High blood pressure (hypertension)
High blood pressure is a condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is so high that it eventually causes health problems, usually of coronary nature.
The amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries determines one’s Blood pressure. Blood pressure goes high when the heart pumps more blood whilst the arteries are narrow.
A person can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for many years without any symptom, and this condition could be damage the blood vessels. The risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke may increase due to uncontrolled high blood pressure.
High blood pressure generally develops over many years, it is common as it affects a lot of people in the world. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected.
What Is 'Normal' Blood Pressure?
Two numbers create a blood pressure reading:
- Systolic pressure: This is the first, or top, number. It indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats and pumps out blood.
- Diastolic pressure: This is the second, or bottom, number. It’s the reading of the pressure in your arteries between beats of your heart.
A blood pressure reading is written like this: 120/80. It's read as '120 over 80.' The ranges are:
- Normal: Less than 120 over 80 (120/80)
- Elevated: 120-129/less than 80
- Stage 1 high blood pressure: 130-139/80-89
- Stage 2 high blood pressure: 140 and above/90 and above
- Hypertension crisis: higher than 180/higher than 120 -- See a doctor right away
If your blood pressure is above the normal range, talk to your doctor about how to lower it.
What causes high blood pressure?
There are two types of hypertension. Each type has a different cause.
Primary hypertension
Primary hypertension is also called essential hypertension. This kind of hypertension develops over time with no identifiable cause. Most people have this type of high blood pressure. Researchers are still unclear what mechanisms cause blood pressure to slowly increase. A combination of factors may play a role.
These factors include:
- Genes: Some people are genetically predisposed to hypertension. This may be from gene mutations or genetic abnormalities inherited from your parents.
- Physical changes: If something in your body changes, you may begin experiencing issues throughout your body. High blood pressure may be one of those issues. For example, it’s thought that changes in your kidney function due to aging may upset the body’s natural balance of salts and fluid. This change may cause your body’s blood pressure to increase.
- Environment: Over time, unhealthy lifestyle choices like lack of physical activity and poor diet can take their toll on your body. Lifestyle choices can lead to weight problems. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for hypertension.
Secondary hypertension
Secondary hypertension often occurs quickly and can become more severe than primary hypertension. Several conditions that may cause secondary hypertension include:
- Kidney disease
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Congenital heart defects
- Problems with your thyroid
- Side effects of medications
- Use of illegal drugs
- Alcohol abuse or chronic use
- Adrenal gland problems
- Certain endocrine tumors
What are the symptoms of hypertension?
Hypertension is generally a silent condition. Many people won’t experience any symptoms. It may take years or even decades for the condition to reach levels severe enough that symptoms become obvious. Even then, these symptoms may be attributed to other issues.
Symptoms of severe hypertension can include:
- Headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Nosebleeds
- Flushing
- Dizziness
- Chest pain
- Visual changes
- Blood in the urine
- Weakness and easily tiredness
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with our doctor if you have persistent signs and symptoms that cause you concern.
Risk factors
There are many risk factors with High blood pressure this includes:
- Age:The risk of high blood pressure increases as you age. High blood pressure is more common in men until they attain around age 64. Whilst Women are more likely to develop high blood pressure at a much later age.
- Size and weight:The more a person weighs the more blood will be needed to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. Since the volume of blood in circulation increases, there will be a corresponding pressure on your artery walls.
- Use of tobacco: The use of tobacco in any form immediately raise blood pressure, The chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls causing it to narrow, thus increasing the risk of heart disease. Secondhand smoke also increases the risk of heart disease.
- Eating too much salt (sodium): Too much sodium causes your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.
- High stress levels can lead to a temporary increase in blood pressure. Heavy eating during relaxation or use of tobacco and/or alcohol may only increase problems with high blood pressure.
- Certain chronic conditions. Chronic conditions such as kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea may increase your risk of high blood pressure
- Cervical spondylosis with canal stenosis and calcific spur formation tied the blood vessels and make them narrow, this condition elevate blood pressure.
- Some pregnancies contribute to high blood pressure, as well.
- Bloodline:High blood pressure has the tendency of running in families.
