Hypertension

Modern era is witnessing an epidemic of high blood pressure or hypertension. Hypertension is a dangerous condition that may lead to heart attack, stroke or kidney failure. Hypertension occurs when arterioles, small blood vessels that branch off from the arteries, become constricted making it difficult for blood to pass through them.

As a result, blood pressure rises causing the heart to work harder. The cut off for diagnosing hypertension is a reading of systolic blood pressure of 140 and diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm of mercury. In case of hypertension, a physician can help manage the condition effectively.

There are two types of hypertension, a primary hypertension and secondary hypertension. When hyper tension does not have any obvious cause it is called primary hypertension, if however it occurs secondary to some other disease of the body like renal or endocrine diseases it is called secondary hypertension.

Diagnosis of primary hypertension depends on repeatedly demonstrating higher-than-normal systolic and/or diastolic BP and excluding secondary causes. Unfortunately, hypertension usually presents no clear symptoms. Some people may experience headaches or dizziness in the morning but, for most, there are no symptoms at all.

The easiest and most reliable way to find out if one has hypertension is to have blood pressure checked regularly. There are certain risk factors for developing high blood pressure. These include having a family history of hypertension, male gender, age greater than thirty five years, smoking, obesity, having diabetes or any other metabolic disease, using oral contraceptive pills, increased use of alcoholic beverages and a sedentary life style. Hypertension is common in certain races like those of African-American descent.

As hypertension is a silent killer that is it causes damage to the human body without any evident symptoms in the initial phase of the disease, great care is needed to maintain optimal blood pressure. Most people can adopt simple lifestyle changes to prevent hypertension. They can have their blood pressure checked regularly.

Intake of nutritious foods, including whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables is encouraged which also aids in preventing hypertension. If the doctor has prescribed medication to help lower the blood pressure, these should be taken as directed. Obese people have a high risk of developing hypertension and its complications.

Ideal body weight should be maintained. Exercising regularly can also keep one fit and also keeps weight in normal range. Smoking must be stopped altogether. Managing stress through relaxation techniques, exercise and development of positive attitude all help in preventing high blood pressure.

It is recommended by health authorities that added salt should be cut down and high sodium foods avoided such as chips, processed meats, fast food, cured or smoked products and prepared foods. Daily cholesterol intake should be limited to no more than 100 mg per 1000 calories of food and saturated fat restricted to no more than 10 percent of daily calories. Vegetables should make a large part of the meals.

If despite life style modifications, blood pressure does not become normal then drugs lowering blood pressure are recommended. It is now generally recommended that patients with systolic BP averaging 140 to 159 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of 90 to 94 mm Hg should receive antihypertensive drugs.

The benefit of drug therapy for patients with hypertension is unequivocal. If therapy is not started target organ damage can occur. Damage include heart failure, symptomatic coronary arteriosclerosis, cerebrovascular disease, and renal failure requiring urgent and judicious antihypertensive therapy.

Drug therapy should be initiated with a diuretic or a beta blocker, unless these drugs are contraindicated or another class of drugs is indicated. A diuretic is a drug that lowers blood pressure by increasing urine output.

If these drugs are ineffective, alternative classes suitable for initial therapy include Calcium blockers, Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers and alpha one adrenergic blockers.

Initially the drug is selected according to the age and race of the patient and by coexisting diseases or conditions that may represent a contraindication for certain drugs. This can be explained by the fact that if a person has both high blood pressure and asthma then he cannot use beta blockers for hypertension as they have a side effect of broncho constriction.

However selective beta blockers can be given. High blood pressure increases the chances for getting heart disease and kidney disease, and for having a stroke. It affects the blood vessels in almost every organ of the body for example in the eye it causes these vessels to burst or bleed.

As a consequence vision may become blurred or otherwise impaired and can result in blindness. In view of these complication it can be recognized that hypertension is a dangerous disease and it should be dealt with promptly.