What You Should Know About Hypertension
Hypertension is a medical condition where you have an abnormally high amount of pressure in your arteries.
The arteries carry blood to your heart and other organs, and if left untreated, can potentially cause damage to the arteries, your heart, and many of the organs it carries blood to.
The good news is that this condition can be manageable, and can even be reversed over time.
Calculating Your Blood Pressure Blood pressure is calculating by determining two very important numbers, your systolic blood pressure, and your diastolic blood pressure.
It is usually measured through the use of a sphygmomanometer, which consists of the rubber cuff, a pressure gauge and an air pump.
It measures your blood pressure in units known as millimeters of mercury, or mm Hg.
The cuff is generally placed around your upper arm and inflated with the air pump.
Once the cuff reaches an amount of pressure that will block off the flow of blood in the main artery, the brachial artery, which travels through your arm, the air pressure in the cuff will slowly be released.
The nurse or doctor will then listen to that artery through a stethoscope as the pressure eases, while keeping an eye on the air gauge.
When the first sound of a pulse is heard in the artery, the administrator takes note of the number on the gauge.
This is your systolic pressure number.
As the pressure continues to ease, when the pulse can no longer be heard from the artery, the administrator takes note of the number, and this becomes your diastolic pressure number.
Normal pressure is considered to be 120/80, meaning the pulse was first heard at a pressure of 120 mm Hg (the systolic), and stopped at 80 mm Hg (the diastolic).
If your number is between 120/80 and 139/89, then you are considered to be pre-hypertensive, and it will need to be monitored to keep you from developing full hypertension, which is thought to exist at blood pressures around 140/90 or higher.
The Dangers of High Blood Pressure Having an elevated systolic or diastolic pressure puts you at risk of developing some very serious complications.
Heart disease and hardening of the arteries is the most common complication of untreated hypertension, but there have also been cases where it was connected to patients developing kidney disease, experiencing strokes, as well as damage to their because of blood pressure building up behind them.
It was once thought that having an elevated diastolic pressure was more of a risk than the systolic, but recent studies by the American Heart Association now suggests that people in their 50's and older should be considered at risk if their systolic reading becomes elevated.
Today, high blood pressure affects one in every three adults in America, and more than 73 million have already been diagnosed with this condition.
That number includes more than two million teens and children, and it is estimated that nearly as many will go untreated, making it one of most dangerous public health problems today.
Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Most cases of high blood pressure have similar causes in common, including stress, high intake of salt daily, obesity and a genetic or hereditary proclivity to the condition.
Some things can be altered to reduce your risk, like dealing with stress better and changing your diet to lower your sodium intake as well as losing weight.
Some of us are born with genes that can lead to high blood pressure developing later in life, as well as abnormalities in the arteries, and the hormones found in the adrenal glands.
One reason that high blood pressure is often referred to as the "silent killer" is because not everyone will exhibit defined symptoms before it is too late.
Some will present symptoms from time to time, and when they do, they will include headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, and blurred vision.
Once found, it can be treated normally with lifestyle changes, but if that does not work, then hypertension can be treated with diuretics, enzyme inhibitors and alpha blockers to reduce the pressure in the arteries and heart.
The arteries carry blood to your heart and other organs, and if left untreated, can potentially cause damage to the arteries, your heart, and many of the organs it carries blood to.
The good news is that this condition can be manageable, and can even be reversed over time.
Calculating Your Blood Pressure Blood pressure is calculating by determining two very important numbers, your systolic blood pressure, and your diastolic blood pressure.
It is usually measured through the use of a sphygmomanometer, which consists of the rubber cuff, a pressure gauge and an air pump.
It measures your blood pressure in units known as millimeters of mercury, or mm Hg.
The cuff is generally placed around your upper arm and inflated with the air pump.
Once the cuff reaches an amount of pressure that will block off the flow of blood in the main artery, the brachial artery, which travels through your arm, the air pressure in the cuff will slowly be released.
The nurse or doctor will then listen to that artery through a stethoscope as the pressure eases, while keeping an eye on the air gauge.
When the first sound of a pulse is heard in the artery, the administrator takes note of the number on the gauge.
This is your systolic pressure number.
As the pressure continues to ease, when the pulse can no longer be heard from the artery, the administrator takes note of the number, and this becomes your diastolic pressure number.
Normal pressure is considered to be 120/80, meaning the pulse was first heard at a pressure of 120 mm Hg (the systolic), and stopped at 80 mm Hg (the diastolic).
If your number is between 120/80 and 139/89, then you are considered to be pre-hypertensive, and it will need to be monitored to keep you from developing full hypertension, which is thought to exist at blood pressures around 140/90 or higher.
The Dangers of High Blood Pressure Having an elevated systolic or diastolic pressure puts you at risk of developing some very serious complications.
Heart disease and hardening of the arteries is the most common complication of untreated hypertension, but there have also been cases where it was connected to patients developing kidney disease, experiencing strokes, as well as damage to their because of blood pressure building up behind them.
It was once thought that having an elevated diastolic pressure was more of a risk than the systolic, but recent studies by the American Heart Association now suggests that people in their 50's and older should be considered at risk if their systolic reading becomes elevated.
Today, high blood pressure affects one in every three adults in America, and more than 73 million have already been diagnosed with this condition.
That number includes more than two million teens and children, and it is estimated that nearly as many will go untreated, making it one of most dangerous public health problems today.
Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Most cases of high blood pressure have similar causes in common, including stress, high intake of salt daily, obesity and a genetic or hereditary proclivity to the condition.
Some things can be altered to reduce your risk, like dealing with stress better and changing your diet to lower your sodium intake as well as losing weight.
Some of us are born with genes that can lead to high blood pressure developing later in life, as well as abnormalities in the arteries, and the hormones found in the adrenal glands.
One reason that high blood pressure is often referred to as the "silent killer" is because not everyone will exhibit defined symptoms before it is too late.
Some will present symptoms from time to time, and when they do, they will include headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, and blurred vision.
Once found, it can be treated normally with lifestyle changes, but if that does not work, then hypertension can be treated with diuretics, enzyme inhibitors and alpha blockers to reduce the pressure in the arteries and heart.