- Overview of Hypertension
- Types of Blood Pressure
- Symptoms of Hypertension
- Causes of Hypertension
- Myths About Hypertension
Overview of Hypertension
Hypertension is widespread and occurs when the pressure inside the blood vessels is too high. It's normal for blood pressure to go up and down throughout the day, but if it stays up, you have high blood pressure. Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension.
High blood pressure is called a "silent killer," because it doesn't usually cause symptoms while it is causing this damage. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.
The number of patients with hypertension is likely to grow as the population ages in the majority of persons older than 65 years .The rising incidence of obesity will also increase the number of hypertensive individuals. High blood pressure is diagnosed based on the results of a blood pressure test. Having diabetes or chronic kidney disease along with high blood pressure compounds the risk of serious complications. Therefore, the threshold for diagnosing high blood pressure is lower for people with these conditions.
Types of Blood pressure
Types of Hypertension
We at DHC thrive at building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Our mission drives everything we do. We intend to educate you on the dreadful disease and ensure the best treatment for every patient, every time. We advocate for changes to protect and improve the health of our communities.
Know Normal Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure consistently at or above 140/90 is considered high blood pressure or hypertension. Blood pressure normally rises as you age and grow. Normal blood pressure readings for children are lower than for adults, while blood pressure measurements for adults and older teenagers are similar.
Blood pressure can also be too low, a condition called hypotension. Hypotension refers to blood pressure lower than 90/60. Symptoms of hypotension include dizziness, fainting, and sometimes shock.
Getting your blood pressure checked is quick, painless, and one of the most important things you can do to better your health.
Normal blood pressure is defined by a range of values:
| BLOOD PRESSURE | SYSTOLIC BP | DIASTOLIC BP |
|---|---|---|
| CLASSIFICATION | mmHg | mmHg |
| NORMAL | 120 | 80 |
| PREHYPERTENSION | 120-139 | 80-90 |
| STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION | 140-159 | 90-99 |
| STAGE 2 HYPERTENSION | 160 | 100 |
There are two types of blood pressure
Systolic blood pressure refers to the pressure inside your arteries when your heart is contracting; diastolic pressure is the pressure inside your arteries when your heart is relaxing.
When your arteries are healthy and dilated, blood flows easily and your heart doesn't have to work too hard. But when your arteries are too narrow or stiff, blood pressure rises, the heart gets overworked, and arteries can become damaged.
Various conditions and medications can lead to hypertension:
- Kidney problems
- Adrenal gland tumour
- Thyroid problems
- Certain defects in blood vessels you're born with (congenital)
- Certain medications, such as birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs
- Illegal drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines
- Alcohol abuse or chronic alcohol use
- Obstructive sleep apnea (Please countercheck)
Symptoms of hypertension
There is no guarantee that a person with hypertension will present any symptoms of the condition. About 33% of people actually do not know that they have high blood pressure, and this ignorance can last for years. For this reason, it is advisable to undergo periodic blood pressure screenings even when no symptoms are present.
Extremely high blood pressure may lead to some symptoms, however, and these include:
- Severe headaches
- Fatigue or confusion
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Problems with vision
- Chest pains
- Breathing problems
- Irregular heartbeat
- Blood in the urine.
How Does Hypertension Affect Your Health?
When your heart pumps blood, the blood travels through arteries attached to the heart and then to blood vessels that become smaller and more delicate. The tiniest blood vessels, known as capillaries, supply your body with oxygen. Increased pressure within this system requires your heart to work harder and can damage the arteries and the following organs because they're not receiving enough oxygen:
-
Your brain.
High blood pressure can cause tiny blood vessels inside your brain to rupture. A bleeding vessel or clot inside the brain can result in a stroke.
-
Your eyes
If a blood vessel inside the eye ruptures from hypertension, it can cause blurred vision and even blindness.
-
Your kidneys
If blood vessels inside the kidneys become too narrow, these organs can lose their ability to filter waste products out of your blood. This can lead to kidney failure, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
-
Your heart
The heart is a muscle that requires oxygenated blood. If it doesn't get enough oxygen to function properly or blood flow to the heart is blocked, this can cause angina or a heart attack. Over time, the pressure of having to work harder can weaken your heart - a condition called congestive heart failure.
Hypertension treatment begins with lifestyle changes; medication can be added if necessary. Now that you are familiar with the warning signs of Hypertension, wouldn't this be a good time for you to seek urgent medical evaluation.
It's very easy to do, will only take a couple of minutes, and may save you and your family a lifetime of unnecessary complications.
Causes of Hypertension
Although the cause of Hypertension is difficult to be identified in particular most of the time, DHC will provide you a quick overview of a few factors that can worsen hypertension:
- When smoking, Nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict, this raises blood pressure and makes hypertension worse.
- Obesity and being overweight can put more stress on your heart. Exercise not only can help you lose weight, but physical activity has been shown to lower blood pressure on its own.
- Sedentary lifestyle though not an actual cause of hypertension, stress can trigger bad coping methods, like overeating and smoking, which can lead to high blood pressure.
- Excess Sodium (Salt Intake) causes your body to retain fluid, which can then increase blood pressure.
- Drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks per day may worsen hypertension for some people.
- Family history of High Blood Pressure
- Lack of physical activity
- Medicines such as birth control pills
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Adrenal and thyroid problems or tumors.
Sometimes pregnancy contributes to high blood pressure, as well. Although high blood pressure is most common in adults, children may be at risk, too. For some children, high blood pressure is caused by problems with the kidneys or heart. But for a growing number of kids, poor lifestyle habits, such as an unhealthy diet, obesity and lack of exercise, contribute to high blood pressure.
In order to prevent that may be caused by high blood pressure, it is important to screen, diagnose, treat, and control hyper tension in its earliest stages. DHC is doing its bit for the society by increasing public awareness and increasing the frequency of screenings for the condition.
Precautions that lead the way to healthy living
If you already have diabetes, of course you're going to want to have a dialog with our doctor, and we've got some great medicines, but regular exercise and weight management are critically important.
If you want to lower your risk of diabetes, it's critically important that you maintain a proper body weight. So if you're currently in the proper body weight, and that is a body mass index of less than 25, maintaining that is critically important. You've increased your risk of diabetes 4,000 percent by the time you're obese. So, maintaining a proper body weight is underestimated and very important in terms of lowering your risk of diabetes.
Other precautionary measures that should be taken by Diabetics are:
- Control Blood Pressure.
- Monitor swelling over legs and feet and report to Doctor.
- Get regular sugar and cholesterol examinations and keep records.
- Get X-Ray chest done once in a year.
- Get E.C.G. done once in a year.
- If one gets discomfort in chest while walking or after food should undergo stress test/tread mill test so that cardiac status can be evaluated.
Certain Bad Companions of Diabetes that tend to worsen health are:
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
- Dyslipidaemia (High Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels)
- Smoking
- Obesity (Over Weight)
However, Nutritious meals, followed by a strict exercise routine plan followed under our guidance may aid you in controlling your Diabetes. Diabetes will never truly go away, but with proper nutrition, exercise and prescribed medications, it can be controlled. We lead you the way to follow healthy living!!