What about your blood pressure? Could your current life-style cause high blood pressure in the future? What can you do to keep your blood pressure under control?

Blood pressure is the force blood exerts against blood vessel walls. It can be measured using an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and connected to an apparatus that records pressure. Two readings are obtained. For example: 120/80. The first number is called systolic blood pressure because it indicates blood pressure during the heartbeat (systole), and the second number is called diastolic blood pressure because it indicates blood pressure while the heart is relaxed (diastole). Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury, and physicians classify patients as hypertensive when their blood pressure is above 140/90.

What makes blood pressure increase? Imagine that you are watering your garden. By opening the faucet or by reducing the caliber, or diameter, of the jet of water, you increase the pressure of the water. The same occurs with blood pressure: Increasing the rate of flow of blood or decreasing the caliber of the blood vessel elevates the blood pressure. How does high blood pressure occur? Many factors are involved.

Factors You Cannot Control

Researchers have discovered that if a person has relatives with high blood pressure, his chances of suffering from the disease are greater. Statistics indicate a higher incidence of hypertension in identical twins than in fraternal twins. One study refers to the ?mapping of the genes responsible for arterial hypertension,? all of which would confirm the existence of a hereditary component responsible for high blood pressure. The risk of abnormally high blood pressure is also known to increase with age and to be greater among black males.

Factors You Can Control

Watch your diet! Salt (sodium) can boost blood pressure in some people, especially people with diabetes, those with severe hypertension, older people, and some blacks. Excess fat in the bloodstream can create deposits of cholesterol on the internal walls of blood vessels (atherosclerosis), thus reducing their caliber and increasing blood pressure. People who are more than 30

Originally posted 2010-01-26 08:19:53. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Hypertension does not in itself give dramatic symptoms, but it is dangerous because it causes a highly increased risk for heart infarction, stroke and renal failure.

THE PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION

One out of six persons is hypertensive. Most persons suffering from hypertension is over the age of 35. Still 6% of teenagers are hypertensive and also 1% of every child.

THE SYMPTOMS AND CONSEQUENCES OF HYPERTENSION

Hypertension is often without symptoms. By mild hypertension, flushing and headache can occur.
More serious hypertension gives symptoms like: Fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, tachycardia (rapid heart rate) and nosebleeds.

Extreme hypertension gives morning headache, blurred vision, dyspnoea (breathing difficulties) and elevated values of certain components in the blood, like urea and serum creatinine.

Hypertension will in the long run hurt the blood vessels, and serious hypertension can do extensive damage to the blood vessels in a few months or years.

The damaged blood vessels will impair the blood flow. They can also rupture causing a bleeding or be clogged by a blood clot that shuts out the blood flow and causes tissue damage. These things can occur in the brain, causing a stroke, in the heart causing heart infarction or in the kidneys with renal failure as a consequence.

A renal failure will in the next turn cause the hypertension to aggarvate, partly because a damaged kidney will not manage to secrete water and salt well enough, and partly because a kidney that do not get enough blood will start a hormonal mechanism that induces the kidney to actively hold back salt and water.

THE MECHANISMS AND CAUSES OF HYPERTENSION

The direct mechanisms causing hypertension is one or more of these factors:
- An increased tension in the blood vessel walls.
- An increased blood volume caused by elevated levels of salt and lipids in the blood holding back water.
- Hardened and inelastic blood vessels caused by arteriosclerosis.

The primary causes behind these mechanisms are not fully understood, but these factors contribute to causing hypertension:
- A high consume of salt
- A high fat consume.
- Stress at work and in the daily life.
- Smoking.
- Over-weight
- Lack of exercise.
- Kidney failure.

LIFESTYLE MEASURES TO PREVENT AND TREAT HYPERTENSION

Lifestyle measures shall always be a component of the hypertension treatment. Sometimes such measures are enough to cure the condition. Those measures are:
- Reducing salt consume.
- Reduction of the consume of fat, and especially saturated fat.
- Weight reduction.
- Relaxing and stress reduction techiques, for example meditation and autogenic training.
- Regular exercise.

