Hypertension Can Be An Extremely Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Normally A Quite Simple Solution


In the last few years changes in lifestyle and diet in the majority of western societies have led to an increase in the number of people suffering from high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (otherwise known as hypertension, or more accurately arterial hypertension) is a dangerous condition which rarely shows 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 is a life-threatening condition.

So exactly what is hypertension and exactly what causes it?

The arteries of the body are constantly filled with blood that produces a normal 'background' pressure on the artery walls. As your heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure exerted on the artery walls with every beat of the heart. These two pressures are referred to as the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart pumps) and the diastolic pressure (the lower normal or 'background' pressure).

Normal blood pressure differs from one individual to the next but, usually, systolic pressure should be about 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ought to be approximately 80 mm Hg. This is ordinarily expressed as a pressure of 120/80.

Whenever your blood pressure starts to rise and then remains at a level 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 linked with it. If your blood pressure rises to, and stays at, a level of 140/90 or higher then you are suffering from hypertension and steps ought to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.

But just what causes your blood pressure to rise and stay at a high level?

Well, there are a variety of factors at play here and to begin there is a group over which you have little, or no, control. This group includes a low birth weight, several genetic factors, some types of diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age the arteries have a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, creating a reduced cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).

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

The vast majority of these factors are treatable and, in a lot of cases, a simple change in your diet and the addition of a little exercise into your daily diary is all that is necessary to cure the problem. The difficulty however is that, with few, if any, symptoms, the vast majority of individuals are not aware that they have high blood pressure in the first place.

So how can you go about curing the problem?

Thankfully the answer to this question is quite simple. All you have to do is to call in at your physician's office regularly (about twice a year will be sufficient) and ask him or her to check your blood pressure for you. The process is pain free, simple and fast and will provide you with peace of mind and can save your doctor a lot of time, work and expense later on when you are forced to visit his office once high blood pressure arrives.

If you are not so keen on visiting your doctor then a very good alternative nowadays is to simply monitor your own blood pressure. A large selection of easy to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are now available, allowing you to maintain a check on your own health, and the health of of your whole family, in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

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