Hypertension Is An Extremely Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Usually Simple Answer

In recent years alterations to the lifestyle and diet in most western countries have produced a rise in the number of people with high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (which is otherwise referred to as hypertension, or more properly arterial hypertension) is a dangerous condition that rarely has any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can result in stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which is a life-threatening condition.

So exactly what is hypertension and precisely what causes it?

The arteries within the body are continuously filled with blood which produces a normal 'background' pressure on the artery walls. As the heart pumps freshly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure on the walls of the arteries during each beat of the heart. These two pressures are referred to as the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart is pumping) and the diastolic pressure (the lower 'background' pressure).

Normal blood pressure varies from one person to the next but, usually, systolic pressure should be about 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure should be around 80 mm Hg. This is normally written as a pressure of 120/80.

If your blood pressure begins to rise and remains at a level above 120/80 then you are said to be 'prehypertensive' and, despite the fact that this is not in itself serious, it is an indication that you may be at risk of developing hypertension and all of the problems associated with it. If your blood pressure reaches, and stays at, a level of 140/90 or above then you are said to be suffering from hypertension and action needs to be taken to lower your blood pressure.

But what causes your blood pressure to rise and than remain at a high level?

Well, there are several factors at play here and the first is a group over which you have little, or no, control. This group includes low weight at birth, a number of genetic factors, some types of diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes) and your age (with increasing age our arteries display a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, resulting in a reduced cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).

The second group of factors is much more within your control and includes a sedentary lifestyle, large quantities of salt and saturated fats in your diet, excess weight, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and working in certain occupations such as flying or motorway maintenance.

The vast majority of these factors are treatable and, in many cases, a simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of a little exercise into your daily diary is all that is needed to reverse the problem. The difficulty however is that, with few, if any, symptoms, the majority of people do not know that they have high blood pressure to start with.

So how do you cure the problem?

Fortunately the answer to this particular question is quite simple. All you need to do is to call in at your physician's office regularly (for most of us a couple of times a year should be sufficient) and ask him or her to check your blood pressure for you. The whole process is pain free, easy and fast and will provide you with peace of mind and could save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense down the road when you are forced to call in at his office once hypertension rears its ugly head.

If you are not so keen on visiting your doctor then an excellent alternative now is to simply check your own blood pressure. A large selection of easy to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available today, allowing you to keep an eye on your health, as well as the health of of your whole family, in the privacy and comfort of your own home.