Morning Hypertension – Stop the Culprit Behind Morning Strokes and Heart Attacks

Heart attacks and strokes do most of their damage during the first hours of the morning after we awaken. That is when they find and incapacitate most of their victims. But knowledge is power, and more than ever, doctors now know there is one silent link to many morning life-threatening emergencies - morning hypertension.

What is morning hypertension? It is a “morning surge” of your blood pressure levels that generally occurs within the first two hours after you awaken. If your blood pressure readings tend to rise above normal levels first thing in the morning and level off over the course of the day, you may have this ticking time bomb inside you.

How Do I Know If I Have Morning Hypertension?
Do not assume that you will just know. Remember, hypertension is called the silent killer for a reason. You may have no symptoms that your pressure typically rises when you do in the morning.
So how will you know? Make it a habit to measure your blood pressure levels within the first two hours after you get up. Record your results and average them for at least a week.

Morning rates that exceed 135/85 mmHg during the first two hours after you rise need further attention. The key is to know the difference between your morning and evening pressure rates. That means you must monitor your pressure levels at night as well.

Doctors look at the difference between your blood pressure readings during the last two hours before retiring and your morning levels during the first two hours after rising to assess whether you have morning hypertension. A morning surge will typically see a rise of 20 mmHg or more from the evening readings. One study found that systolic blood pressure that was just 10 mmHg higher in morning readings than in evening readings was a strong independent predictor of strokes.

What Is Causing My Morning High Blood Pressure?
Researchers are not quite sure. Several things could be responsible: problems sleeping, hypertension that has not been well-regulated, or an adrenal gland tumor are some of the more common suspects.

Who Is Most at Risk for Morning Surges?
If you already have hypertension that is not under control, you are more at risk for the dangerous elevated morning high blood pressure (hbp). The longer you are on antihypertensive medications, the more your risk increases. Other factors that increase your risk:

You are older. You are diabetic. You drink heavily. You smoke.

As with other forms of hbp, making lifestyle changes (improve your diet, stop smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, exercise) can ease the threat of morning surges.

What Should I Do Next?
If you detect a pattern of morning surges in your pressure rates, get your doctor involved right away. Remember, morning hypertension means a heightened risk for morning heart attacks and strokes, so your doctor will want to focus on decreasing that threat. This may mean supplementing the blood pressure management treatment you have already begun.

It is critical that you monitor your morning and evening pressure rates at home everyday, because this will give you the knowledge you need to identify and stop a silent killer in its tracks.

By: Sher Harrison

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