Hypertension is usually perceived as “The Silent Killer”. This is because high blood pressure or hypertension does not have such prominent symptoms. However, some may go through nausea, headaches, and bleeding.
Causes of Hypertension
When the cause of high blood pressure is not really known it is referred as hypertension. Hypertension has an intention of developing gradually over years. Secondary hypertension develops when the following condition occurs:
- Tumour in the adrenal gland
- Consumption of drugs like cocaine, amphetamines, etc.
- Disruptive Sleep Apnea
- Specific medications like painkillers and contraceptives.
- Thyroid problems
- Adrenal problems
- Inherited defects inside blood vessels
- Exposure to alcohol like chronic alcoholism
Precaution against Hypertension
“Prevention is better than cure”. Thus, you need to track your blood pressure every now and then to keep away hypertension. This pressure is created by the flow of blood against the blood vessels’ walls during circulation. The blood pressure is measured in a fractional figure. The top number is referred as the systolic blood pressure or the pressure when heart contracts whereas the bottom one is referred as the diastolic blood pressure when the heart relaxes.
The below chart illustrates the concept further:
| Category of Blood Pressure | Systolic (Upper Figure) | Diastolic (Lower Figure) |
| Optimal Pressure | Below 120 | Below 80 |
| Normal Blood pressure | Below 130 | Below 85 |
| Normal or Slight high blood pressure | Ranges from 130-139 | Ranges from 85-89 |
| High Blood Pressure | Equals to or higher than 140 | Equals to or higher than 90 |
| High Blood Pressure (Kidney and Diabetics patients) | Above 130 | Above 80 |
What uncontrolled hypertension can head to?
Hypertension if not attended with proper medical care can direct to the following:
- Cardiac Arrest- Such condition compels the heart muscle to work firm which in turns thicken it. These thick muscles have difficulty in pumping an adequate amount of blood into your body thus leading to cardiac arrest or heart failure.
- Metabolic condition- This condition refers to a collection of metabolic disorders such as high insulin levels, increase in the size of the waist, less lipoproteins content, high triglycerides. Such conditions can also stroke, heart diseases or diabetics.
- Narrow and weak blood vessels leading to kidney- When the blood has a surge, all the blood vessels stretch widely so that larger amount of blood can pass smoothly. This stretching can tear or weaken the blood vessels in the kidneys. Once the blood vessels are damaged they stop their functions of removing waste and other products from the body. Hypertension is another primary reason for kidney breakdown after diabetics.
- Stroke or Heart Attack- Atherosclerosis or coagulation of the arteries is one of the primary reasons for stroke or heart attack. Such thickening is caused due to high blood pressure.
- Loss of Vision- The gush of blood stretches the blood vessels to an extent that it leaves the blood vessels to tear. This wear and tear can damage the blood vessels present in the eye leading to the loss of vision.
- Amnesia- This is a term associated with learning difficulties and weak memories.
No comments