Hypertension Is A Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Often Simple Answer

In the last few years alterations to the diet and lifestyle in most western countries have caused an increase in the number of people with high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (otherwise known as hypertension, or more correctly arterial hypertension) can be a dangerous condition which rarely carries any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can cause stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which represents a life-threatening condition.

So exactly what is high blood pressure and precisely what causes it?

The arteries of the body are continuously filled with blood that provides a normal 'background' pressure on the artery walls. As the heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which momentarily raises the pressure exerted on the artery walls during each heartbeat. These two pressures are called the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart pumps) and the diastolic pressure (the reduced normal or 'background' pressure).

Normal blood pressure differs from person to person but, generally, systolic pressure should be approximately 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure should be in the region of 80 mm Hg. This is usually shown as a blood pressure of 120/80.

Whenever your blood pressure starts to rise and then stays above 120/80 then you are described as being 'prehypertensive' and, while this is not in itself serious, it is a sign that you might be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems which are linked with it. Once your blood pressure rises to, and maintains, a level of 140/90 or above then you are suffering from hypertension and steps should be taken to reduce your blood pressure.

But what causes your blood pressure to rise and remain elevated?

Well, there are various factors at play 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, a number of genetic factors, some forms of diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age our arteries display a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, producing a smaller cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).

The next group of factors is far more controllable and includes a sedentary lifestyle, large quantities of salt and saturated fats in the diet, excess weight, smoking tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and working in certain occupations such as motorway maintenance or flying.

The vast majority of these factors are of course treatable and, in a lot of cases, a quite simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of a bit of exercise into your daily diary is all that is necessary to reverse the problem. The difficulty however is that, without any real symptoms, the majority of people do not know that they have high blood pressure to start with.

So how do you cure the problem?

Thankfully the answer to this particular question is very simple. All you need to do is to drop by your doctor's office regularly (for most of us about twice a year will be sufficient) and ask him/her to check your blood pressure. The procedure is pain free, easy and fast and will give you peace of mind and possibly save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense down the road when you are forced to call in at his office once high blood pressure arrives.

If you are not too keen on calling in to see your doctor then a very good alternative nowadays is to simply monitor your own blood pressure at home. A wide range of easy to operate and quite inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available today, allowing you to keep an eye on your own health, as well as the health of of your whole family, in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

Hypertension Is A Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Often Simple Answer

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