High Blood Pressure Also known as hypertension

Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. High blood pressure (hypertension) can lead to serious problems over time.

Nurse with blonde hair taking blood pressure of woman with pink scarf who is sitting down.

Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood to your body.

Blood pressure readings are given as 2 numbers. The top number is called the systolic pressure. It is the highest pressure in the blood vessels when the heart is pumping. The bottom number is called the diastolic pressure. It is the lowest pressure in the blood vessels when the heart is resting between beats.

Blood pressure is usually written like this: 140/90. You may hear it said as “140 over 90.”

Blood pressure ranges are:

119/79 or lower is normal blood pressure
120/80 to 139/89 is prehypertension
140/90 or higher is high blood pressure

Prehypertension means that you may develop high blood pressure but you can prevent it with healthy lifestyle changes.

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, that stays high over time can lead to serious problems including:

Stroke
Heart failure
Heart attack
Kidney failure
Eye problems
Dementia

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High Blood Pressure Symptoms

You can have high blood pressure for years without knowing it, because there are usually no high blood pressure symptoms. Rarely, symptoms occur only in people in hypertensive crisis (extremely high blood pressure of higher than 180/110). These symptoms include:

Severe headache
Fatigue or confusion
Vision problems
Chest pain
Difficulty breathing
Irregular heartbeat
Blood in the urine
Pounding in your chest, neck or ears
Nose bleeds

The best way to find out whether you have high blood pressure is to have it checked at least every 2 years, starting at age 18, as part of your routine checkup.

High Blood Pressure Risk Factors

Blood pressure changes from minute to minute. Age, time of day, exercise, smoking, emotions, pain and medicines are just a few of the things that can cause blood pressure to change.

Many times we don’t know what causes high blood pressure. We call this type of high blood pressure, essential hypertension.

Risk factors for high blood pressure include:

Being overweight or obese
Smoking
Lack of exercise
Eating too much salt in your diet
Not having enough potassium in your diet
Drinking too much alcohol
Stress
Ethnic background: high blood pressure is more common in African-Americans
Family history of high blood pressure
Pregnancy
Age

High Blood Pressure Diagnosis

Your care provider may detect your high blood pressure during your regular checkups. At Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, we perform further testing to find the causes of your high blood pressure and to check for possible organ damage. Among the tests your care provider may recommend are:

Blood and urine tests for cholesterol and hormones
CT
Echocardiogram
Chest X-ray
Electrocardiogram (EKG)
Vascular ultrasound

Maintaining High Blood Pressure

Most of the time, high blood pressure can be controlled with blood pressure medicine and some changes in lifestyle. We will work with you to get you on the right track with a plan of action to keep you healthy. We may recommend:

Medications

Medications are taken to help improve your blood pressure. The type of medication prescribed depends on your overall health and if you have any other medical problems. Your care provider can speak to you more about this.

Regular exercise

Exercise can help manage stress, lose weight, and lower your blood pressure. The goal is for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity most days of the week (75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity is even better).

Healthy diet

Eat a diet that contains high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and nuts. Limit your intake of foods that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as red meat and egg yolks. Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats from plant and fish oils. Restrict your use of salt.

Quitting smoking

The chemicals in tobacco harm your blood cells and have a negative effect on the function of your heart and blood vessels. Your care provider can give you strategies to quit smoking.

Limiting alcohol

Alcohol can raise your blood pressure even in healthy individuals. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. This means up to one drink a day for women, and up to two drinks for men a day. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

Reducing sodium (salt) in your diet

Do so by reading label, choose “low salt” versions of foods or drinks you normally buy. Eat less processed foods. Don’t add salt when cooking, using salt substitutes such as herbs and spices.

Lowering stress

Having a high stress level for a long time may put you at risk for high blood pressure, stroke, or heart disease. Reduce your emotional stress by exercising, practicing gratitude and taking time to relax.

Maintaining a healthy body weight

If you are overweight, losing weight can help to lower your blood pressure and help reduce future health complications.

Proper sleep

Get enough sleep at night – try for 7 to 9 hours.

Providers

Please see your primary care provider before scheduling an appointment with one of our specialists. If you don't have a primary care provider, we can help you find one.

Insurance

Insurance Accepted

This chart is a list of the most common health insurance plans we accept. This list is subject to change. Please check your individual plan to confirm their participation and the coverage allowed.

Due to the different physician groups and hospitals within the Wake Forest Baptist system, physician services and hospital services are billed separately. Please remember that health insurance coverage varies, so some services may not be covered.

If you don’t see your plan or you have questions, please call our Customer Service Center at 877-938-7497. We will do our best to work with you and your plan.

