A question from J: When diagnosing high blood pressure, how do doctors differentiate between a fluid problem and a heart problem?
Usually when someone is diagnosed with high blood pressure, a doctor will either put the patient on a Beta Blocker or Calcium Channel Blocker if it’s a heart problem or a Diuretic if it’s a fluid problem.
My question is — How does the doctor differentiate between a heart problem that causes high blood pressure or a fluid problem that causes high blood pressure?
No 1 answer:
Answer by N
The cause of hypertension is usually unknown, this is called essential hypertension. The first line medical treatment for essential hypertension are thiazide diuretics. If these don’t achieve the target BP then a CCB or BB is added.
Heart failure is diagnosed on medical history, clinical exam (lower extremity edema, liver congestion, JVD etc), echocardiography. CXR may reveal pulmonary edema.
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