High Blood Pressure

What is High Blood Pressure?

The pressure produced by contractions of the heart within the arteries is called blood pressure. Our heart pumps blood through the arteries (muscular tubes carrying blood away from the heart) and creates different levels of pressure therein.

There are two types of blood pressures - systolic and diastolic. Systolic pressure is measured after the heart contracts, while the diastolic pressure is measured before contraction of the heart. When the blood pressure level is elevated, it is called hypertension.

Device used to measure blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer. A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80 mmHg. If either of the value increases, one is said to suffer from high blood pressure.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is of two types - essential (primary) hypertension or secondary hypertension. Essential hypertension or high blood pressure has no distinguishable causes. Secondary hypertension is caused due to another underlying medical condition.

People can be seen having both types of symptoms of blood pressures with high blood pressure affecting the majority of victims the world over. Blood pressure reading greater or equal to 140/90 mmHg indicates high blood pressure.

Exact causes of high blood pressure are not yet clear to medical science. Hypertension is caused due to factors such as high salt levels in blood, age, insulin resistance, genetic inheritance, etc.

The effects of high blood pressure pose a real threat of causing wide damage to the body. If left unchecked, high blood pressure causes effects on our body system that can be catastrophic.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

Initial symptoms include; paleness, nausea, dizziness, fainting often, loss of balance. Patients with high blood pressure symptoms should take appropriate steps to control the disease at the onset itself.

A person diagnosed with high blood pressure should not avoid treatment as it can harm health by causing other diseases as well.

Treatment for High Blood Pressure

If you have signs of depression or stress, it is highly advisable to act quickly and get diagnosed for high or low blood pressure symptoms.

This can be helpful in preventing against further spread of damage to health by pursuing appropriate course of medications under the guidance of a registered physician.

Medications, if taken regularly during treatment for high blood pressure, help in attaining sustained relief. In most cases the medications merely help improve the condition, not cure it completely.

Information on high blood pressure can help one tackle the disease effectively. These can be gathered from various sources like health centers, libraries, health magazines or a health consultant.