Types, diagnosis and treatment of High Blood Pressure or hypertension
Hypertension is a disease in which high pressure or tension is faced by the arteries. Arteries are the medium through which all the blood that is pumped from the heart is taken to all the organs and tissues. Here the tension is not referred to the mental tension or emotional tension. These are the factors that can only affect the blood pressure temporarily. The normal blood pressure is 120/80. Hypertension is the blood pressure that is within the range of 120/80 and 139/89 and high blood pressure is the blood pressure above 140/90. The opposite of hypertension is hypotension.
The numerator in the blood pressure is the systolic pressure. This is the pressure experienced by the arteries when the heart contracts and the blood is pushed into the arteries. The denominator is the diastolic pressure. This is the pressure experienced by the arteries when the heart expands. This is the lowest pressure that is experienced by the arteries.
Hypertension is categorized in to two categories. The first is the primary hypertension. This is the high blood pressure that occurs in a person without any medical cause. This accounts for the 90-95% of the hypertension patients. The second category is the secondary hypertension. This is caused by conditions that affect other organs like kidneys, heart and endocrine system.
This disease is one of the factors that cause stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney failure and arterial aneurysm. This also reduces life expectancy.
The hypertension is characterized by a constant high pressure. The diagnosis can be made by three different sphygmomanometer readings. Hypertension can be easily avoided with few major changes in life style. Hypertension can be avoided by reducing weight. Having an active lifestyle and including walking, jogging and aerobic exercise in the daily routine cab reduce the possibility of hypertension. Eating vegetables and fruits and including fat free dairy products can reduce the probability of hypertension. Limiting the consumption of alcohol and taking less stress is also important to avoid hypertension.
Reduction in the physical weight and changing dietary habits and including exercise is as helpful as medications for tackling hypertension. If these changes are not enough to handle hypertension then medications can be used.
