| High blood pressure is very often called the "silent killer", since you can have it without being aware that you do. This is because the majority of males and females with high blood pressure have no symptoms.
Arteries carry blood around the body. When the heart beats, it pushes blood through the arteries. In people who have healthy arteries, the blood flows through the arteries with insignificant resistance. But in people whose arteries have constricted, the arteries resist the blood flowing through them. The heart has to work much harder to get the blood to the organs, and that is when hypertension occurs. Hypertension puts a huge strain on your heart and brings on damage to the arteries, which raises your risk for stroke, heart attack, coronary disease and kidney failure.
Blood pressure in a healthy adult is 120/80 or lower. High blood pressure is a reading 140/90 or higher.
Some factors increase your risk of hypertension. Some you can control, and some you cannot. The factors you cannot be in control of are:
• Race. African Americans are proved to develop hypertension more often and earlier in life. Moreover, hypertension in African Americans tends to be more severe.
• Age. Risk of high blood pressure increases as you become older.
• A hereditary factor. If some of your close relatives have high blood pressure, you are at risk.
Other factors that place you at risk for high blood pressure are
• being corpulent
• not being active enough
• using tobacco products
• consumption of too much salt.
General practitioners strictly recommend that all adults aged 18 and older be screened for hypertension. If you have hypertension, below are some tips to help you lower it.
• Stop smoking. Nicotine causes your blood vessels to constrict and your heart to beat faster, which increases your blood pressure.
• Lose extra pounds if you are overweight.
• Be more active. Do exercises at a moderate intensity for half an hour, 5 or more days a week.
• Select a balanced diet that includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and is low fats.
• Cut down on alcohol and sodium.
If life-style improvements alone do not decrease your blood pressure, your general practitioner may besides prescribe antihypertensive medications to treat your hypertension. The aim is to lower blood pressure to normal levels with medicines that are easy to administer and have fewer adverse side effects. |
