Hypertension Resources
What Is Hypertension?
Hypertension is a serious health problem, where the blood pressure is highly elevated. If the patient suffers from persistent hypertension, he\she is then more prone to heart attacks, heart failure, strokes and chronic renal failure.
Hypertension is also called as a silent killer, as there are no initial symptoms for this health condition. However, if left untreated, it can cause severe problems. Hypertension can be classified as either essential or secondary. Essential hypertension may not be due to any medical condition. Secondary hypertension is the result of conditions such as kidney disease or tumors.
Some risk factors like obesity, insulin resistance, genetic reasons, age and salt sensitivity may lead to the problem of Essential hypertension. People who weigh too much are susceptible to this condition, as their heart muscles work harder to pump blood. Insulin resistance is found to be responsible for increasing the arterial pressure among the patients with hypertension.
People who have a family history of Hypertension are more susceptible than the others. It is observed that the Essential Hypertension is about four times more in black people as compared to the whites. Hypertension is dependent on the age aswell.Aging may decrease the glomerular filtration rate and this in turn decreases the rate of sodium excretion. This condition can develop certain diseases like renal micro vascular disease. It is proved that the renal micro vascular disease is one of the most common factors, which increases the risk of hypertension.
People who consume salt in an increased amount are more prone to Essential Hypertension. With increased salt intake, the cells present in the bloodstream secrete more water. This elevates the pressure within the blood vessel walls.
Secondary hypertension may be caused due to some other medical conditions like tumors, polycystic kidney disease sleep apnea and Cushing syndrome. Cushing syndrome is a condition where both the adrenal glands overproduce a hormone named cortical hormone, which is a stress-related hormone. It is proved that more than 80% people suffering from Cushing syndrome have hypertension.
Pregnancy may induce the problem of Hypertension in some women. In the beginning, it may cause certain complications like pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and hellp syndrome. Certain medications like Ibuprofen and steroids may increase the risk of hypertension. Consumption of liquorice can increase the blood pressure. People who suffer from hypertension should avoid liquorice consumption.
The severity of hypertension can be reduced by certain measures which includes weight reduction, regular exercise and following a healthy diet which can treat mild and moderate hypertension. Reducing sodium and sugar intake can also help to decrease the blood pressure which inturn can decrease Hypertension.
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