High blood pressure treatment in Seoul, built on real numbers

How high blood pressure treatment in Seoul works at VEI Clinic

Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers: the pressure when the heart beats (systolic) over the pressure between beats (diastolic). Under the 2025 American guideline, readings consistently at or above 130/80 mmHg count as high blood pressure. Korean and European guidelines use 140/90 in the clinic as the main cut-off, while still recognizing risk below it. Either way, persistently raised pressure strains the arteries, heart, brain and kidneys over years.

High blood pressure treatment in Seoul at our Apgujeong clinic is led by Dr. HyunSung Park, a board-certified internal medicine specialist who has treated patients in Korea since 2010. The approach is straightforward: confirm the diagnosis, understand your overall risk, agree on a target, and adjust lifestyle and medicine until you reach it.

Confirming the diagnosis

One high reading in a clinic is not a diagnosis. Some people only read high in front of a doctor (white-coat hypertension); others read normal in clinic but high at home (masked hypertension). Home monitoring helps sort this out, and we show you how to do it properly.

• Use a validated upper-arm automatic monitor with a cuff that fits your arm
• Avoid caffeine, exercise and smoking for 30 minutes beforehand, and empty your bladder
• Sit quietly for five minutes with your back supported, feet flat and arm resting at heart level
• Take two readings one minute apart, morning and evening, for about a week
• Bring the log or the device itself to your visit

Tests and treatment

Baseline tests usually include kidney function and electrolytes, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, fasting glucose or HbA1c, a cholesterol panel and sometimes thyroid tests. An ECG may be suggested. In younger patients, very high readings or pressure that is hard to control, Dr. Park looks for secondary causes such as kidney disease, primary aldosteronism, thyroid disease, sleep apnea, or medicines like anti-inflammatory painkillers, decongestants and some supplements.

For most adults, current guidelines aim for a treated blood pressure below 130/80 if it is tolerated, with targets individualized for older or frail patients. Medication is usually started when readings stay high despite lifestyle changes, or straight away when pressure is markedly raised or overall risk is high. First-line options include ACE inhibitors or ARBs, calcium channel blockers and thiazide-type diuretics, often combined at low doses in a single pill. Kidney function and potassium are checked after starting or changing some of these. ACE inhibitors and ARBs are not used in pregnancy, so tell us if you are pregnant or planning to be.

Lifestyle changes that move the numbers

Lifestyle changes lower blood pressure meaningfully and make medicine work better.

Each of these changes can lower systolic pressure by a few points on its own, and together they can add up to the effect of a medicine. We help you pick the two or three that fit your routine rather than trying everything at once.

• Salt: Korean soups, stews, noodles, kimchi and sauces are often high in sodium; leaving some broth and tasting before adding sauce helps
• Eating pattern: more vegetables, fruit, beans, fish and whole grains, in the style of the DASH diet
• Activity: around 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise plus some strength training
• Alcohol: cutting back lowers blood pressure, and the less you drink, the better
• Weight and sleep: modest weight loss and treating sleep apnea can both lower readings

Who this suits, and when to seek emergency care

This service suits adults with raised readings from a checkup or home monitor, people already on treatment who want a review in English, and expats who need continuity while living in Seoul. It is not suited to severe pregnancy-related high blood pressure, which needs obstetric care.

Call 119 or go to an emergency room if your blood pressure is 180/120 or higher with symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, severe headache, vision changes, confusion, weakness or numbness on one side, or trouble speaking. These can signal a hypertensive emergency or stroke. A reading of 180/120 or higher without symptoms should be rechecked after rest and assessed by a doctor the same day.