and hazy vision, this is a serious indication that you might be suffering from hypertension. Hypertension, also known as the “silent killer,” may even occur without headaches or any other symptoms and may cause sudden death without any perceptible symptoms.

Headaches and high blood pressure is caused most of the time by stress due to lack of sleep and other effects of an unhealthy lifestyle. It is said that stress causes ninety percent of headaches, which is also known as “tensional stress”. It is brought about by the process of auto-regulation, whereby blood vessels are constricted thereby increasing the pressure forced upon by the circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels.

Types Of Headaches Caused By High Blood Pressure

Though the connection of headaches and high blood pressure remains to be tenuous, as ninety percent of the world’s population experienced headache at one point or another, chronic headaches can be considered a serious symptom of high blood pressure. Headaches stems from the pressure exerted by circulating blood on the blood vessels located in the skull. Hypertension is characterized by the constriction of these vessels, producing very painful headaches.

There is also a relationship between morning headaches and high blood pressure, as most of those who suffer from morning headaches are those who are also diagnosed with hypertension. People who experience morning headaches usually have insufficient sleep and are under stress.

Cluster headaches and high blood pressure are also interrelated. Cluster headaches are headaches that recur in time, last for a few minutes to hours, and commonly brought about by defects in facial features. Hypertension is known to aggravate cluster headaches.

Pregnancy And Hypertension

Meanwhile, a special concern is headaches and high blood pressure on pregnant women. Pregnant women at six months of pregnancy distribute an extra liter of blood to nourish the fetus.  It is said that around eight percent of pregnant women suffers from hypertension.

Odd Scientific Finding

Some researchers, however, have argued that there is a weak correlation between headaches and high blood pressure. In fact, some studies have shown that people with high blood pressure may suffer less from headaches than those who are not, as higher systole readings seem to actually prevent headaches.

As yet, the scientific community is at odds with this interesting finding. Some have forwarded theories as to the relationship between lower risk of experiencing headaches and high blood pressure. Some have proposed that it has something to do with different level of hormones and chemicals in the blood. Some have propounded that this might have to do with the stiffness of the blood vessels, as blood vessels tends to constrict with increasing blood pressure.

Summary

Whatever further studies may show in the future, and although the contradicting results of various studies may create confusion, there is still no better way in avoiding experiencing headaches and high blood pressure than engaging in a healthy lifestyle.