General Information for Hypertension
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure that the blood puts on the walls of the arteries as it travels along the body. Arteries are the vessels through which the blood moves from the heart to all the parts of the body (arms, legs, brain, kidneys, liver, and all the other organs and tissues).
The blood pressure is expressed by two numbers, e.g. 140/90 mmHg for systolic/diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is the pressure into the arteries at the time when the heart contracts (systole) to push the blood into the arteries, and diastolic when the heart relaxes (diastole) and blood comes from the lung into the heart.
What is hypertension?
Hypertension or “high arterial blood pressure” means that the pressure that the blood puts on the walls of the arteries as it travels along the arterial system is higher than normal.
How common is hypertension?
Hypertension is a very common health problem, affecting about 25% of the general population worldwide. Its prevalence increases with age. Among adults aged 45-65 years one out of four has hypertension, whereas among those older than 65 years one out of two has hypertension.
What is the cause of hypertension?
In most people with hypertension (almost 95%) the cause is unknown in that there is no specific underlying disease (“primary” or “essential” hypertension). Genetic background (hypertension in the parents) and environmental factors, such as increased body weight and increased salt in food, predispose to its evolution. In few cases hypertension is caused by an underlying and potentially curable cause, usually a renal or endocrine (hormonal) disorder.
Can hypertension be prevented?
The risk of developing hypertension can be reduced by maintaining an ideal body weight, adopting a healthy diet and engaging in regular physical activity. These measures can also facilitate the control of blood pressure in people with hypertension.
Which are the symptoms of hypertension?
Usually hypertension does not cause any symptoms. There is a common misbelief that people with hypertension experience symptoms like headache, dyspnea, dizziness, chest pain, palpitations of the heart and nose bleeding but most hypertensive people, even with quite high levels of blood pressure (systolic higher than 180 mmHg), have no symptoms at all.
What are the consequences and complications of hypertension?
Hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, namely heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke, heart failure, and also kidney damage. It has been estimated that at least 45% of deaths due to heart disease, and 51% of deaths due to stroke are caused by hypertension.
How is hypertension diagnosed?
The diagnosis of hypertension is made by finding elevated blood pressure measured by the physician in the office in at least two visits. In the office elevated blood pressure is defined as systolic 140 mmHg or higher or diastolic 90 mmHg or higher, or both.
The diagnosis should be confirmed by finding elevated blood pressure out of the office using self measurement at home or 24 hour ambulatory monitoring. The blood pressure threshold for defining hypertension out-of the office is lower than the abovementioned for office measurements.
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