Hypertension - High Blood Pressure
What is Hypertension
Hypertension is a term used for high blood pressure. Blood pressure in every human being has two limits: upper limit called "systolic" and the lower limit called "diastolic". It is checked by an instrument called "sphygmomanometer" or blood pressure apparatus in plain language.Systolic pressure occurs when the heart contracts to send blood to other parts of the body. In normal and healthy humans, this value should be around 120 mmHg in young people and up to 140 mmHg in elderly persons.
Diastolic pressure occurs when the heart expands to draw blood from the body. This value should normally be around 80 mmHg. Abnormal value can go up to 120 mmHg and even beyond. Any value above 85 mmHg is indicative of some sort of trouble with the system. There could be many reasons for a higher diastolic value. One of the reasons is atrophy of the heart.
The figure given above shows the range of blood pressure. In hypertension diastolic pressure can rise to 110 mmHg and beyond. Similarly the systolic pressure can rise to 230 mmHg or more. In certain cases systolic pressure may be too high while diastolic pressure may be comparatively too low 220/70 (for example).
Hypertension is usually a past middle age problem but can occasionally occur in young persons also. High blood pressure in young persons is probably not a disease by itself but an indication of something wrong elsewhere calling for thorough investigations.
There are many factors that can contribute towards hypertension. At times, there may be more than one factor/s causing high blood pressure. Sometimes no particular cause can be found. In such cases it is called essential hypertension. It is thought that essential hypertension is usually of genetic origin and is untreatable. This is as of today but as the research is going on, the cause and treatment of essential hypertension may be found one day.
In most cases, blood pressure does not remain the same the whole day. It fluctuates according to what has been eaten, physical activity and emotional state. In certain cases, blood pressure rises during rest but drops after the person wakes and starts moving around.
Hypertension is not restricted to a any particular region, community, race or gender. It is found all over the world.
Causes of Hypertension
There can be many causes of hypertension. At times the cause can be found but at times nothing can be found with certainty. Common causes of hypertension are:- Condition of the arteries: With age, the arteries tend to lose their flexibility, become comparatively rigid and fail to support the required expansion during a systole.
- Size of the arteries: Effective internal diameter may reduce due to some reason. High cholesterol level is one of the causes of this reduction.
- Excessive intake of salt
- Malfunctioning of the kidneys
- Lower level of water in the body
- Sudden emotional disturbance. At times the blood pressure may suddenly shoot up due to sudden and serious emotional disturbance as in case of a shocking news. In such cases, the blood pressure may return to normal as the person become emotionally calm. Such person may not be called hypertensive.
- Continued mental stress can gradually make a person hypertensive even without other related factors.
- Hormonal imbalance in the body
- Inherited predisposition. In some families high blood pressure has been found to run for no apparent cause.
- Obesity (Weight loss)
- Excessive heat in the body (not recognized by some systems)
- Excessive use of medicines or side effects of some medicines may raise the blood pressure.
- Dietary habits. Certain food items and fat-rich diet can raise the blood pressure, specially if the use is continuous or prolonged.
- Lack of exercise, insufficient physical activity.