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Vascular Cures - High Blood Pressure and Vascular Disease

High Blood Pressure and Vascular Disease

09/12/2012 08:00 PM EDT

Source: Vascular Cures
Related MedlinePlus Pages: High Blood Pressure, Vascular Diseases

High Blood Pressure and Vascular Disease

High Blood Pressure (HBP) or hypertension is a persistent abnormal elevation of the pressure within the arteries which deliver blood to the entire body. An adult’s blood pressure is calculated by using two numbers. The heart’s rhythmic pumping action creates the upper systolic pressure (normal is 120 mm. Hg. or lower) and its resting pressure between heart beats is the lower diastolic pressure (normal is 80 mm. Hg. or lower). There are four stages of high blood pressure or hypertension:

STAGE 1 or Prehypertension is 120/80 to 139/89
STAGE 2 or Mild Hypertension is 140/90 to 159/99
STAGE 3 or Moderate Hypertension is 160/100 to 179/109
STAGE 4 or Severe Hypertension is 180/110 or higher

If your blood pressure is in the prehypertension range, it is likely that you will end up with high blood pressure unless you take action to prevent it. High blood pressure needs to be treated because it can lead to kidney failure, heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, and blindness.

Causes

In most cases, it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact cause of high blood pressure. There are, however, a number of factors that have been linked to high blood pressure including:

• A family history of high blood pressure
• Age - The incidence of high blood pressure rises in men after age 35 and in women after age 45.
• Gender - Men are more likely to have high blood pressure than women.
• Smoking – If you smoke cigarettes, you may have increased high blood pressure.
• Race - Approximately 33 percent of African-Americans have high blood pressure, compared to 25 percent of Caucasians.

Unfortunately, the cause of high blood pressure (hypertension) in 90% to 95% of the cases is unknown. The medical term for this kind of high blood pressure is primary or essential hypertension.
Secondary hypertension has an identifiable cause. One of the most important causes of secondary hypertension is the narrowing (stenosis) of arteries to the kidneys (renal arteries). Renal artery stenosis causes about 5% of all cases of hypertension and can reduce kidney size. Learn more about Kidney Failure and Vascular Disease.

Warning Signs

High Blood Pressure (HBP) or hypertension is often referred to as the “silent killer” because there are no symptoms. Many people do not find out that they have high blood pressure until they have problems with their heart, kidney, or brain.

Treatment & Prevention

High blood pressure affects more than 50 million Americans sixty years of age and older. One in three adults has high blood pressure. Approximately half of all these patients use medications to lower their blood pressure, but only half of these have their blood pressure under control. You can lower your risk of high blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, including:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Increasing physical activity
• Eliminating tobacco use
• Limiting alcohol consumption to no more than 3 ounces per day for men and 1.5 ounces for women
• Building relaxation into your workday
• Developing healthy eating habits, which include selecting a variety of foods, partially whole grains, fruits and green vegetables and limiting the intake of salt and saturated fats

You can also work with your doctor to achieve good blood pressure control by:

• Knowing your blood pressure. If either the upper level (systolic pressure) or lower level (diastolic pressure) goes persistently beyond the normal limit of 140/90, consult with your physician.
• Monitor your blood pressure regularly, and keep a written record to share with your doctor.
• Take medications as instructed.
• If blood pressure readings remain high, ask your doctor if tests to detect secondary hypertension should be conducted. Depending on the findings, treatment may be modified to achieve blood pressure control.

Resources

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
American Heart Association
WebMD