High blood pressure is unhealthy condition in which the force of the blood against your arteries wall is high enough that it may eventually cause certain healthy complications, majorly related to heart diseases. High blood pressure is a condition that can be determined by the amount of blood pump in your heart and the amount of resistance to blood flown into your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your artery, the higher your blood pressure goes.
One may suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension for years without knowing or having any symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of serious health complications, which includes serious risk of heart attack and stroke. Hypertension is a condition which typically develops over years and it eventually affects everyone. Fortunately it is very easy to diagnose high blood pressure. Once you have diagnosed it you can easily work your doctor to control it effectively.
Symptoms of Hypertension
Most people who have high blood pressure do not have any prior symptoms, thus you may only find it out by having high blood pressure by having it checked regularly. In case if your blood pressure goes very high, then you may have headache, vision problem, fits or black-outs, etc. but these symptoms are rare and uncommon.
People who have high blood pressure face increased risk of major illnesses such as cardiovascular disease including angina (chest pain caused due to reduced blood flow), stroke, heart attack, heart failure or irregular heart beat (atrial fibrillation), kidney damage, damaged sight, etc. In many cases, people with high blood pressure do not show any signs and symptoms even if the blood pressure reading reaches at dangerously high levels.
While in some people suffering with early stage of high blood pressure may have face headaches, dizziness, or in few cases they may even notice nosebleeds. These signs and symptoms generally do not appear until the pressure of the blood reaches at a severe level, and this can even bring to a life-threatening stage.
When can you seek for medical help?
You are likely to consider your routine medical checkup become part of daily life and ensure that you are taking appointment from your doctor.
Ask your general practitioner for a blood pressure reading at least every two year starting at the age of 18 years. By doing so your doctor will recommend you with frequent reading if you are diagnosed with high blood pressure or with other risk factors associated with heart. If you don’t regularly see your doctor, then you may get a free blood pressure screening at any healthy checkup fair in your locality or community. Nowadays you can even find some blood pressure measuring machines at stores that gives inaccurate results.
Causes of hypertension
Depending upon the cause’s hypertension can be diagnosed into two main causes they are Primary hypertension and Secondary hypertension
Primary hypertension
Approximately 80% to 90% of people with high blood pressure have primary hypertension. There are many lifestyle factors that contributes, some of them are smoking, obesity (being very overweight), drinking alcohol excessively, lack of exercise, your diet, high intake of salt in your diet, or incase if you have anybody else in your family has high blood pressure the you are also at a higher risk of suffering from it.
Secondary hypertension
Only 5% to 10% of people with high blood pressure suffer from secondary hypertension. In such cases there is a known underlying cause and they include; kidney disease, endocrine disease (hormone disorders), a narrowing of part of your aorta (the largest artery leading from your heart) or the arteries leading to your kidneys, Adrenal gland tumors, steroid medicines, the contraceptive pill, pregnancy, which can lead to pre-eclampsia – this can be serious and harm your baby, Certain medications (birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs).
Risk factors
High risks of high blood pressure include;
Age – The risk of high blood pressure increases as you age. It is commonly notice problem in older men. Women suffer from high blood pressure after their menopause.
Race – This problem is particularly common in blacks, and is said to be often developed at a early age then in whites. Other serious complication occurred due to it are heart attack and stroke which are also more common in blacks.
Hereditary- In case of you have a family history of people suffering from high blood pressure.
Obesity or overweight – The more weight you gain the more blood your body needs to supply oxygen and nutrient to your tissues. As the amount blood circulated throughout the blood vessel increases, the pressure in your artery wall increases, which causes high blood pressure.
Being physically inactive – People who have an inactive lifestyle are at high risk of gaining weight and will suffer from several heart diseases.
Use of tobacco – Smoking and chewing tobacco immediately raise your blood pressure temporarily, but they can also damage the lining of your arteries walls. It may harm your arteries by causing them to become narrow and increase the blood pressure.
Too much intake of salt – excessive intake salt in your diet can cause your body to retain fluids that increases blood pressure.
Too little intake of potassium – Potassium helps you in balancing the level of sodium in your cells and if you do not get enough potassium then you body may accumulated too much sodium in your blood.
Lack of Vitamin D – Lack of Vitamin D in your diet may lead you to suffer from high blood pressure. Vitamin D affects the enzyme produced by your kidney which affects your blood pressure.
Excessive intake if alcohol – heavily consumption of alcohol can seriously damage your heart. Consuming more than 2 drinks in a day can increase your blood pressure.
Too much stress – high levels of stress can lead to a temporary or dramatic increase in blood pressure.
Certain chronic illnesses – Certain chronic illnesses such as including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea bring you at the higher risk of suffering from heart attack.
Sometime even pregnancy may contribute to the cause of high blood pressure in you.
Treatment
Ensure that you are living a quality life at home and at office which is without any pressure or tension.
Frequently check with your healthcare provider that you are taking your blood pressure correctly. If required bring home a monitor to your appointment so that your healthcare so that you can confirm that it is working correctly.
Make frequent checkups such as check your cholesterol level, complete blood count (CBC), etc.
Eat a healthy diet.
Exercising regularly
Quit all bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, etc.
Drink plenty of water.
Limit the amount of salt in your diet.
Learn stress management.
Maintain a healthy body weight.
Ensure that you are taking all the prescribed medication regularly and as they are prescribed to you.