Hypertension: The Sneaky Killer

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is referred to as being quiet and deadly. It is so called because without feeling any discomfort or pain, you can be experiencing breakdown of the tissues of your vital organs. This is life threatening because it makes your heart work extra hard and it leads to your arteries hardening or arteriosclerosis.

Blood pressure refers to the force spent by circulating blood against your blood vessel walls, or a measurement of how forcefully the blood is pushing into your arterial walls. One of your main vital signs is blood pressure.

In most patients who have hypertension, the cause is unknown. In approximately ten out of every one hundred people, however, it can be linked to definite causes. Some of these causes are: genetics, renal problems, tumors on the adrenal gland, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, some birth control, or a narrowing of your aorta. Other probable causes include: weight gain, decreasing physical activity, use of alcohol and nicotine consumption, which is known to cause the vessels to tighten and to dramatically increase heart rate.

If blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. When blood pressure is too high, you need to form a plan to prevent harm to your body’s organs.

In some people, hypertension can be brought under control through simple changes in daily habits. They not only lower blood pressure, but also lower your chance of getting heart disease. Changing your diet, getting more exercise and stopping use of tobacco products, may be enough to bring the condition under control.

For high blood pressure that can’t be controlled by lifestyle changes, there are some new treatment options. Typically, it is recommended that these people be started on a diuretic, which is basically a water pill that will decrease fluid retention and lower blood pressure. Reasons that your doctor may consider a different type of medications could include: how progresses your hypertension is, if you have diabetes, and if there is already organ breakdown.

It is important that you follow your treatment plan, but even though you have made lifestyle changes and are taking your medication as prescribed, it is possible that you may continue to blood pressure above the normal range. In such cases, your physician should carefully review and discuss with you, the treatment plan and make adjustments as necessary.

With the vast amount of knowledge we have today, it is time to arrest this sneaky killer.