Hypertension - High Blood Pressure Causes – and High Blood Pressure Control

33 out of every 100 adults are already living with high blood pressure without knowing it. High blood pressure (high BP) usually has no symptoms. You will be able to live with your high blood pressure for years without knowing it until you damage your kidneys, the heart, blood vessels and other organs of your body including getting a stroke attack and bursting of blood vessels in the eyes. High blood pressure is the most prevalent condition facing adults of all walks of life today.

High BP is Not Overly Tense or Nervous

High blood pressure does not mean being overly tense or nervous. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels. The condition results when blood vessels become narrow forcing the heart to pump harder to push blood through the body. When the force against the artery walls increases above safe levels and stays there, then you have high blood pressure. The medical term for this condition is hypertension.

Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is measured by a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. There are still many doctors and nurses who use mercury sphygmomanometers, which despite the age of the design, are an accurate way of measuring blood pressure. What is measured is the pressure when the heart is pumping blood and the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. The pressure when the heart is pumping blood is called systolic blood pressure. The pressure when the heart is at rest between beats is called diastolic blood pressure.

Getting high blood pressure should not be the end of the world, but it can. If you suffer from high blood pressure, try to maintain a positive attitude to life and have your blood pressure checked regularly by your doctor. If you are a regular man and woman who have never imagined you might be suffering from high blood pressure, make it a point of seeing a doctor soon before you damage your kidneys, the heart, blood vessels and other organs of your body including getting a stroke attack and bursting of blood vessels in the eyes - Chances Are High at 33% that You Are Already Living With High Blood Pressure without Knowing It. Your life is Your Life and its worth the effort.

The normal blood pressure for an adult is 120/80 mmHg. This means the systolic blood pressure is 120 mm of mercury and the diastolic pressure is 80 mm of mercury. Any raise above 120/80 mmHg means you have a higher risk of high blood pressure complications. However, the systolic and diastolic numbers may not rise proportionally and in such a case, the one which is more severe is the one to be used in classifying the category of your blood pressure.

Hypertension

It is very important to have your blood pressure checked at least once every four month. If your blood pressure rises and goes unchecked, it increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious damage to your body. If you have hypertension you may experience headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, dizziness, flushing of the face or anxiety. But most often these symptoms may be absent for many years until one day your hypertension will have damaged one of your organs.

Risk factors

The causes of hypertension are unknown but certain risk factors are related to hypertension, namely:

1. If one or both parents have high blood pressure, then an offspring has more chances to develop high blood pressure.

2. The older you get, the higher the chances of developing high blood pressure.

3. If you are overweight, you are twice more likely to get hypertension than a normal weight person.

4. If you use too much salt in your food. Avoid adding salt to food on the table.

5. If you are using certain drugs like birth control pills, decongestants and diet pills which can temporarily raise blood pressure.

6. Tension will aggravate existing hypertension.

7. Children under 12 years who have high blood pressure have another condition that is causing high blood pressure such as kidney disease. The underlying condition should be treated first to resolve the high blood pressure.

Treatments for Hypertension

Treatments for hypertension may include medications apart from a change of your lifestyle. You should not decide on your own the medicines to take and neither should you decide on your own when to stop taking your medicines. If a drug is prescribed to you by your doctor and you get side effects, then talk to your doctor immediately.

Medicines

Medicines such as Diuretics also known as water pills, Alpha blockers, Alpha-beta blockers, Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), Beta blockers, Vasodilators, ACE Inhibitors, Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and Nervous system inhibitors are widely used in the treatment of high blood pressure. If you are on these drugs and you happen to become pregnant, then you should notify your doctor without delay as some of these drugs may be unsafe for the health of the unborn child.

Change of Your Lifestyle

In addition to the medicines prescribed to you by your doctor, you will need to do the following to manage your hypertension:

1. Reduce your daily intake of sodium and sodium chloride (table salt) to less than 2 grams per day. Check food labels for sodium content. In particular avoid canned soups. You can instead flavour your foods with herbs, lemon and spices.

2. Lose weight if you are overweight. Plan a diet and exercise programme with your doctor. There are many weight- reducing-programme out there but let your doctor know what you are doing.

3. Reduce cholesterol and saturated fats. Cholesterol is found in animal products like eggs, liver, kidney and fat meat. Reduce this to about 300 milligrams per day which is equivalent to amount in one egg. Saturated fats are foods like butter, cheese, cream and whole milk which should be reduced to below 30 percent of your total daily calories. Instead you should increase your daily intake of potassium, calcium and magnesium to meet the recommended daily advances.

4. Exercise regularly as this will help relieve tension, promote relaxation and cause weight loss. Exercises that involve freely movement of muscles such as swimming, jogging, walking and gardening are preferred to weight lifting which can result in dangerous rise of blood pressure. Limit the time you spend on TV and computer to at most three hours per day.

5. In as much as you may limit the time you spend on TV and computer to at most three hours per day, you need to relax. Relax and get enough sleep as blood pressure is lowest when you sleep. Do not use tranquilizers or sedatives but get involved in activities you enjoy doing.

6. Eliminate harmful habits like taking too much alcohol. Take no more than two pints of alcohol per day. If you smoke, then that has to be stopped now and not tomorrow.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Getting high blood pressure should not be the end of the world, but it can. If you suffer from high blood pressure, try to maintain a positive attitude to life and have your blood pressure checked regularly by your doctor. If you are a regular man and woman who have never imagined you might be suffering from high blood pressure, make it a point of seeing a doctor soon before you damage your kidneys, the heart, blood vessels and other organs of your body including getting a stroke attack and bursting of blood vessels in the eyes - Chances Are High at 33% that You Are Already Living With High Blood Pressure without Knowing It. Your life is Your Life and its worth the effort.

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