Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition of raised blood pressure above normal.Normal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 mm of Hg.Blood pressure is expressed in A/B form where A is systolic blood pressure and B is diastolic blood pressure.
Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure measured on two different days gives a reading of systolic B.P more than or equal to 140 mm Hg and/or Diastolic B.P more than or equal to 90 mm Hg.It is a condition of concern because of its association with heart disease,kidney disease and stroke.There is a direct relation between high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
Hypertension is classified as Primary and Secondary Hypertension.
Primary Hypertension is when we do not have a known cause of the disease.It covers around 90% of all cases in community.Secondary Hypertension is when some other disease is responsible for high blood pressure.Most common among these are kidney's disease,narrowing of aorta,adrenal gland tumors,obstructive sleep apnea,thyroid disorders.
Most of the time,hypertension do not have sign and symptoms.So the person may be unaware about his high blood pressure.Sometimes,they may present with headache,blurred vision,palpitations.
There are modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for hypertension.Modifiable risk factors are those factors that are under our control and can be modified to prevent hypertension whereas non-modifiable risk factors are not under our control.
Modifiable risk factors are:
1.OBESITY
Obesity is a major risk for Hypertension. Data has shown that the more weight you have, more oxygen your tissues will need .This will lead to increased blood supply from heart and hence more blood pressure.It is also seen that blood pressure generally decreases if a person loses his body weight.
2.SALT INTAKE
It has been proved that a high salt intake leads to hypertension. This is because ofthe fact that salt help our body to retain fluid and increases blood pressure.
3.SATURATED FAT
Saturated fat leads to hypertension by increasing our serum cholesterol because arteries become hardened and narrowed with cholesterol plaque.As the heart has to strain much harder to pump blood through them, blood pressure rises .
4.DIETARY FIBRE
It has been proved that consumption of dietary fibres reduces risk of CHD and hypertension because theyreduce plasma total and LDL cholesterol.
5.ALCOHOL
It is seen that consumption of alcohol leads to rise insystolic blood pressure more than diastolic blood pressure.
6.PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Physical activity helps indirectly by decreasing our body weight.
7.OTHERS
The most common cause of secondary hypertension these days is increasing use of oral contraceptive pills because of their estrogen component.
Non-modifiable risk factors are:
1.AGE
Blood pressure rises with increasing age.
2.SEX
In young aged and adult male,blood pressure is generally higher than females of similar age.But at old age this differences decreases and blood pressure of female can be higher than male due to post-menopausal changes
3.GENETIC FACTORS
There are evidences that shows that genetic factors play a role in determining blood pressure of an individual.It has been proved that child of parent with high blood pressure has high possibility of being hypertensive in adult age than the child normotensive parent.
PREVENTION OF HYPERTENSION
Hypertension can be prevented by multifactorial approach. They are:-
1.Nutrition
It is important that we change our food habit for prevention of hypertension. Low salt intake,avoidance of alcohol, moderate fat intake should be our priority.
2.Weight reduction
BMI is directly related with hypertension so it is important to reduce our body weight to prevent hypertension.
3.Exercise promotion
Exercise promotion helps indirectly to prevent hypertension to decrease our body weight and hence prevents hypertension
4.Behavioural change
Some personal Lifestyle changes has to be done from quitting smoking to doing yoga and meditation. It should always be tried to decrease the level of stress we go through.
