High Blood Pressure
The Basics Of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, also known as
hypertension, is a condition in which your blood pressure is above the
normal accepted levels of blood pressure that is 120/80 mmHg.
Hypertension is not a disease in itself. But it can be the potential
cause for a horde of other diseases. It can cause complications related
to the heart, kidney, bones, and brain.
Here is a detailed
overview on high blood pressure, its types, causes and symptoms.
Types of hypertension:
Mainly, there are two types of
hypertension: Primary hypertension and secondary hypertension.
Symptoms
of hypertension:
Usually patients of high blood pressure exhibit
following symptoms:
1) Headaches
2) Dizziness
3) Blurred vision
4) Low libido or lack of sexual desire
5) Digestive upsets
6) Trembling
7) Lethargy
8) Sudden and inexplainable noise in the ear
Causes of hypertension:
There are many causes that contribute
to the development of the hypertension. These are:
Too much
muscle tone on arteries: Excessive muscle tone in your
sympathetic nervous system constricts your arteries. Your arteries can
also get restricted because of too much adrenal gland activity and lack
of magnesium and calcium. This leads to hypertension.
Hardness
of the arteries: Diet low in zinc can make the arteries hard and
brittle. Low quantities of zinc cause the arteries to inflame when they
should be flexible and soft. This loss of elasticity leads to the
development of hypertension.
Kidney disorder: There
are some toxic substances that get build up within your kidneys and
start damaging them. It limits the ability of the kidney to regulate the
balance of water in the body. As a result, water retention and
ultimately salt retention takes place, which causes hypertension.
Excess
sodium or salt intake: Excess intake of salt and sodium can also
raise your blood pressure.
Stress: Stress in any
form, from any source, can result in elevated levels of blood pressure.
Genetics:
If both your parents have hypertension, then even you have a 75 %
chance of developing it. And if any one of your parents has it, then you
have a 50 % chance of contriving the condition
In addition to all these, there are some other causes also that
contribute to the development of hypertension. These include:
a) Obesity
b) Cigarette smoking
c) Alcohol intake
d) Physical inactivity
Complications of Hypertension:
High blood
pressure never comes alone. It is accompanied by various complications,
some of which can also be fatal. And if your hypertension is
complemented by diabetes, then the chances of damage to your heart
double. Some of the complications caused due to hypertension are:
a) Enlarged left heart
b) Heart failure
c) Coronary artery disease
d) Heart attack
e) Heart failure
The possibility of damage to your kidneys, also increases by far, if you
are afflicted with hypertension. The damage to your kidneys can be in
the form of:
I) Kidney failure
II) Glomerulosclerosis
III) Kidney aneurysm
IV) Kidney failure
V) Glomerulonephritis
Hypertension can also damage your eyes. The diseases that can be caused
to the eyes, due to hypertension are:
a) Retinopathy
b) Choroidopathy
c) Optic neuropathy
In addition to the above mentioned complications, the following can also
be expected as complications accompanying hypertension:
a) Erectile dysfunction
b) Bone loss
c) Peripheral vascular disease
d) Osteoporosis
But remember that there is no need to worry about the complications
caused by hypertension. All you need to do is to keep your blood
pressure under control and you can easily avoid all the above mentioned
complications and live a healthier life.
Treatment for
hypertension:
The options that can be used to treat hypertension
include medical treatment, dietary therapy, herbal medicine, mediation,
yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. But before trying any of these, you should
try to treat it by changing your lifestyle, by taking a healthy diet,
and exercise. If all these fail to control your blood pressure then you
should resort to the above mentioned options.