overview
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition where the long-term force of the blood against the walls of your arteries is high enough to cause potential health problems, such as heart disease.
Blood pressure is determined by both the amount of blood your heart pumps and the degree of resistance to blood flow through your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure will be. A blood pressure measurement is given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It has two numbers.
Higher number (systolic pressure). The first number or higher measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart is beating. High blood pressure (hypertension) Treatment in Hyderabad
Lower number (diastolic pressure). The second number or less measures the pressure in your arteries between beats.
symptoms
Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even if their blood pressure levels reach dangerously high levels.
Some people with high blood pressure may have a headache, breathlessness, or nosebleeds. However, these signs and symptoms are not specific and usually do not appear until the high blood pressure has reached a severe stage or is potentially fatal. High blood pressure (hypertension) Treatment in Hyderabad
The reasons
There are two types of high blood pressure.
Primary (essential) hypertension
For most adults, there is no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure, known as primary (essential) hypertension, develops gradually over several years.
Risk factors
High blood pressure has many risk factors, including:
- Age. The risk of high blood pressure increases with age. Men are more likely to have high blood pressure up to around 64 years of age. Women are more likely to develop high blood pressure after 65 years of age.
- Run. High blood pressure is particularly common in people of African descent, who often develop at an earlier age than whites. Serious complications like strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure are also more common among people of African descent.
- Family history. High blood pressure usually runs in families.
- Be overweight or obese. The more you weigh, the more blood you need to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. As the amount of blood blown into your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure on the walls of your arteries.
- Don’t be physically active. Inactive people tend to have higher heart rates. The higher your heart rate, the harder your heart has to work with each contraction and the stronger the force on your arteries. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of obesity.
- Use tobacco. Not only does smoking or chewing tobacco temporarily raise your blood pressure, the chemicals in tobacco can also damage the lining of your arteries. This can cause your arteries to narrow, increasing your risk of heart disease. Secondhand smoke can also increase your risk of heart disease.
- Too much salt (sodium) in your diet. Too much sodium in your diet can cause your body to retain fluids, which increases blood pressure.
- Not enough potassium in your diet. Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. A good potassium balance is essential for good heart health. If your diet does not contain enough potassium, or if you lose too much potassium due to dehydration or other health problems, sodium can build up in your blood. High blood pressure (hypertension) Treatment in Hyderabad