Hypertension Is A Dangerous Problem For Which There Is Frequently Simple Answer

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Hypertension Is A Dangerous Problem For Which There Is Frequently Simple Answer

In recent years changes in diet and lifestyle in the majority of western countries have led to a rise in the number of individuals with high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (which is otherwise called hypertension, or more accurately arterial hypertension) can be a dangerous condition which rarely has any symptoms and which, if not detected and treated, can result in stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which represents a life-threatening condition.

So precisely what is hypertension and exactly what causes it?

The arteries within the body are continuously filled with blood which produces a normal 'background' pressure against the walls of the arteries. When the heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around your body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure exerted on the artery walls during each heartbeat. These two pressures are called the systolic pressure (the higher pumping pressure of the heart) and the diastolic pressure (the lesser 'background' pressure).

Normal blood pressure varies from person to person but, in general, systolic pressure ought to be in the region of 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ought to be about 80 mm Hg. This is usually expressed as a blood pressure of 120/80.

Whenever your blood pressure begins to rise and stays at a level above 120/80 then you are described as being 'prehypertensive' and, while this is not serious in itself, it is an indication that you could be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems linked with it. As soon as your blood pressure reaches, and stays at, a level of 140/90 or higher then you are said to be suffering from hypertension and action needs to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.

So what makes you blood pressure rise and remain at a high level?

Well, there are numerous factors involved here and to start there is a group over which you have little, or no, control. This group of factors includes low weight at birth, various genetic factors, some types of diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age the arteries display a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, resulting in a reduced cross-sectional area for the blood to flow through).

The second group of factors is far more controllable and includes leading a sedentary lifestyle, high levels of salt and saturated fats in the diet, being overweight, smoking, alcohol abuse, stress and working in specific occupations such as motorway maintenance or flying.

Most of these factors are of course treatable and, in many cases, a quite simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of some exercise into your daily plan is all that is necessary to resolve the problem. The difficulty however is that, without any real symptoms, the vast majority of individuals do not know that they are suffering from hypertension to start with.

So how do you go about curing the problem?

Fortunately the answer to this particular question is fairly simple. All you need to do is to pop into your physician's office regularly (about twice a year will do the trick) and ask him/her to check your blood pressure for you. The process is painless, easy and quick and will give you peace of mind and could save your doctor a lot of time, work and expense down the road when you are forced to call in at his office once high blood pressure has set in.

If you are not too keen on calling in to see your doctor then an excellent alternative nowadays is to simply monitor your own blood pressure. A number of simple to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available now, allowing you to maintain a check on your health, and the health of of your whole family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.