Do You Have Hypertension?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a medical condition in which the blood pressure in elevated on three consecutive readings that there are done three hours apart. The exception is pregnant women where high blood pressure is defined as being elevated on two consecutive readings. Hypertension can affect anyone but mainly affects middle-aged or elderly people. If left untreated, hypertension can cause stroke, heart disease and failure, possible aneurysms, severe kidney problems, and a number of other systemic diseases.

For someone to be considered borderline hypertensive, one’s reading must range between normal and high or must range higher than 140/90 (the top number is the systolic number, and the bottom number is the diastolic number). If someone diagnosed with diabetes has a blood pressure of 130/80 or higher, they will be at risk for developing hypertension.

If you have hypotension, or low blood pressure, then your doctor may advise you to add a little salt in your diet. However if you have hypertension or are borderline for developing hypertension, then your doctor will advise you to stay away from salt. If there is a lot of salt in your diet, the kidneys (which control the level of salt) cannot keep up and the salt goes into the bloodstream. Salt attracts water and increases the volume of the blood which raises blood pressure.

Other factors that could increase the possibility of one developing hypertension are those who are overweight, frequent alcohol use, smoking, age, family history of hypertension, lack of exercise, stress (and no your blood pressure will not be better if you lower your stress level), and an unhealthy diet. These causes from hypertension can cause a more serious problem if not taken care of- kidney failure. If your kidneys are unable to get rid of the excess waste and fluid from your body, it could raise your blood pressure and can cause kidney failure. When someone has kidney failure from hypertension, the term accelerated hypertension is used.

Preeclampsia is used with pregnant women who have hypertension. If not treated, preeclampsia can be harmful to mother and baby. This is why it is so important to have regular check-ups where your blood pressure is taken and why it is so important to take medication if you need to do so.

To see if you have hypertension, your doctor will take several blood pressure readings on you (preferably lying down, it seems to relax you better) that will need to be several weeks apart. However if you’re doctor suspects that your organs have already begun to deteriorate due to hypertension in the body, the treatment will need to be taken care of soon.

With blood pressure, you cannot feel it or feel its symptoms coming on. With hypertension, you may experience a headache or blurry vision, but generally it comes on quietly. But once you have hypertension, you will have it for the rest of your life.