High Blood Pressure?, Quick Tips to Safty

You must have often heard of the common and trending illness among mostly the elderly, adults and rarely in children. Almost everyone keeps on complaining of high blood pressure(High BP) everyday and every time.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is simply when the pressure exerted by the blood on the blood vessels(artillery) is higher than normal. Normally as the blood continues to flow through the blood vessels, it exerts pressures on the interior walls of those blood vessels, however, if the pressure is higher than normal, it causes illness called hypertension. 

Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. A blood pressure reading is given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It has two numbers.

• Top number (systolic pressure). The first, or upper, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.
• Bottom number (diastolic pressure). The second, or lower, number measures the pressure in your arteries between beats.

If the measurement reads 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, you would say, “120 over 80,” or write, “120/80 mmHg.”

What are normal blood pressure numbers?

A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg.¹

Causes

There are two types of high blood pressure.

Primary (essential) hypertension

For most adults, there's no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure, called primary (essential) hypertension, tends to develop gradually over many years.

Secondary hypertension

Some people have high blood pressure caused by an underlying condition. This type of high blood pressure, called secondary hypertension, tends to appear suddenly and cause higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Various conditions and medications can lead to secondary hypertension, including:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Kidney disease
• Adrenal gland tumors
• Thyroid problems
• Certain defects you're born with (congenital) in blood vessels
• Certain medications, such as birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs
• Illegal drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines

Symptoms of Severe High Blood Pressure

If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, including:

• Severe headaches

• Nosebleed

• Fatigue or confusion

• Vision problems

• Chest pain

• Difficulty breathing

• Irregular heartbeat

• Blood in the urine

• Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears

People sometimes feel that other symptoms may be related to high blood pressure, but they may not be:

• Dizziness

• Nervousness

• Sweating

• Trouble sleeping

• Facial flushing

• Blood spots in eyes

 

Risk factors

• Age. Elderly ones especially the men tends to develop high blood pressure than the women.
• Race. Africans are much more at risk of blood pressure than the white.
• Family history and heriditary. It runs in blood, i.e heriditary.
• Being overweight or obese. Excess body weight causes high blood pressure as a result of high demand for oxygen by the body cells.
• Not being physically active. People who are inactive tend to have higher heart rates. The higher your heart rate, the harder your heart must work with each contraction and the stronger the force on your arteries. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of being overweight.
• Smoking. Smoking increase the risk of high blood pressure by reducing body oxygen and narrowing the blood vessel, the heart tends to compensate the limited oxygen by pumping fast and causing high blood pressure
• Diet. Too much salt (sodium) in your diet. Too much sodium in your diet can cause your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.Too little potassium in your diet. Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. A proper balance of potassium is critical for good heart health. If you don't get enough potassium in your diet, or you lose too much potassium due to dehydration or other health conditions, sodium can build up in your blood.

• Drinking too much alcohol. Excessive drinking of alcohol cause damage to your heart, so if you must take alcohol do it with moderation or totally avoid it.

• Mental Stress. Avoid high level of stress or anything that induces stress on you. The more stressful you become, the higher the risk of high blood pressure.. Certain chronic conditions also may increase your risk of high blood pressure, including kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea.
• High cholesterol. Most people with high blood pressure has high cholesterol which can result from consumption of fatty food.
• Pregnancy. Hormonal changes during pregnancy in women can cause high blood pressure.

Complications or Problems from High Blood 

• Chest pain also called angina.
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Heart diseases
• Stroke
• Kidney diseases
• peripheral arterial disease
• aortic aneurysm

Prevention of High Blood Pressure

• Eat a Healthy Diet. Choose healthy meal and snack options to help you avoid high blood pressure and its complications. 
• Keep Yourself at a Healthy Weight. 
• Be Physically Active. 
• Do Not Smoke.
• Limit How Much Alcohol You Drink.
• Get Enough Sleep

References

1. Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow, WS, Casey DE, Collins KJ, Himmelfarb CD, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines
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   . J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;71(19):e127–e248..
2. National High Blood Pressure Education Program. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure 
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   [PDF – 223K]
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   . Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 2003.

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