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Hypertension Can Be A Very Dangerous Condition For Which There Is Generally Simple Answer
In recent years changes in diet and lifestyle in most western countries have produced an increase in the number of people suffering from high blood pressure.
High blood pressure (otherwise called hypertension, or more properly arterial hypertension) is a dangerous condition that rarely has any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can cause stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which represents a life-threatening condition.
So precisely what is high blood pressure and exactly what causes it?
The arteries of your body are continuously filled with blood that exerts a normal 'background' pressure on the walls of the arteries. As the heart pumps newly oxygenated blood around your body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure on the walls of the arteries with each heartbeat. These two pressures are referred to as the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart is pumping) and the diastolic pressure (the lesser normal or 'background' pressure).
Normal blood pressure varies from person to person but, in general, systolic pressure ought to be about 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ought to be about 80 mm Hg. This is normally expressed as a blood pressure of 120/80.
Whenever your blood pressure begins to rise and stays at a level above 120/80 then you are said to be 'prehypertensive' and, despite the fact that this is not serious in itself, it is a sign that you may be at risk of developing hypertension and all of the problems linked with it. Once your blood pressure rises to, and remains at, a level of 140/90 or above then you are suffering from hypertension and steps ought to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.
So just what makes you blood pressure rise and remain elevated?
Well, there are numerous factors at play here and to begin there is a group over which you have little, or no, control. This group of factors includes a low birth weight, a number of genetic factors, certain forms of diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) and your age (as we grow older our arteries tend to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, creating a reduced cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).
The next group of factors is far more controllable and includes a sedentary lifestyle, high quantities of salt and saturated fats in the diet, excess weight, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and working in specific occupations such as motorway maintenance or flying.
The majority of these factors are of course treatable and, in a lot of cases, a quite simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of a bit of exercise into your daily plan is all that is needed to solve the problem. However, the difficulty is that, with few, if any, symptoms, the vast majority of individuals are not aware that they have high blood pressure to start with.
So how can you solve the problem?
Well, fortunately, the answer to this particular question is quite simple. All you have to do is to drop by your doctor's office regularly (for most of us about twice a year will be sufficient) and ask him or her to check your blood pressure. The whole process is painless, easy and quick and will provide you with peace of mind and might save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense down the road when you are forced to visit his office once high blood pressure rears its ugly head.
If you are not so keen on visiting your doctor then an excellent alternative today is to simply monitor your own blood pressure. A large selection of easy to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are available today, allowing you to check your own health, as well as the health of of your complete family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
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