It's what doctors call a silent killer and it's got one local radio personality worried about his health.
Dr. Nadeem Goraya from Memorial Hospital said he's seen three different cases in the last month, and last week radio host Ralph Bailey was another one who said he went to the hospital because of resistant hypertension.
Bailey said on Sunday he was watching golf when a headache turning into a migraine. He said after a couple of hours his symptoms got worse.
"It was getting so bad that when my heart would beat, my body would pulse forward and I knew that wasn't right," said Bailey.
Bailey said he's had a history of high blood pressure, but hasn't experienced anything like that. And worse the doctor's first response didn't work.
"He told me that they were going to pump me full of intervenes medication and send me home, it got up to 215 over 115. And that's when I got a little concerned. That's when they gave me a room at the Heart Hospital," said Bailey.
Bailey said it was resistant hypertension.
Dr. Goraya said it's most common in African Americans, obese people and diabetics. He said having high blood pressure could increase you chances of a heart attack or stroke. And you shouldn't ignore the warning signs.
"If it gets unregulated for too long you get damage to your vital organs; the blood vessels in your brain, your heart, your kidneys, your eyes," said Dr. Goraya.
Bailey said what scared him about resistant hypertension is he was trying to do what he needed to do to keep his blood pressure under control.
"That's why I got the monitor, that's why I lost weight, that's why I completely cut down on my drinking. That's what was so surprising about this sudden rise," said Bailey.
Dr. Goraya says unlike bailey, a lot of patients he sees with the condition are patients that were on medication but didn't take them or knew they have high blood pressure but didn't check it.
Both Dr. Goraya and Bailey said the best way to prevent any major problems from resistant hypertension is to stay on top of your health.
Bailey said, "If you're over 40 years old, you need to see a physician two, three, four times a year. I go quarterly. I would have never known if my blood pressure was even a little bit high had I not seen my physician."
Dr. Goraya said, if you are prescribed medication for your health or blood pressure talk with your doctor about it.
When 23ABC talked with Bailey on Wednesday, Bailey took his blood pressure medication after the interview. Three hours later Bailey said his blood pressure was down significantly, closer to a healthier rate.
