High pressure

Blood pressure is the measurement of the force with which the blood hits the walls of the arteries while the heart pumps the fluid to the rest of the human body. When this pressure is high, in medicine it is known as high pressure or arterial hypertension . This condition has silent symptoms, which is why it is very dangerous to health and is one of the main causes of heart attack.

The daily measurement of blood pressure from 45 years of age is essential to diagnose this condition in time and prevent its consequences for the body. Likewise, there are many factors that can make a person more prone to suffering from high blood pressure, therefore it is convenient to know the causes and symptoms of this disease to attack it in time. In this eHealth article we explain what are the symptoms of high blood pressure, its complications and treatment.

What is hypertension?

High blood pressure is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders in the world population. To understand it, it is necessary to explain that over the years the blood increases the pressure with which it hits the walls of the arteries of the human body, which can trigger a series of heart conditions.

Blood pressure is determined according to the amount of blood that the heart expels as the narrowing of the arteries of each person. Therefore, the amount of blood that the heart pumps must be considered as the resistance of the arteries to receive the impact of the fluid. That said, the more blood the heart pushes into narrow arteries, the higher the blood pressure, which is called high pressure or hypertension.

When a person suffers from high blood pressure, progressive damage to the blood vessels and the heart occurs in his body that allows the disease to be diagnosed through certain pertinent tests that we will mention later. In addition, it is necessary to mention that high blood pressure is the cause of most cardiovascular complications and once it is diagnosed it can have many years affecting a person without knowing it.

Fortunately, this condition is manageable and if the patient follows the medical instructions to the letter, they can have an excellent health prognosis over time. Before explaining the symptoms of high blood pressure, let’s learn more about this condition and the factors that increase the risk of suffering from it.  

High pressure types

There are two types of hypertension that we will explain separately below:

Primary high pressure

As its name implies, this is the initial phase of hypertension where it is difficult to obtain a diagnosis due to the simplicity or lack of its symptoms. This type of condition develops progressively and silently, to the point that its diagnosis is really a surprise for the patient. Most people diagnosed with hypertension in this phase find out due to routine tests or secondary causes not associated with the heart. This is the most common type of high blood pressure and usually becomes apparent years after it starts.

Secondary high pressure

Not a few people are diagnosed with hypertension due to other diseases, in these cases we speak of secondary high pressure. In these cases the symptoms appear significantly and suddenly, and the pressure levels tend to be much higher than in a person with primary hypertension. Medications and conditions that can trigger this type of heart condition include:

• Sleep apnea
• Adrenal tumors
• Renal disease
• Poor functioning of the thyroid gland
• Birth defects in blood vessels
• Irresponsible consumption of alcoholic beverages
• Consumption of drugs and narcotics such as cocaine and amphetamines
• Medications such as birth control pills, pain relievers, prescription drugs, upper and lower respiratory decongestants, and some flu.

Risk factors for high blood pressure

The habits that a person sustains during their life, as well as family inheritance, can make them more or less prone to high blood pressure, let’s see:

Family background

It has been proven that the presence of high blood pressure in parents and grandparents makes a person more prone to suffer from this condition. High blood pressure can be inherited.

Age

Although this condition can occur in both men and women, males are more likely to suffer from it after 45 years and females after 65, unless the condition is caused by pregnancy.

Race

High blood pressure is more common in blacks than whites. In fact, cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks or strokes affect blacks more than whites.

Overweight

Obesity is a chronic disease, not an aesthetic problem. The greater the body weight of a person, the greater the amount of oxygen and nutrients that they need in their body. Therefore, the more blood that is needed to oxygenate and keep the human body healthy, the higher the blood pressure.

Sedentary lifestyle

Physical activity promotes healthy heart strain and allows a person’s heart rate to be stable. When a person maintains a sedentary lifestyle, his heart rate increases, is exhausted with minimal effort, and the heart must work harder to function properly. This cardiac overload increases the pressure of the blood in the arteries.

Tobacco use

Smoking not only affects the lungs, in fact, it is one of the main causes of heart attack and hypertension. Why? Not only does tobacco have the power to immediately raise blood pressure, it also weakens the walls of arteries and narrow ones. In addition, tobacco compromises the correct oxygenation of the body.  

Food rich in salt

It is no secret to anyone that who suffers from the heart must maintain a very restricted salt intake. Excess sodium in the body stimulates fluid retention, a condition that immediately alters blood pressure.

