As World Hypertension Day quickly approaches, we are forced
to recognize the ill-effects of High Blood Pressure (HBP) & the importance
of screening tools we have at our disposal.
HBP effects every aspect of the body…from your head to your toes…and can
be fatal if left uncontrolled.
In the dental industry, we are fortunate to see our patients
at least twice per year – more than most see their primary care physician. This allows us to regularly screen for any Blood
Pressure (BP) issues and help prevent any other health issues from
occurring. Amazingly, many health
problems first show symptoms in the mouth, but HBP is not one of them. For this reason, a BP screening is
provided.
Some people think a Blood Pressure Screening is silly &
doesn’t have a place in the dental office.
But here’s a true story that will hopefully change your mind—and yes, it
happened recently in your town.
A man (we’ll call
him Joe) arrived at a dental office for treatment. It was standard office protocol that BP was
taken prior to any dental procedure & Joe thought it was silly to have his
BP taken. Joe’s BP was high & in an
unsafe range, so the dentist advised Joe be seen by his Primary Care Physician
(PCP) for a BP evaluation. Joe was
disgruntled & walked out of the dental office without treatment and decided
to just go to another dental office where he could have treatment done without
having to worry about someone taking his “silly” BP. It was later found out that Joe appointed
with another dental office that did not screen for BP prior to dental
procedures and, unfortunately, had a heart attack in the dental chair. Yes, a Heart Attack!
Could this event have been prevented? Yes.
In order to understand why, we first need to understand what blood pressure
and the numbers associated with it actually mean.
A Blood Pressure Screening measures the amount of pressure
and stress put on the artery walls of the heart. The higher the pressure, the more stress and
work the heart has to endure, leading to a shortened life span. (According
to the American Heart Association (AHA), even a moderate increase in pressure
leads to a shortened life span.) The
amount of pressure on the heart is associated with numbers—systolic and
diastolic. Simply put, the top number
(systolic) tells us how hard your heart is working when it is contracting vs
the bottom number (diastolic) which tells us how hard your heart is working
when it is resting.
A healthy blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 or
less. A person is considered pre-hypertensive
(at risk for HBP) when the top number (systolic) is above 121-139 or the lower
number (diastolic) is 80-89, and anything over 140-179 (systolic) or 100-109
(diastolic) is considered hypertensive, meaning the person has HBP and the heart
is having to work harder than it should.
[If you are diabetic and your top
number (systolic) is 130, then you are considered having HBP.] Any numbers
greater than 180 (systolic) or 110 (diastolic) qualifies as a hypertensive
crisis, according to the AHA, meaning you have severe HBP resulting in organ
damage.
So how does all of this affect your dental appointment? Any dental service provided, whether it be a
cleaning or a crown, effects your blood pressure. If you walk into a dental office for treatment
and your BP is already in the “high” range before we do anything, it will only
increase once treatment begins. Anesthesia,
anticipation, pain, stress, etc all increase BP further. And remember, according to the AHA, even a
moderate increase in pressure leads to a shortened life span.
The heart is like any other muscle in the body that can
become overworked & fatigued. The
difference is that the heart is your lifeline and an overworked or fatigued
heart results in life-altering or fatal complications.
So the next time your dental provider wants to screen for
HBP, don’t think it’s silly & walk out of the office disgruntled like
Joe—be thankful that someone is looking after your safety and health. The ability to catch things at an early stage
can prevent a lifetime of complications, or something even more fatal.
