Hypertension: a warning sign

Sep 29, 2014 Ruchira Dhoke Lifestyle & Health 0

Our heart is like a mechanical pump. It creates pressure while pushing the blood against the walls of the arteries. This pressure is called the arterial blood pressure. Each time the heart beats, blood is pumped into the blood vessels.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and is recorded as two numbers

The upper number is the systolic blood pressure – it is the highest pressure in blood vessels when the heart contracts or beats. The lower number is the diastolic blood pressure – the lowest pressure in blood vessels in between heartbeats when the heart muscle relaxes. Normal adult blood pressure is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure of 80 mm Hg.

HOW WILL YOU DEFINE HYPERTENSION?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a condition where the pressure is persistently high in the blood vessels. The heart has to perform harder in order to pump blood if the blood pressure is high in the blood vessels. Hypertension can lead to a heart attack, an enlargement of the heart and eventually heartfailure if left untreated. Blood vessels may develop aneurysms due to high pressure, making them more susceptible to clog and burst. There is high risk of a stroke. Hypertension can also lead to secondary complications like renal failure, blindness, rupture of blood vessels and cognitive impairment.

CAUSES OF HYPERTENTION

Behavioral risk factors:

Influenced by a person’s working and living conditions

Consuming food with too much salt and fat
No fruit and vegetables included in diet
Overconsumption of alcohol
Lack of physical inactivity and exercise
Poor stress management

Metabolic risk factors:

Obesity
Diabetes
Elevated Lipid levels

These risk factors play a crucial role in increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other complications of hypertension.

HOW TO KNOW THE RISK – by detecting early

Getting yourself checked is the only way of knowing if you have a high BP. It will help preventing or reducing the potential harmful effects of hypertension in time. If there is a family history of high BP the risk factor of acquiring the disease yourself is high. In such cases time to time checkup is important

DO YOU HAVE HYPERTENSTION?

Most people with hypertension have no symptoms at all. Sometimes hypertension causes symptoms such as headache, chest pain, palpitations of the heart, dyspnea (shortness of breath), dizziness, and nose bleeds.

HYPERTENTION: IGNORENCE IS NOT BLISS

It is been established that to ignore high blood pressure is dangerous as it can lead to life-threatening complications to major organs like heart ,the brain and kidneys.

A solution

A BETTER LIFESTYLE – keeping it under control

A Healthy diet with limited quantities of salt
Avoid alcohol consumption
Stopping smoking
Monitoring the blood pressure levels regularly
Managing with proper medication on timely basis after the diagnosis

blood pressure, health issues, hypertension, stroke

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Ruchira Dhoke

A qualified medical microbiologist with an avidity to read enchant a deep passion for creating a good impacting masterpiece with my words .I am very fond of good old English literature and like listening to music and paint in my free time.