Hypertension

Hypertension, or high blood pressure is one of the most common disorders in the United States today. Over 50 million Americans have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, but only 25% are under good control. Almost everyone knows some one with hypertension, and depending on your lifestyle and family history, you could be at risk for developing it as well. Hypertension is known as a silent killer because oftentimes, people are not aware they have it until damage has been done. This is unfortunate, because with proper dietary and lifestyle medications, most people's blood pressure can be controlled.

Hypertension is defined as a either a systolic (the top number) of greater than 140 and a diastolic (the bottom number) of greater than 90. Normal blood pressure is defined as below 120 systolic and 80 diastolic. Hypertension is usually asymptomatic, but some signs of high blood pressure are: severe headache in the back of the head, usually worse in the morning, dizziness, ringing in ears, blurred vision, confusion, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

Hypertension is categorized by its causes. Primary, or essential hypertension accounts for 95 % of all cases of high blood pressure. This means that the cause may not be known. Factors that contribute to its development include excessive salt intake, or a defect in the kidney's ability to excrete sodium. Secondary hypertension is much less common, and is often severe and difficult to treat. This can be caused by endocrine disorders, tumors, diseased blood vessels in the kidney, oral contraceptive use, alcohol abuse, and even pregnancy. Treating the underlying disorder will often improve if not resolve the high blood pressure.

Many people do not consider high blood pressure a serious problem because it does not make them feel sick. Many times, people feel worse on medication than they do with the high blood pressure. This is why it is so important to talk to your doctor to ensure you are on the right medication and the right dose. There are many kinds of blood pressure medication, one will be right for you. It is important to take care of your blood pressure as it is associated with heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, kidney failure and blindness if it is not controlled. If you think of your heart as a pump, you can imagine how much harder it has to work if it is pushing against more resistance. Blood pressure is the resistance your heart is working against. If the resistance is high all the time, the heart compensates by getting thicker, so it can pump harder. Eventually the heart gets so thick it can not get enough oxygen from the blood to pump, and that person develops heart failure. The high pressure also causes damage to the end organs, including your eyes, kidneys, and brain. If you have a weak area in a blood vessel, high pressure can cause that weak area to balloon out and possibly rupture. This is called an aneurysm.

High blood pressure usually develops during middle age, most often affects men and women who have gone through menopause. African - Americans are especially hard-hit, developing hypertension younger and averaging much higher BP readings than whites. A family history of hypertension increases the risks, as do smoking, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, inactivity, poor education, and low socioeconomic status.

If you have high blood pressure, there are several things you can do to help control it, such as losing excess weight, cutting out the fat in your diet, limiting alcohol intake, regular exercise, and reducing salt intake. You should also consume enough potassium calcium, and magnesium. Stopping smoking will also help your blood pressure, and reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

The DASH diet has been recommended as a guideline for dietary therapy, and has been shown to be effective in lowering blood pressure. This diet recommends consuming 7-8 servings of grains and grain products/day, 4-5 servings of vegetables/day, 4-5 servings of fruit/day, 2-3 servings of low fat or nonfat dairy foods/day, 4-5 servings of nuts, seeds, and legumes per week, and limited intakes of fats and sweets.

Working together with your physician, you can control your blood pressure and avoid early heart disease. In the case of high blood pressure and heart disease, and ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure.