Hypertension is a common condition in which the force of a long-term impact against the arterial wall is high enough to cause health problems such as heart disease.
Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood the heart pumps and the amount of resistance in the arteries. The more blood the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries, the higher the blood pressure.
You can have high blood pressure for years without showing any symptoms, and even if it is without symptoms, damage to the blood vessels and heart continues before it is detected.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke.
High blood pressure generally develops over a period of years and eventually affects nearly everyone.
Fortunately, high blood pressure can be detected easily. Once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work with your doctor to control it.
Symptoms
Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, although it can reach dangerously high levels.
Some people with high blood pressure face problems such as: headaches, shortness of breath, and nosebleeds, but these signs and symptoms do not appear unless blood pressure rises to a dangerous degree that threatens the person's life.
When do you measure pressure?
Have your blood pressure measured at least once every two years starting at age 18.
If you're 40 or older, or you're 18 to 39 at risk of developing high blood pressure, get your blood pressure measured once a year.
Blood pressure should be measured from both arms to determine if there is a difference. It is important to use an appropriately sized armband
How is the diagnosis made?
Your blood pressure will be measured several times before it is diagnosed as high blood pressure.
Blood pressure monitors in pharmacies may provide useful information, but they may have some shortcomings, and their accuracy depends on several factors, such as the correct size of the cuff of the sphygmomanometer, and the correct use of the device.
Causes
There are two types of high blood pressure:
1. Primary (essential) high blood pressure
For most adults, there is no specific cause for high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure tends to develop gradually over many years
2- Secondary hypertension
This type of high blood pressure appears suddenly, and causes blood pressure to rise higher than essential hypertension. There are several conditions and a variety of drugs that may lead to this:
Obstructive sleep apnea
Kidney problems
adrenal gland tumors
Thyroid problems
Contraceptive pills and anti-inflammatories
Risk factors
Hypertension has many risk factors, such as:
Age
The risk of developing high blood pressure increases with age. High blood pressure is common among men around the age of 64. Women are more likely to develop high blood pressure after the age of 65.
Family history
High blood pressure tends to run in families.
Obesity
The more you weigh, the more oxygen and nutrients your tissues need. As the amount of blood passing through the blood vessels increases, the pressure on the walls of the arteries increases
Not maintaining physical activity
This leads to an increase in the heart rate, so the effort that your heart has to exert increases, and the force on the arteries increases
Too much salt in food
Too much sodium in food can cause your body to retain fluid, which raises blood pressure.
Potassium deficiency in food
Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. If you don't get enough potassium in food, too much sodium can build up in your blood.
Psychological pressure
High levels of stress can cause blood pressure to rise temporarily. If you try to relax it may help lower it.
Certain chronic diseases
Certain chronic diseases may increase your risk of high blood pressure, such as kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea.
Complications
Excess pressure on the walls of the arteries resulting from high blood pressure may cause damage to blood vessels, as well as to the organs of your body, and complications such as:
Heart attack or stroke
High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries, leading to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.
Heart failure
To pump blood against the higher blood pressure in the blood vessels, the heart has to work harder.
This causes the walls of the heart's pumping chamber to thicken (left ventricular hypertrophy). Eventually, the thickened muscle may have difficulty pumping enough blood to meet the body's needs, leading to heart failure.
Kidney failure
As a result of weak or narrowed blood vessels in the kidneys, this may prevent the kidneys from working normally.
Loss of sight
The result of thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eye. This may lead to vision loss.
Metabolic syndrome
A group of metabolic disorders include:
Increase waist circumference
High triglycerides
Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
Hypertension
High insulin
These conditions make you more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and stroke
Trouble with memory or comprehension
Uncontrolled high blood pressure may also affect your ability to think, remember and learn. Trouble with memory or understanding concepts is more common in people who have high blood pressure.
It generally divides blood pressure measurements into categories:
Normal blood pressure: less than 120/80 mm Hg.