Key

WFUHS - Wake Forest University Health Sciences (professional services)
NCBH - North Carolina Baptist Hospital (Includes Davie)
LMC - Lexington Medical Center
CHC - Cornerstone Healthcare
Wilkes - Wilkes Regional Medical Center
HPR- High Point Regional
N/A - Not applicable to services provided at facility and/or CHC
NC -Not Contracted, very low to no volume for facility and/or CHC

Wake Forest Baptist Health Managed Care/MA Contracts - April 2024

AETNA CONNECTED NC ACA/Exchange: Accepted at all locations

AETNA NC PREFERRED+: Accepted at all locations

AETNA (PPO & HMO): Accepted at all locations

AETNA MEDICARE: Accepted at all locations

AETNA WHOLE HEALTH: Accepted at all locations

ALIGNMENT HEALTHCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: Accepted at all locations

AMBETTER OF NC: Accepted at all locations

AMERIHEALTH CARITAS NEXT ACA/Exchange: Accepted at all locations

BCBSNC (PPO & HMO): Accepted at all locations

BCBS HIGH PERFORMANCE (NATIONAL NETWORK): Accepted at all locations

BLUE LOCAL WITH ATRIUM HEALTH: Accepted at all locations

BLUE MEDICARE: Accepted at all locations

BLUE VALUE: Accepted at all locations

CAROLINA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH and CHC (not applicable to services provided at LMC, Wilkes and High Point)

CIGNA: Accepted at all locations

CIGNA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH and High Point (not applicable to services provided at LMC, CHC and Wilkes)

CIGNA HEALTHSPRING MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH, LMC, CHC and High Point (not applicable to services provided at Wilkes)

CIGNA LIFESOURCE (TRANSPLANTS): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not applicable to services provided at LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

CRESCENT PPO (ASHEVILLE): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not contracted, very low to no volume for LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

DEVOTED HEALTH (MEDICARE ADVANTAGE): Accepted at all locations

DIRECT NET: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH, LMC, Wilkes and High Point (not contracted, very low to no volume for CHC)

FIRST HEALTH NETWORK: Accepted at NCBH, LMC, Wilkes and High Point (not contracted, very low to no volume for WFUHS and CHC)

FIRSTCAROLINACARE (PINEHURST, NC): Accepted at NCBH (not contracted, very low to no volume for WFUHS, LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

GATEWAY HEALTH ALLIANCE (VIRGINIA): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not contracted, very low to no volume for LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

HEALTHGRAM (formerly PRIMARY PHYSICIAN CARE): Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH and LMC (not contracted, very low to no volume for CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

HEALTHTEAM ADVANTAGE: Accepted at all locations

HUMANA CHOICECARE: Accepted at all locations

HUMANA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: Accepted at all locations

LIBERTY ADVANTAGE (MEDICARE ADVANTAGE): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not applicable to services provided at LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

MAGELLAN (BEHAVIORAL HEALTH): Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH and CHC (not applicable to services provided at LMC, Wilkes and High Point)

MEDCOST: Accepted at all locations

MEDCOST ULTRA: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH, LMC, Wilkes and High Point (not applicable at CHC)

PHCS/MULTIPLAN: Accepted at NCBH, CHC, LMC and High Point (not contracted, very low to no volume for WFUHS and Wilkes)

OPTUMHEALTH (TRANSPLANTS - APPLICABLE TO NCBH/WFUHS ONLY): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not applicable to services provided at LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

PREFERRED CARE OF VA INC: Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not contracted, very low to no volume for LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

SOUTHERN HEALTH SVCS (COVENTRY-PPO ONLY): Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH and CHC (not contracted, very low to no volume for LMC, Wilkes and High Point)

TWIN COUNTY (VIRGINIA): Accepted at WFUHS and NCBH (not contracted, very low to no volume for LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Accepted at WFUHS, NCBH, CHC and High Point (not applicable to services provided at LMC and Wilkes)

UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM (WFUHS ONLY): Accepted at WFUHS (not applicable for services provided at NCBH, LMC, CHC, Wilkes and High Point)

UNITED HEALTHCARE: Accepted at all locations

UNITED HEALTHCARE ESSENTIALS ACA/EXCHANGE: Accepted at all locations

UNITED HEALTHCARE MEDICARE: Accepted at all locations

VA CCN: Accepted at all locations

WELLCARE (MEDICARE ADVANTAGE): Accepted at all locations

LMC ONLY: Contracts specific to support Lexington employer groups, low volume
NATIONAL PROVIDER NETWORK/MEDICAL RESOURCES

CHC ONLY: Contracts specific to support CHC
TRICARE

Key

WFUHS - Wake Forest University Health Sciences (professional services)
NCBH - North Carolina Baptist Hospital (Includes Davie)
LMC - Lexington Medical Center
CHC - Cornerstone Healthcare
Wilkes - Wilkes Regional Medical Center
HPR- High Point Regional
N/A - Not applicable to services provided at facility and/or CHC
NC - Not Contracted, very low to no volume for facility and/or CHC

Referring Physicians

At Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, we understand the importance of referrals. Our physician liaisons partner with referring physicians in our community and beyond to provide information on our physicians and clinical services.

Contact the Physician Liaisons