After treatment

People with high blood pressure need to continue to take the medications prescribed for them every day. A person's blood pressure may return to normal with weight loss, increased physical activity, reduction of alcohol intake, and a low-salt diet. In most cases a person will need to continue to take blood pressure medications for life.

Outcome

The benefit of treating severe hypertension is well known. By treating the hypertension, complications can be avoided and average life expectancy will remain almost normal. Treatment of mild to moderate hypertension reduces the incidence of stroke by 50%. Without treatment, life expectancy may well be reduced due to the risk of developing any number of the complications listed on previous pages.