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Hypertension
Also Called High Blood Pressure
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Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common disorder that results from something in the body that increases the force of the flow of blood through the body. This can include an abnormal forcefulness of the heart or spasm of the arteries. It can include narrowing of the arteries for other reasons.
There can be no symptoms of high blood pressure. You can also have headaches, blurry vision or dizzy spells as a result of high blood pressure. Unfortunately, you can have no symptoms at all, even with severe, malignant hypertension.
Two types of high blood pressure exist. These include essential or primary hypertension, which has no known underlying cause, and secondary hypertension, which includes high blood pressure related to kidney disease, tumors of the adrenal glands or blood vessel abnormalities. You can get high blood pressure from taking in certain medications like cold medicines and OTC pain relievers or some prescription medications. You can also get high blood pressure from illegal drugs like amphetamines and cocaine.
Risk factors for hypertension include being of older age, being African American, having a family history of the disease, being overweight or obese, being physically inactive, smoking or using tobacco, having too little potassium in your diet or too much sodium in the diet, not taking in enough vitamin D and drinking too much alcohol. Stress can play a role in the development of hypertension.
The end result of untreated hypertension include the following conditions: heart failure, aneurysm of the aorta or other blood vessel, stroke or heart attack, kidney failure due to narrow blood vessels in the kidneys, torn blood vessels in the eyes, and metabolic syndrome, which is a syndrome of high blood pressure, diabetes, increased waist circumference and high triglycerides. Insulin levels are high in this condition. If your blood pressure gets too high, you can have difficulty with your memory and understanding.
Blood pressure is measured using a sphygmomanometer, which detects an "upper" or systolic blood pressure and a "lower" or diastolic blood pressure. If the blood pressure is 140/90 or more, you are considered to have high blood pressure. If you have a blood pressure of more than 130/80 and have diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease, you are considered to have high blood pressure. Ideal blood pressure is about 120/80 or less. Some doctors feel it is better to have a blood pressure of 115/70 or less, which is hard to achieve in many people.
High blood pressure goes in stages. Stage I hypertension involves a systolic blood pressure range of 140-159. The diastolic blood pressure is in the range of 90-99 mm Hg. Stage II hypertension involves higher diastolic and systolic blood pressures, in the range of 160 mm Hg systolic or 100 mm Hg diastolic.
There are multiple treatments for hypertension or high blood pressure. These include medications that affect the heart, the blood vessels, the kidneys and the brain. Thiazide diuretics are older medications that affect the kidneys and help the kidneys get rid of more sodium from your bloodstream. Beta blockers open the blood vessels and reduce the force of pressure on the heart. The heart beats slower and with less force. ACE inhibitors relax the blood vessels, as do angiotensin II receptor blockers. Calcium channel blockers relax the muscles in the blood vessels and a few of these medications also slow the heart rate. Renin inhibitors reduce the production of renin in the body, which is an enzyme produced by the kidneys that affects blood pressure.
Besides the most common blood pressure medications, there are centrally acting blood pressure medications that act on the brain to lower blood pressure. Vasodilators make the blood vessels more relaxed and alpha blockers affect the nerve input to the blood pressure.