Hypertension
Systolic blood pressure ranges from 120 to 129 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure is less than 80 mm Hg. High blood pressure tends to get worse over time if it's not controlled
Stage 1 high blood pressure
Systolic pressure ranging from 130 to 139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ranging from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
Stage 2 high blood pressure
More severe hypertension, is a systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher.
Both numbers in a blood pressure reading are important. But after age 50, the systolic reading is more important.
Isolated systolic hypertension is a condition in which the diastolic pressure is less than 80 mmHg and the systolic pressure is greater than 130 mmHg (the type that is common in people over the age of 65).
Your doctor may ask you to record your blood pressure at home to provide additional information and check if you have high blood pressure.
Your doctor may also recommend tests such as a urinalysis, blood tests, cholesterol test, an electrocardiogram, a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart, and other necessary tests.
Treatment
Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. You may be advised to make lifestyle changes including:
* Eat a heart-healthy diet with less table salt
*Practice regular physical activity
* Maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if you are overweight
High blood pressure medication
1- Thiazide diuretics
Urine strips, sometimes called water pills, are medications that act on your kidneys to help your body get rid of sodium and water, reducing blood volume.
Thiazide diuretics are usually the first, but not the only, choice of antihypertensive drugs.
2- ACE inhibitors
These medications help relax blood vessels by inhibiting the formation of a natural chemical that narrows blood vessels. People with chronic kidney disease may benefit from having an ACE inhibitor as one of their medications.
3- Angiotensin receptor blockers
These medications help relax blood vessels by inhibiting the action, not formation, of a natural chemical that narrows blood vessels.
People with chronic kidney disease may benefit from having an angiotensin receptor blocker as one of their medications.
4- Calcium channel blockers
These medications help relax the muscles in your blood vessels, and some slow your heartbeat.
Grapefruit juice interacts with some calcium receptor blockers, raising drug levels in your blood and putting you at greater risk of side complications.
5- Alpha blockers
These drugs reduce the nerve impulse of the blood vessels; This reduces the effects of natural chemicals that narrow blood vessels
6- Alpha-beta blockers
They slow the heartbeat to reduce the amount of blood that must be pumped through these vessels.
7- Beta blockers
These drugs reduce the workload on the heart and open up the blood vessels, making the heart beat less and stress less.
8- Aldosterone antagonists
These drugs block the effect of chemicals that can lead to the retention of salts and fluids; Which contributes to high blood pressure.
9- Renin inhibitors
It slows down the production of renin, an enzyme secreted by the kidneys, which initiates a series of chemical reactions that increase blood pressure.
10- Vasodilators
It works on the muscles on the walls of the arteries; To prevent the tightening of those muscles, and the narrowing of the arteries.
If your blood pressure remains stubbornly high despite taking at least three different types of high blood pressure medication, usually one of these medications should be a diuretic, you may have resistant hypertension.
The possibility of a secondary cause of high blood pressure should generally be reconsidered.
Having resistant blood pressure doesn't mean that your blood pressure will never drop.
In fact, if you or your doctor can identify the cause of persistent high blood pressure, there is a good chance that you can achieve your goal with the help of a more effective treatment.
Lifestyle and home remedies
Eat healthy foods
Eat a heart-healthy diet. Try diets that focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish and dairy products. Get plenty of potassium, which can help prevent and control high blood pressure.
Reduce the amount of salt in your food
Try to reduce your sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day or less.
Although you can reduce the amount of salt you eat by not adding it to food, you should generally pay attention to the amount of salt in processed foods, such as canned or frozen meals.
Maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight, or losing weight if you're overweight or obese, can help you control your high blood pressure and reduce your risk of related health problems.
In general, you can lower your blood pressure by about 1 mm Hg with every kilogram of weight you lose.
Increase your physical activity
Regular physical activity can help lower blood pressure, manage stress, reduce the risk of many health problems, and maintain your weight.
Try to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous physical activity.
