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All you should know about hypertension |
| Date Added: December 05, 2009 01:46:06 PM |
| Author: Theodore |
| Category: Health |
| High blood pressure is sometimes called the "silent killer", since you can have it without being aware that you do. This is because most people with hypertension have no symptoms. Arteries carry blood around the body. When the heart beats, it thrusts blood through the arteries. In a person who has healthy arteries, the blood runs through the arteries with little resistance. But in a person whose arteries have become narrow, the arteries prevent the blood from running through them. The heart has to work harder to get the blood to the organs, and that is when hypertension occurs. Hypertension puts a huge strain on your heart and brings on damage to the arteries. This escalates your risk for stroke, heart attack, heart disease and kidney failure. Blood pressure is made up of 2 measurements. The first figure is known as systolic, and refers to the peak blood pressure when your heart is sending blood out into the arteries. The second number is known as diastolic, which is the pressure when your heart is relaxing between beats. Your blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The systolic pressure is read first, and the diastolic pressure is read second. In a healthy adult blood pressure is 120/80 or lower. High blood pressure is a reading 140/90 or higher. Some factors raise your risk of hypertension. Some you can control, and some you cannot. The factors you cannot be in control of include: - Race. African Americans are proved to develop high blood pressure more often and earlier in life. Furthermore, severe cases of high blood pressure are more often observed in African Americans. - Age. Risk of hypertension raises as you grow older. - Family history. If some of your close relatives have high blood pressure, you are at risk. Other factors that place you at risk for hypertension are • being overweight • lack of physical activity • heavy smoking • consumption of too much salt. Doctors strictly recommend that all adults aged 18 and older be screened for high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, the following are some recommendations to help you decrease it. - Quit smoking. Nicotine makes your blood vessels narrower and your heart beat quicker, which increases your blood pressure. - Lose weight if you are corpulent. - Be more active. Try to be active at a moderate intensity for half an hour, 5 or more days a week. - Choose a balanced diet high in vitamins and low fats. - Limit your sodium and alcohol intake. If lifestyle improvements alone do not lower your blood pressure, your physician may moreover prescribe antihypertensive drugs to treat your high blood pressure. But note: even if you must take medicines, changing your life-style can help decrease the amount of medicines you take. |
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