Blood pressure is the force with which blood pushes against the artery walls as it travels through the body. Like air in a balloon, blood fills arteries to a certain capacity—and just as too much air pressure can cause damage to a balloon, too much blood pressure can harm healthy arteries. Blood pressure is measured by two numbers—systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure measures cardiac output and refers to the pressure in the arterial system at its highest.

Causes Of Hypertension

Heredity. People whose parents or other close blood relatives have high blood pressure are more likely to develop it themselves.

Increasing age. Blood pressure tends to increase with age, and occurs most often in people older than age 35. Men have a greater risk of high blood pressure than women until age 45. From age 45–54, the percentages of men and women are similar. After age 55, women are more likely to develop high blood pressure than men are.

Essential hypertension affects approximately 75 million Americans, yet its basic causes or underlying defects are not always known. Nevertheless, certain associations have been recognized in people with essential hypertension.

Symptoms Of Hypertension

The only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. This is especially important if you have a close relative who has high blood pressure.

Often there are few symptoms and the individual himself is not aware of the condition until a doctor checks his pressure. In some cases there are palpitation of the heart, headache, dizziness, and fatigue, but there are many exceptions to these symptoms. 

Thus, high blood pressure often is labeled “the silent killer.”

People who have high blood pressure typically don’t know it until their blood pressure is measured.

Treatment of Hypertension

Most of the risk factors for primary hypertension are preventable, and lifestyle modification may prevent as well as treat the condition. Secondary hypertension can be managed by treating the underlying cause. Individuals in the high normal and stage 1 hypertension categories should attempt to lower blood pressure through diet and lifestyle changes before going on a regimen of medications. Recommendations include:

All patients with blood pressure readings greater than 120/80 should be encouraged to make lifestyle modifications, such as eating a healthier diet, quitting smoking and getting more exercise. Treatment with medication is recommended to lower blood pressure to less than 140/90 mmHg. For patients who have diabetes or chronic kidney disease the recommended blood pressure is less than 130/80 mmHg.

Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren’t enough. In addition to diet and exercise, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure.

Supplemental Oxygen: This is used for patients with low oxygen level in the blood.

Lung or Heart-Lung Transplantation — These procedures are employed for patients with severe pulmonary hypertension and extremely poor quality of life. It is the procedure of last resort.

Use of oral contraceptives. Some women are prone to high blood pressure when taking “the pill.”

Sedentary or inactive lifestyle. On the other hand, exercise reduces blood pressure or makes high blood pressure easier to manage.