What is High Blood Pressure? (Hypertension)
What is High Blood Pressure – Hypertension, occurs when your blood pressure rises to unhealthy levels. The hypertension measurement takes into account the amount of blood that passes through the vessels and the amount of resistance the blood encounters while the heart pumps. As we know that the Narrow arteries increase resistance. As the size of your arteries decreases, your blood pressure rises. In the long term, increased pressure can cause health problems, including heart diseases.
Hypertension is quite common. In fact, since the guidelines have recently changed, nearly half of American adults are now expected to be diagnosed with this condition. Hypertension usually develops over the course of several years. You usually don’t notice any symptoms. But even without symptoms, hypertension can damage blood vessels and organs, especially the brain, heart, eyes, and kidneys. Early detection is important. The regular blood pressure checkup can helps you and your doctor to notice any changes you have. If your blood pressure is elevated, your doctor may ask you to monitor your blood pressure for a few weeks to see if the number remains elevated or returns to normal levels.
Treatment for hypertension includes both prescription medications and healthy lifestyle changes. Left untreated, the condition could lead to health problems, including a heart attack and stroke.
What are the symptoms of Hypertension?
Hypertension is generally a silent condition. Many people will not experience any symptoms. It can take years or even decades for the condition to reach levels severe enough for symptoms to become obvious. Even then, these symptoms can be attributed to other problems.
Symptoms of acute hypertension include:
- Headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Nose Bleeding
- Flushing
- Dizziness
- Chest Pain
- Visual Changes
- Blood in the Urine
If you have these symptoms, you need immediate medical attention. They do not occur in all people with hypertension, but waiting for a symptom of this condition to appear could be fatal.
The finest way to know about hypertension is to check regular blood pressure and note the readings. If you only have a yearly physical, talk to your doctor about your risks for hypertension.
For example, if you have a family background of heart diseases or have harmful factors for increasing the circumstances, your doctor may recommend that you should check your blood pressure twice a year. This routine checkup of blood pressure readings helps you also your doctor to determine any possible issues before they become problematic.
Causes of High Blood Pressure:
There are two kinds of hypertension. The cause of each type has a different cause.
Primary Hypertension:
Primary hypertension is also known as essential hypertension. This type of hypertension increases over time without an identifiable cause. Many of the people have this kind of hypertension. The Researchers are still unable to tell about the mechanism, how the blood pressure rises slowly. A set of factors can play a role in this hypertension mechanism. These factors are:
- Genes: Some people are genetically susceptible to hypertension. It occurs when gene mutations or genetic abnormalities inherited from parents to descendants.
- Physical changes: If some changes occurs in your body, you have to begun facing issues in your whole body like High blood pressure may have to be one of those issues. For example, it is thought that changes in the function of your kidneys due to aging can lead to disturbances in the body’s natural balance of salts and fluids. Due to these changes the blood pressure of your body may increase.
- Environment: With the passage of time, the choice of unhealthy lifestyle such as lack of physical activity and unhealthy food can stuck in your body. Lifestyle options can cause weight problems to your body. Obese or being overweight can enhance the risk of hypertension to your body.
Secondary Hypertension:
Secondary hypertension mostly occurs quickly and may be more acute than primary hypertension. There are several conditions that may causes secondary hypertension, these are:
- Kidney Diseases
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Congenital Heart Disorders
- Thyroid Problems
- Medications Side Effects
- Use of Illegal Drugs
- Alcohol Abuse or Chronic Use
- Adrenal Gland Problems
- Certain Endocrine Tumors
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