HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
High Blood Pressure or hypertension, to use the more ordinary term, is a result of too great a force (pressure) on the artery walls caused by the blood leading to excessive strain on your blood vessels.
This medical condition is serious since its harmful effects accrue over time but may not be symptoms until one’s blood pressure reaches significantly high levels. This is why it is frequently called the ‘silent killer’.
Its very opposite, hypotension, is the result of too little pressure which fails to pump enough blood to the heart, brain and other internal organs and causes dizziness or light-headiness.
Causes of High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure, sometimes also called a primary hypertension, is usually pinned down to overweight, excessive use of alcohol, abnormal intake of sodium as well as aging. The chances of hypertension also increase if a personal or a family history of the condition is present.
A series of other factors related to one’s lifestyle may also contribute to high blood pressure. These involve stress, insufficient physical activity, low potassium and calcium intake and resistance to insulin.
Statistics show that black people are more prone to the condition than white people are. However, most white males over the age of 50 are extremely likely to develop high blood pressure.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that 65% of all men aged 75 and over suffer from hypertension.
High blood pressure is likely to appear on account of another medical condition or as a side effect from certain medication. This is a different subtype commonly known as a secondary hypertension. Note, however, that not every single instance of an elevated blood pressure means that one has developed hypertension.
The medical setting alone may cause some people’s blood pressure to rise as having their blood pressure checked may do. Specialists define this as a white-coat hypertension.
How is of High Blood Pressure?
When measuring your blood pressure, you should always reckon both the systolic and the diastolic readings.
Systolic reading:
The systolic measurement stands for the pressure of blood against the artery walls when the heart has just stopped pumping. Technically, this is the first or the top figure in a blood pressure reading. Most often, it is about 100 or more, for example between 120 and 135.
Diastolic reading:
It actually explains the pressure of blood against the artery walls between distinct heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed and fills with blood. Technically, this is the second or the bottom figure in a blood pressure reading. It is normally around 85 or less.
Readings of High Blood Pressure
Four separate types of blood pressure can be outlined: optimal, normal, high normal and high. The latter one can pass through three stages which are in direct relation with the severity of the readings. You can find more information about the separate types of blood pressure and the corresponding treatments below.
Optimal Normal High Normal (Borderline)
Systolic less than 120 mm Hg Diastolic less than 80 mm Hg
Systolic less than 130 mm Hg Diastolic less than 85 mm Hg
Systolic 130 to 139 mm Hg Diastolic 85 to 89 mm Hg
Treatment:
Work on preventative medicine
Lead an active lifestyle Treatment
Maintain healthy habits
Exercise Diet Treatment:
Pay closer attention to diet and lifestyle risk
High (Stage 1) Moderate High (Stage 2) Critical High (Stage 3)
Systolic 140 to 159 mm Hg Diastolic 90 to 99 mm Hg
Systolic 160 to 179 mm Hg Diastolic 100 to 109 mm Hg
Systolic 180 mm Hg or higher Diastolic 110 mm Hg or higher
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure undoubtedly leads to negative consequences for one’s health. Until these become apparent, though, patients do not normally seek medical help. When high blood pressure is well developed, that is in stages 2 and 3, one typically complains of headaches, vomiting, nausea, as well as eyesight problems.
Chronic hypertension is extremely threatening as it gradually causes the vessels to block, constrict or weaken and invites the formation of clots, which, on their own, impair the heart and the arteries, multiply the risk of arteriosclerosis and stroke, damage the kidneys, increase the chances of renal failure, and result in retinopathy (a very serious condition of the retina of the eye).
Diagnosis of High Blood Pressure
If not at any other occasion, you can see whether your blood pressure is normal or high during your yearly medical checkup. At other times, you can visit the local pharmacy where an automatic blood pressure monitor will be available to test yourself. If you happen to receive a higher reading, consult your doctor to see if you have been given the accurate measurement.
The diagnosis of hypertension is confirmed only when abnormally high blood pressure measurements (usually exceeding 140/90 mm Hg) are registered frequently (for instance, on three or more separate occasions, one to two weeks apart).
Treatments of High Blood Pressure
If you have high blood pressure which is stage 1, primary or slightly above normal, don’t panic since it can be efficiently treated with some lifestyle changes alone. You may need to cut down on your weight, get rid of harmful eating habits, consume less salt and fat, give up smoking and excessive use of alcohol, manage stress more efficiently, and, last but not least, take up some sport.
It is very important to monitor blood pressure by checking it at home to see if the newly acquired lifestyle changes are working. When blood pressure advances to stages 2 or 3, medication is necessary. Some of the widely used classes of drugs that stabilize high blood pressure are enlisted here. The so-called ACE inhibitors prevent the production of a hormone called angiotensin as a result of which the blood vessels can easily open up.
Diuretics or thiazide diuretics, also known as water tablets, help the unnecessary amounts of salt and water to exit the body. The effects produced from the latter resemble these of reducing salt in one’s diet. The group of beta blockers slows down the heart, alleviates strain and pressure and causes the levels of angiotensin and other hormones to drop down thus controlling blood pressure.
What is more, these also dilate blood vessels and reduce the efforts of the heart muscle to pump blood throughout the body. Furthermore, there are the calcium channel blockers. They are vasodilators which significantly better the heart functions by letting off excessive strain accumulated from the vascular system and are one of the best means of combating High Blood Pressure.
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