What Is Hypertension?

Hypertension is the medical name for high blood pressure. The term “blood pressure” is used to describe the pressure within the arterial walls that moves blood from the heart and around the body. When the arterial walls narrow, it makes it harder for the blood to flow through them. The heart has to pump harder to get the blood flowing through and increases the blood pressure, hence the name high blood pressure.

Hypertension is a common medical condition and the most chronic condition in the United States, affecting about twenty-five percent of the adult population. Because hypertension causes very few symptoms, a considerable amount of people have hypertension and do not know it until it has reached a progressive state. This is why it is so important to have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. But once you are diagnosed with hypertension, you will have it for the rest of your life and will have to take medicine every day to control it.

If hypertension is left untreated, it can open the door to many health problems such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, vision impairment, dementia, and early death by about twenty-five years. It can also cause plaque accumulations around the arterial walls of the heart, decreasing blood flow and possibly causing a heart attack. Although having untreated hypertension can have these medical problems, fifteen percent of the adult population who know they have hypertension will still doing nothing about it.

The chance of being diagnosed with hypertension increases as a person gets older and also depends on a person’s race. For example:

African Americans have about a 33% chance of getting hypertension.
Caucasians have about a 23% chance.
American Indians have about a 21% chance.
Hispanics have about an 18% chance.
Asians or Pacific Islanders have about a 16% chance of getting hypertension.

As with many diseases, family history also plays a role in developing hypertension. If there is a family history of hypertension, it will automatically increase a person’s chance of getting hypertension. Sex should also be taken into consideration; men have a higher chance of developing hypertension if they’re under the age of fifty-five, while women have a higher risk if they’re over the age of fifty-five.

Other factors that may play a role in developing hypertension is being overweight or obesity, diabetes, smoking, drinking an excessive amount of alcohol every day, low potassium levels, heart disease, or even sleep apnea.

There are two types of hypertension- essential hypertension and secondary hypertension. Essential hypertension, or primary high blood pressure, is hypertension with no cause. Causes may be related to genetics or lifestyle. Secondary hypertension is high blood pressure that is caused by another disease such as diabetes, kidney disease, preeclampsia, or a thyroid disorder.

A small percentage of people with hypertension will develop malignant hypertension, a condition in which the blood pressure is so high that it will start to damage the organs.

Malignant Hypertension: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Malignant hypertension is a rare but serious form of hypertension, or high blood pressure, which needs to be treated quickly. It is defined as the systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number) numbers being higher than 240 and 120. If this condition is treated on a prompt basis, it can cause complications in the eyes, brain, lung, and/or kidneys.

Eyes- If hypertension is left untreated, it can affect the eyes in that there will be flame-shaped hemorrhages in the retina, or there will be small, soft exudates. This is called hypertensive retinopathy. Malignant hypertension differs from hypertensive retinopathy in that there is papilledema, or swelling around the optic nerve.

Brain- While headaches are uncommon in hypertension; it is very common in malignant hypertension if the blood pressure is extremely high. Brain involvement with malignant hypertension can sometimes cause convulsions.

Lungs- Malignant hypertension can cause congestion in the lungs and results from fluid being forced into the lungs from heart failure as a result from the blood pressure being too high.

Kidneys- Malignant hypertension can also cause kidney or renal failure by obstruction of the arteries, causing less blood to flow to the kidneys.

Symptoms from malignant hypertension include blurry vision, vomiting, chest pains or a crushing sensation on the chest, decreased urine output, and/or tingling or numbness in the face, neck, arms, hands, or feet.

Like hypertension overall, the exact cause of malignant hypertension is uncertain. While little is still known about this condition, there are a few things that are known. Younger people are more likely to get malignant hypertension than older people which is the opposite of general hypertension. Those of African descent are more likely to get malignant hypertension, as well as those who already have a history of kidney failure and pregnant women that have gestational hypertension.

There are two hypertensive conditions that are still of some concern such as hypertensive urgency and hypertensive emergency. With hypertensive urgency, the blood pressure will be high with no serious symptoms. This means that people could be at risk for developing malignant hypertension if left untreated. In hypertensive emergency there can be organ damage and bringing the blood pressure down is crucial. The systolic number in hypertensive emergency will usually be greater than 220.

People with malignant hypertension need to treated quickly and should always be admitted into the hospital for close observation. In some cases, people may be admitted into the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). With hospital stays, intravenous drugs are the main focus of therapy because they work in the body quicker than medicines taken orally. Two drugs that are commonly used to bring high blood pressure down are nitroglycerin and nitroprusside. Several blood tests will be done several times a day to evaluate the organs. If treated promptly, malignant hypertension has a good outlook. After the hospital stay, it is common and recommended that people be prescribed medicines such as beta blockers or ACE inhibitors to avoid malignant hypertension in the future.

Exercise Your Heart Muscle

It looks as if most Americans are leading lives that direct them towards hypertension or elevated blood pressure. Almost half of older Americans develop hypertension. This makes people much more apt to suffer strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure. A major problem with it is that about a large number of the people who develop hypertension, don’t even know it.  It rarely causes pain.  Even though it may not cause discomfort, it must be dealt with because, as time passes with this elevated pressure, your blood vessels will become severely damaged.

Sometimes abnormalities of the kidney can be responsible. There have been studies where the researchers identified more common contributing factors such as heredity, obesity, and lack of physical activity. Experts have stated that hypertension does not have to be inevitable. By lowering salt intake, having a healthy diet, losing some weight and adding exercise work together to prevent hypertension. Of course, eating a diet that is low in fat will help.  However, the most important thing is add exercise to your daily life. You heart is a muscle, so it benefits from exercise just like all of your other muscles. 

Exercise for your heart’s health. Exercise encourages the formation of new linkages between damaged and healthier blood vessels. When people exercise, they allow the heart’s muscle tissue to get a healthier blood supply.

Researcher have studied the damage done to the heart during an attack and have come to the conclusion that exercise builds up enough strength to stimulate growth in areas that can react as “detours” when the blood flow becomes altered during an attack. Another study found that medium-level exercise, more than once a week will be more beneficial and is more useful in creating and strengthening supplementary pathways than very rigorous exercise done more often.

Something needs to change to keep blood pressure at lower levels and to lessen the chance of getting hypertension. What can you do? Finding a healthy balance between diet and an exercise plan is a good place to start.

After deciding that exercise is a needed addition to your health plan, look at the list below and find ways that you can easily work them into daily routine. It may be difficult to start but imagine being able to prevent getting hypertension. Be sure to check and re-check this list, to make sure it is something that works for you.

Weight loss through exercise is a terrific starting point if you want to prevent hypertension. Experts say that being overweight is linked to an increased risk of getting hypertension, and losing weight decreases the risk.

1. Talk to your physician. Anytime you make a change in your amount of activity, check back in.  You need to keep your doctor up to date on what you are doing to keep healthy.

2. Don’t rush into a rigorous routine. Start slowly and build up to your comfort level of workout.

3. Get to know your own energy safety limit. Using clues like sleep issues or being extra tired throughout the day, you can determine if you are doing too much. Once you recognize your limit stick with it. Too much exercise can cause as many problems as not exercising enough.

4. Keep a regular exercise schedule.  You should work out between three and five times per week to obtain the maximum benefits. When you reach your best condition, one session a week will keep your muscles healthy. Remember, though, that heart health needs activity more often.

5. Always keep your exercise within your level of capability.

The best benefits for seniors are found when they exercise within forty to sixty percent of their body’s capability.

Whatever exercise program you and your doctor decide is best for you, stick with it.  Remember, your heart is a muscle.  It needs good, regular exercise.