Regular blood pressure monitoring is required if you have the relevant risk factors. Ask your doctor what blood pressure recording machine he recommends for your home use.

• Keep an eye on your salt intake.
• Eat a low-fat, varied and healthy diet.
• Drink only a small amount of alcohol.
• Get plenty of exercise.
• Try to avoid stressful situations and to be less tense in your reactions.

Drug treatment of hypertension is usually a lifelong affair. Under no circumstances interrupt it without consulting your doctor. For lasting treatment success, continuity and compliance with medical instructions are absolute necessities.

Have I got hypertension?
Dizziness, headache or nervousness may be evidence of hypertension. Often, however, patients experience no symptoms, which delays the necessary treatment.
If blood pressure rises quite suddenly, this may mean a “hypertensive emergency”: Contact your doctor immediately! Tell-tale symptoms are: headache, nausea, vomiting, numbness, poor circulation in hands and feet, nosebleed, shortness of breath, chest tightness (angina).