Hypertension And The Practice You Must Shun To Avoid The Silent Killer

Hypertension  is one of the most deadly ailments know to human kind. In Nigeria the case is not different; almost 70% of our patients in the hospital are hypertensive. It is the cause of many sudden death and is often referred to as the “silent killer”

because someone can be hypertensive for years without knowing it. In many cases, hypertension is detected accidentally during routine test at the hospital when the blood pressure of the person is checked.

            Blood pressure is measured using two numbers the first finger is the systemic blood pressure (that is upper level of the blood pressure). The maximum pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts (beats) and pushes blood out into the body, while the second finger is the diastolic (lower level of your blood pressure) which is when the heart relaxes to be filled with blood. The systolic pressure is always listed before diastolic pressure.

            Ideally, blood pressure reading should not be greater than 120/80mmgh (millimeter of mercury). However, there are people with upper level reading consistently aabove 150mm/hg or a lower their blood pressure.

            Hypertension,  in other words means high blood pressure, and it occurs when the blood is forced through the arteries at an increased pressure. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood pumped and the resistance to blood that flows into the human arteries. The more the heart pumps, and the narrower the arteries the higher the blood pressure. When the systemic pressure required to pump blood becomes high., the brain is sensitized to increase pumping pressure resulting in the high pressure.

Factors that cause Hypertension

The cause of hypertension is largely unknown, although it has associated with a number of risk of factors. These include

Age: the risk of high blood pressure increases when one gets older.

Race: high blood pressure is particularly common among blacks, often developing at an earlier age than among the whites.

Family History: high blood pressure tends to run in families.

Excess Weight: the greater the body mass, the more the blood you need to supply oxygen and nutrient to your tissues. As the volume of blood circulated through your body vessels increases, so does the pressure on your artery walls.

Alcoholism: people who drink alcohol have high blood pressure.

Smoking: the chemical in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls, which promotes narrowing of the arteries.

High salt intake: too much salt in your diet can lead to increased blood pressure.

Stress: high level of stress csn lead to a drastic increase in blood pressure; certain chronic conditions also may increase the risk of high blood pressure. These include high cholesterol (non digesting fat), diabetes and kidney disease and sleep abnormalities.

Signs and symptoms of Hypertension: 

One of the problems with high blood pressure is that its signs and symptoms are not noticeable as a result it may go unnoticed until causes any of its later symptoms is persistent headache, blurring of vision, tiredness and dizziness. Long uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to damage in the arteries, which can result in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) heart failure, stoke, kidney failure and impairment of vision which is the result of thickened narrowed or torn vessel in the eyes. Uncontroled high blood pressure may also bring about to think, remember and learn. It has been established that congnitive impairment and dementia ( slow memory loss) are more common in people who have high blood pressure.

Treatment:

Although hypertension is a life time ailment as permanent damage has been done to the body, it can still be effectively managed. The first line of treatment for someone who has been diagnosed with hypertension is life time modification. “if the person is a smoker, he needs to stop it, of he drinks, he should stop alcohol intake”

Due to fact that elevated cholesterol (fst level) is a risk factore of hypertension, the person needs to go easilu on fatty food and salt intake. Eat lots fruits and vegetables, proteinous food and fish. The person should also reduce strees as much as possible, engage only in light exercise and avoid strenuous physical activities, as advised.

Certain drugs may also be given to control high blood pressure. Since hypertension is condition you will need to manage for the rest of your life, you will need to be able to cope with it effectively in order to keep blood pressure under control. So consult your doctor today to check and life too short as a result of ignorance.

High blood pressure remains the greatest silent killer.