Are you lacking in potassium or vitamin D?

The potassium is the substance responsible for regulating human body in sodium concentration, therefore, if not regularly consume l, salt and fluid retain. As we explained earlier, fluid retention significantly increases blood pressure. Lack of vitamin D can affect kidney function and trigger secondary hypertension.

Alcoholic drinks

The daily and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages can significantly affect heart health in both men and women. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that adult men drink no more than two drinks a day if they are under 65 years of age. In the case of women of any age and men over 65, it is advisable not to drink more than one glass a day. 12 ounces of beer, 5 of wine and 1.5 of distilled spirits are the equivalent measures to a glass of liquor.

Stress, stress

Yes, maybe you have read it in many places, but it must be for a reason, right? Chronic stress events and uncontrolled anxiety affect the functioning of the heart and although they are conditions that do not seem to affect health in a significant way, they do. Poor stress management and anxiety can cause a person to suffer from high blood pressure in the long run.

The pregnancy? Of course it influences!

During pregnancy it is important for women to monitor their eating habits and physical activity to avoid a sudden increase in blood pressure due to the gestation period and the hormonal changes that this process entails. Suffering from hypertension during pregnancy in many cases is not reversible and is considered a risk condition for both the mother and the fetus.

Symptoms of high blood pressure

Now that we know a lot about this condition, we are going to explain what its symptoms are. Of course, as we have commented throughout this eHealth article, you should know that most people do not manifest symptoms, but are diagnosed by surprise due to other factors. The symptoms of hypertension are:

• Very bad headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Increased body temperature, but not having a fever
• Feel heat in the ears and have them reddened.
• Confusion
• Changes in vision
• Difficulty breathing normally
• Nasal bleeding

Diagnosis of high blood pressure, how do you know if you are hypertensive?

The first thing you should do to know if you are suffering from hypertension is to see a doctor if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above. This condition can be very silent, but fortunately it is very easy to detect and, as you already know, it is controllable! A timely diagnosis can save you from having a heart attack or stroke.

Once you go to the doctor, the doctor will ask about your symptoms and should measure your pressure with the help of a blood pressure monitor. If the pressure is high, it is common for the specialist to ask you to measure it daily for several days and at the same time, in order to confirm that the measurement is repetitive.

It is important that if throughout your life you have not been used to measuring blood pressure, you ask your doctor to teach you and get a homemade meter. These kits are very easy to use and give measurements as accurate as a doctor’s, so write down your pressure values ​​at each measurement. Once you have measured the pressure for a week you should return to the doctor to evaluate the measurements and tell you the diagnosis.

If you have high blood pressure on most days, the specialist will likely decide to perform cholesterol, glycemic, triglyceride, urinalysis and electrocardiogram tests to confirm the condition. However, a person who maintains high blood pressure levels on a daily basis is considered hypertensive at once.

Treatment of high blood pressure

The purpose of treating hypertension is to control blood pressure and keep it healthy. The more the pressure is controlled, the healthier the heart will be. To do this, the doctor will prescribe a series of medications that will regulate the force with which your blood pumps the walls of the arteries.

In addition, it is important to make certain lifestyle changes to help the heart system function properly and to prevent narrowing of the arteries. For this reason, it is common for hypertensive people to be recommended:

• Perform physical activity daily, at least 45 minutes a day.
• Eat low in salt
• Reduce the consumption of fats and processed foods
• Decrease the intake of alcoholic beverages
• Eliminate drug and narcotic consumption
• Drink plenty of water every day
• Measure tension daily
• Manage stress and anxiety
• Reduce stress
• Staying at your ideal weight
• See a nutritionist
• Visit the cardiologist annually
• Quit tobacco

Complications of high blood pressure and prognosis

Hypertension is a very delicate condition that, if neglected, can lead to death. The less importance is given to this disease, the greater its complications, know them below:  

Heart attacks and strokes

The constant increase in blood pressure can cause thickening of the arteries, a condition known as arteriosclerosis . This condition is the most common cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Aneurysms

When blood pressure rises continuously and significantly, it can affect the blood vessels, causing them to bulge and form an aneurysm. The presence of an aneurysm can be fatal to humans.

Heart failure

As time goes by, people with hypertension get thicker and thicker hearts. The thicker the heart, the poorer its function and its job of pumping blood throughout the body becomes extremely complicated.