Hypertension

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension, which is also known as High Blood Pressure, is a condition in which the force of the blood on the walls of your arteries is often too high. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart to supply your tissues with oxygen and nutrients. When the blood pressure is high, those arteries are constricting, and the blood is jetting through all the organs and over time that starts to wear those organs out.

Hypertension is also known as the silent killer. People can have it for years and not even know because it doesn’t show any symptom initially. But when it does, is when its actually affected the systems of the body.

Types of Hypertension

There are basically two types of hypertension, Essential/ Primary and Secondary.

Essential– when the cause of hypertension is unknown, it is called essential or primary hypertension. It is often diagnosed when the doctor notices that the blood pressure is high on three or more visits and eliminates all other factors that causes hypertension.

Secondary– when the causes of hypertension are known, it is called secondary hypertension.

The Causes of Hypertension

The factors that increase the chances of hypertension are:

• Age: with age, the arteries become stiff and narrow, so the blood pressure increases. Hypertension is common in people aged over 60 years.
• Size and weight: being overweight or obese is a key factor of hypertension.
• Ethnicity: Some ethnic groups are more prone to hypertension.
• Alcohol and Tobacco: Smoking tobacco and consuming alcohol on a regular basis can increase blood pressure.
• Sex: Men are more prone to hypertension at a younger age. The prevalence tends to be higher in older women.
• Health condition: Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, high cholesterol levels, pregnancy can lead to hypertension.

Complications caused by Hypertension

Long term hypertension causes complications through atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the formation of plaque which results in the narrowing of blood vessels, so the heart pumps harder making hypertension worse. It can lead to:

• Cardiac system is affected. High blood pressure over time causes congestive heart failure and this is due to the overworking of the heart muscles.
• Brain stroke due to all that increased pressure going through the body and it causes those arteries to weaken or rupture.
• Kidneys renal failure because all that blood going to the kidneys at such a fast route that it weakens the arteries to the kidneys which decreases perfusion.
• Eyes. When all that hard blood flow is going to the eyes, it wears out the vessels to the retina which causes blurry visions and patients can’t focus on objects. It can also cause blindness.

Treatment for Hypertension

1. Regular physical exercise: people should exercise on at least 5 days of the week. Examples of activities include walking, jogging, cycling or swimming
2. Avoid smoking
3. Avoid alcohol
4. Develop strategies for managing stress.
5. Meditations: people with blood pressure higher than 130 over 80 may use medication to treat hypertension drug types that help lower blood pressure includes:

• diuretics, including thiazides, chlorthalidone, and indapamide
• beta-blockers and alpha-blockers
• calcium-channel blockers
• central agonists
• peripheral adrenergic inhibitor
• vasodilators
• angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
• angiotensin receptor blockers

Anyone taking anti-hypertensive medications should be sure to carefully read labels, especially before taking any over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as decongestants.