hypertension Symptoms causes and Treatment

hypertension treatment

Hypertension: Symptoms and Treatment
High blood pressure is a serious disease that can, over time, damage the blood vessel
walls and increase a person's risk of heart attack, stroke and other conditions
Blood pressure is the force of your blood against the blood vessel walls. Having high
blood pressure means that this force is higher than it should be, and could lead to health
problems.

There are two types of blood

pressure measurements:Systolic blood pressure, which is a measure of the force of
the blood when the heart beats, and
diastolic blood
pressure, or the force of the blood between heart beats. A person is considered to have
high blood pressure when their systolic pressure is 140 mmHg or higher most of the time, or
when their diastolic pressure is 90 mmHg or higher most of the time, according to the
National Institutes of Health About one-third of U.S. adults or 70 million people, have high
blood pressure, and only about half have it under control according to a 2013 report
from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors can help prevent high blood pressure, also known as hypertension,experts say High blood pressure is really a disease of the Western world
and if we can do our best to work on diet and exercise and stress relief, we could take a huge amount of this burden down

Causes

Most of the time, doctors cannot find a specific cause of hypertension, and this is known as essential hypertension. Certain factors increase the risk of developing
hypertension, including being obese, drinking too much alcohol, eating a lot of salt,smoking and having diabetes Aging also increases the risk of hypertension because blood vessels become stiffer with age, the NIH says. About 65percent of U.S. adults ages 60 and older have high blood
pressure, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).Being under stress can also increase your blood pressure temporarily, but stress is not a proven risk factor for
hypertension. Still, some studies have linked mental stress and depression with risk of high blood pressure. A 2003 study published in the Journal Of the American Medical Association found that people who felt pressed for time or were inpatient had higher odds of developing high blood
pressure over a 15-year period, than people who did not feel such time pressure.

Symptoms

People with high blood pressure usually have no symptoms, and so patients can have the condition for years without knowing it
according to NHLBI.
"We call it the 'silent killer,'"
because patients are often
asymptotic, Freeman said. In
rare cases, some people with
high blood pressure
experience headaches.
Although many patients may
not have symptoms at first,
over time, high blood pressure
can lead to "wear and tear" on
the body, Freeman said. For
example, high blood pressure
can stretch and damage blood
vessels, which in turn, can
increase the risk of health
problems, according to the
American Heart Association.
Stretched blood vessels can
have weak spots that are more
likely to rupture, leading to a
hemorrhagic strokes or
aneurysms, AHA says.
Stretching of the blood vessels
can also cause tears and
scars that create places for
cholesterol or blood to build
up.

Diagnosis

High blood pressure is
diagnosed from a blood
pressure test. Typically,
doctors place a blood pressure
cuff on the arm, which has a
gauge that measures pressure
in the blood vessels. Patients
should avoid drinking coffee or
smoking cigarettes for 30
minutes before the test,
because such behaviors can
increase blood pressure
temporarily, the NHLBI says.
Because a person's blood
pressure can vary depending
on a number of factors,
including the time of day, a
doctor will usually check blood
pressure several times and
different appointments before
diagnosing someone with high
blood pressure.
Freeman said that he will often
have patients use a device
called an ambulatory blood
pressure monitor, which
patients wear at home, and
which takes a blood pressure
reading about every 30
minutes. This device can show
whether a person really does
have hypertension, and how
well they are responding to
treatment, he said. If a patient
doesn't want to use an
ambulatory blood pressure
monitor, they can also use a
home blood pressure monitor
to manually check their blood
pressure. "You get a lot better
idea of what's going on," if you
track blood pressure with one
of these devices, Freeman
said.
Doctors may measure blood
pressure in both arms to see if
there is a difference in
readings, the Mayo Clinic
Doctors may also recommend
other tests to look for
indicators of heart disease,
such as high cholesterol,

Treatment & medication

The goal of treatment is for patients to keep their blood pressure in the normal range
below 140/90 mmHg. For Patients who have diabetes or chronic kidney disease,
doctors recommend that they keep their blood pressure under 130/80 mmHg
Lifestyle changes — including
changes in diet and physical
activity — and medications are
recommended for treating high
blood pressure.
People with pre-hypertension
— that is, those with blood
pressure readings higher than
120/80, but lower than 140/90
— are usually treated with
lifestyle changes alone,
according to the National
Institutes of Health.
But many people with true
hypertension will need take
medications, as well as make
lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes that can help lower blood pressure include eating a healthy diet — such
as a diet that cuts down on salt, and boosts fruit and vegetable intake — increasing
physical activity, reducing weight (if the patient is overweight or obese), and quitting smoking
In addition, stress relief practices, such as meditation or other relaxation techniques,
can also be helpful in lowering blood pressure, especially when combined with other
lifestyle changes
medications include:
Diuretics: These medications remove some salt from the body, which reduces fluid in
the blood vessels and causes blood pressure to go down.Beta-blockers Allow the
heart to beat slower with less force, which results in lower.
blood pressure Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (also called ACE inhibitors):
Blocks the formation of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, allowing blood
vessels to open up Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs):These medications are newer,
but work in a way similar to ACE inhibitors to widen blood vessels Calcium channel
blockers: Stop calcium from entering muscle cells in the heart and blood vessels, which
relaxes the blood vessels Side effects from blood pressure medication tend to be
minor, and can include cough diarrhea, dizziness, feeling tired, headaches, and
unintentional weight loss and skin rash

sorry to say that but we can't explain it briefly due to some problems
note the the above post is just for education only not for treatment