- Physical inaction:Inactive People usually have higher heart rates. When the heart rate is high, the heart must work harder with each contraction and this results in stronger force on your arteries. Being overweight can also be traced to lack of physical activity.
- Eating/ retaining too little potassium:It is Potassium that helps to balance the amount of sodium in your cells. Not enough potassium intake or retention will result in the accumulation of sodium in your blood.
Heavy intake of alcohol:Heavy drinking can damage your heart and kidney over time.
High blood pressure is most common in adults, however, children may also be at risk. For some, it could be caused by problems with the kidneys or heart. However in most kids, poor lifestyle habits, such as an unhealthy diet, obesity and lack of exercise, contribute to high blood pressure.
Complications
The heavy pressure on artery walls caused by high blood pressure can damage blood vessels, as well as other organs in the body. A high blood pressure that goes uncontrolled for long causes even greater damage.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to complications such as:
- Heart attack or stroke.High blood pressure can cause atherosclerosis (hardening and thickening of the arteries) which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.
- Heart failure.The heart works harder in order to pump blood against the higher pressure in your vessels, this causes the walls of the heart's pumping chamber to thicken (left ventricular hypertrophy). Over a length of time, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body's needs, which could lead to heart failure.
- Increased blood pressure can cause your blood vessels to weaken and form an aneurysm (bulge or swelling). A ruptured aneurysm can be life-threatening.
- Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys.This prevents the named organs from functioning normally.
- Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes.Could result in vision loss.
- Metabolic syndrome.Includes increased waist circumference; high triglycerides; low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the 'good' cholesterol; high blood pressure and high insulin levels. This syndrome is a cluster of disorders of your body's metabolism. These are conditions make you more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
- Memory or understanding issues.Some level of memory problems and/ or understanding concepts is common in hypertensive patients as uncontrolled high blood pressure may also affect your ability to think, remember and learn.
- Narrowed or blocked arteries can limit blood flow to the brain, leading to a certain vascular dementia. A stroke that interrupts blood flow to the brain can also cause vascular dementia.
Diagnosing high blood pressure
Diagnosing hypertension is as simple as taking a blood pressure reading. Our centre check blood pressure as part of a routine visit. If you don’t receive a blood pressure reading at your next appointment, request one.
If your blood pressure is elevated, our doctor's may request you have more readings over the course of a few days or weeks. A hypertension diagnosis is rarely given after just one reading. Our doctors' needs to see evidence of a sustained problem. That’s because your environment can contribute to increased blood pressure, such as the stress. Also, blood pressure levels change throughout the day.
If your blood pressure remains high, our doctor's will likely conduct more tests to rule out underlying conditions.
These tests can include:
- Urine test
- Cholesterol screening and other blood tests
- Test of your heart’s electrical activity with an electrocardiogram (EKG, sometimes referred to as an ECG)
- Ultrasound of your heart and kidneys
- X-ray or MRI of cervical spine
These tests can help our doctor's identify any secondary issues causing your elevated blood pressure. They can also look at the effects high blood pressure may have had on your organs.
During this time, our doctor's may begin treating your hypertension. Early treatment may reduce your risk of lasting damage.
Management and treatment
Herbal medicines have long been used in many cultures to treat a variety of ailments.
Some herbs have even been shown to possibly lower blood pressure. Although, more research is needed to identify the doses and components in the herbs that are most useful. Always check with our doctors' or pharmacist before taking herbal B/P medicine. They may interfere with your prescription medications.
Some outstanding recommendations for effective management of hypertension are as follows:
- Regular physical exercise: We recommend that all people with hypertension, should engage in at least 150 minutes aerobic exercises every week. Examples of suitable activities are walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming.
- Stress reduction: Chronic stress may contribute to high blood pressure, take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed, such as work, family, finances or illness. Once you know what's causing your stress, consider how you can eliminate or reduce stress.
- Reducing salt intake: Lowering salt intake can benefit people both with and without hypertension. People’s average salt intake should be between 9 grams (g) and 12 g per day. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend reducing intake to under 5 g a day to help decrease the risk of hypertension and related health problems.
- Eat a healthy diet: Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure. This eating plan is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