SPECIAL FOOD TYPES THAT REDUCE THE BLOOD PRESSURE

Research projects suggest that the following food types reduce blood pressure.

Fish oil and fat fish. The working substances seem to be the omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The effect from fish oil seems to cease when the fish oil supplements are stopped.
-Olive oil, especially olive oil of the quality extra virgin.

NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS TO HELP AGAINST HYPERTENSION

Natural supplements to treat hypertension exist. These supplements reduce blood pressure by lowering the cholesterol and lipid content in the blood, by preventing oxidation of tissue components by free radicals, and by helping damaged blood vessels to heal. Examples of ingredients having these effects are vitamin B3, inositol, turmenic extract and gum guggul extract.

They may also contain Ingredients giving a direct anti-hypertensive effect, like potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and fatty acids from marine sources.

MEDICAL TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION

When lifestyle measures and supplements are not enough to cure the condition, medical treatment must be applied.

Diuretics, or medicines to increase the urine production, are used to decrease the water content in the blood vessels, and thereby reduce the pressure in the vessels. When the water content is lowered, the heart does not need to pump so hard any more, and this will also reduce the pressure.

Beta-adrenergic blockers are another group of medicines to treat hypertension. This group of medicines block the signals that hormones and neurotransmitters give to the vessel walls, and the vessel walls then relax. They also slow down the heart rate to give a lower pressure exerted by the heart upon the blood.

Originally posted 2009-10-30 06:50:41. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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There are two types of hypertension – primary and secondary. Primary hypertension is closely related to the patient’s lifestyle while secondary hypertension is caused by other medical conditions – kidney and liver failure are known to be causes of secondary hypertension.

Symptoms or Signs of Hypertension

These symptoms are not mandatory in condition of hypertension, but if you suspect or find it unsettling, do take a blood pressure test at your local medical center.

1. Chest pains – A heavy crushing pain in the chest; in laymen’s term it feels like someone is standing on your chest.
2. Nosebleed
3. Urinal bleed – blood in urine.
4. Tiredness and regularly experience confusion
5. Changes or blurring of vision

Causes of Primary Hypertension and Prevention

Lack of physical activity: Most of the causes for primary hypertension are caused by the lifestyle factor. The lack of physical activity could, first of all, increase cholesterol levels. Rising cholesterol levels narrows the blood vessel, thus increasing the pressure of blood flow – hypertension. Prevention can then be done maintaining a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity (jogging or walking) could reduce cholesterol induced hypertension. Taking precautions against diabetes could also help because diabetes are normally related to hypertension.

Tobacco products: It is uncertain whether it is the tobacco, or nicotine in tobacco products that are the exact cause of hypertension. But the facts are smokers are at higher risk of suffering from hypertension. This may be explained by the fact that nicotine increases blood pressure temporarily but there are arguments that nicotine patches do not increase blood pressure. No matter the case, anyone can prevent hypertension by staying away from tobacco products especially cigarettes and users – smokers.

Alcohol: The factual statistics shows that between 30% – 60% of alcoholics suffer from hypertension. Although there are no medically or scientifically proven tests that results in the conclusion that alcohol is a cause of hypertension, do use your common sense by judging the statistics and stay away from alcohols because it increases your risk of suffering hypertension.

Sodium: Excessive intake of salt or salty foods could lead to hypertension as sodium tends to increase the blood pressure. Notice that the term ‘tends to’ is applied. This is because only those who are sensitive or responsive to sodium would have their blood pressure react to excessive sodium intake. However, to play it safe, it is advisable to cut down on food intakes that contain high levels of salt such as salty snacks, pickled foods, processed foods, etc.

Stress: Blood pressure levels increase as stress increases. The only prevention for stress induced hypertension is to calm down and do not response to hectic circumstances. Take things less seriously or light, you health is far more important and therefore whatever that causes stress is just not worth your time or attention.

Originally posted 2009-11-07 08:49:14. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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