Hypertension

Hypertension, or specifically arterial hypertension, is the technical term for high blood pressure, a condition that afflicts millions worldwide and can have very serious complications

Primary, or essential hypertension, is when a person’s elevated blood pressure cannot be explained by some other medical condition that would be likely to cause hypertension. Secondary hypertension is when the elevated blood pressure manifests as a direct result of some other affliction, such as a tumor (particularly an adrenal gland tumor) or kidney problem.

Persistent high blood pressure puts you at greatly increased risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack, as well as numerous other coronary and renal problems. Very high blood pressure is almost certain to cause death if it is left unchecked for any period of time, and a person’s life expectancy will decrease relatively proportionally to an increase in their blood pressure.

The main contributor to high blood pressure is sodium in the form of salt. Great and growing amounts of salt in our modern diet are largely responsible for the boom in hypertension, particularly in developed and developing nations, as well as poorer countries where surplus’ of western-style foods are dumped on the population.

Since sodium is a major contributor to hypertension, reducing the amount of salt in your diet will often have a measurable beneficial effect on your blood pressure.
Some people suffer from metabolic syndrome, also called ‘syndrome X’, where the natural vasodilatory effect of insulin in their bodies is countered by the sympathetic neural activity that is also causes, resulting in elevated blood pressure. People with natural insulin resistance, such as diabetics, are more prone to this condition and therefore at increased risk of developing hypertension.

Sleep apnea is a condition where a person stops breathing repeatedly throughout the night, often because of some blockage in the throat or sinuses, and can be a contributory factor in hypertension.

Some people are also genetically predisposed to hypertension, with recent studies indicating that a parent who suffers from it has around a thirty percent chance of passing on a the condition to their offspring. It is believed that a number of different gene expressions may cause slightly elevated blood pressure in various different ways, and that a combination of these expressions will lead to hypertension.

There are no consistent symptoms of hypertension, although some patients report experiencing hot flushes, dizziness, headache and blurred vision. Because of this, hypertension is usually discovered by a medical professional during testing for some other condition, or during a routine physical examination.

When hypertension reaches an advanced stage, it is more likely to present with symptoms such as dizziness and headaches, as well as ringing in the ears (tinnitus), nausea and vomiting. This is known as malignant hypertension, and should be treated as a medical emergency as it can lead to serious organ damage. Additional symptoms of malignant hypertension include confusion and visual abnormalities.

Psychological factors such as anxiety and stress do not cause hypertension, contrary to popular belief, but may exacerbate the condition if it already present.
As a first step in the instance of mild to moderate hypertension, a medical professional may prescribe simple lifestyle modifications such as a change in diet (to cut out salt and/or lose weight), and more regular exercise. In many cases this will be enough to bring blood pressure back down to acceptable healthy levels and no further treatment will be necessary.

Giving up smoking is also highly recommended, as although it does not directly contribute to high blood pressure, it dramatically increases the chance of damaging or even fatal complications due to the condition, such as a stroke or heart attack.
Calcium supplementation is also proven to be helpful in reducing high blood pressure in most patients.

A specific diet for patients with hypertension is DASH, meaning Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is simple and effective, and includes such common sense factors as low salt, low fat foods, plenty of vegetables and fruit, and an exercise component. Fruit, vegetables and some nuts are particularly helpful in addressing hypertension, due to their natural potassium content. Potassium can partially offset the action of excess sodium in the body.

Medicinal approaches to hypertension treatment generally involve using a drug or combination of drugs to reduce the patient’s blood pressure to a healthy, stable level, which is generally accepted to be somewhere below 140/90 mmHg, although some medical professionals advocate a lower rate of 120/80 mmHg. Combination drug therapy is necessary because individual drugs only have the capacity to reduce blood pressure a certain amount and since each type works in a different way, the combinations can have a stacking effect.

Types of drugs used to treat hypertension include alpha blockers, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, renin inhibitors and vasodilators. The brand names for some of these drugs are Furosemide, Nitroprusside, Minoxidil and Clonidine.

Always consult a medical professional before embarking on a course of drug treatment therapy.