High blood pressure: Facts You need to know

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood

pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. However, this is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, arterial fibrillation, peripheral arterial disease, vision loss and chronic kidney disease.

High blood pressure is usually classified as primary or secondary hypertension. About 90-95% of cases

are primary. Primary hypertension is usually defined as high blood pressure due to nonspecific lifestyle and genetic factors while the secondary hypertension is defined as high blood pressure due to identifiable cause, such as chronic kidney disease, narrowing of the kidney arteries, etc.

Measurement of Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is expressed by two measurements, the systolic and diastolic pressures, which are
the maximum and the minimum pressures respectively.

Blood
pressure measurement.
   

Normal (at rest)

    

Abnormal


Systolic

    

100-130 (mmHg)

    

>130 (mmHg)


Diastolic

    

60-80 (mmHg)

    

>80 (mmHg)



Note that these measurements might slightly be higher or lower depending on geographical
locations. Also, different numbers apply to children.

Signs and Symptoms

Hypertension is rarely accompanied with symptoms, and it’s usually identified through screening. Some people with high blood pressure usually report symptoms such as:

• Headaches (particularly at the back of the head and in the morning)
• Lightheadedness
• Vertigo (when a person has the sensation of moving, or seeing surrounding objects which are not moving as though they were moving)
• Tinnitus (buzzing or hissing in the ear)
• Altered vision or fainting episodes.
  

Hypertensive Crisis

This is a condition in which the blood pressure is severely elevated (equal to or greater than 180mmHg (systolic) and 110mmHg (diastolic)). It may either involve damage to some organs including the brain, kidney, heart and lungs resulting from elevated blood pressure (hypertensive emergency) or not (hypertensive urgency).

Causes

The causes of high blood pressure will be classified based on the two types of hypertension.

     For primary hypertension, causes include:

•  Age
•  Environmental factors such as location and
•  Weather condition.
•  High salt intake
•  Lack of exercise
•  Central obesity
•  High consumption of caffeine

For secondary hypertension (high blood pressure resulting from identifiable cause), causes
may include:

• Kidney disease (the most common cause of
• Secondary hypertension)
• Cushion’s syndrome, or acromegaly, or
• Other endocrine conditions.
•     Obesity
•      Pregnancy
•     Sleep apnea etc.

Prevention of Hypertension

Lifestyle changes are best recommended for the prevention of hypertension. An outline with the proposed lifestyle changes by the US National High Blood Pressure Education Program for the primary prevention of hypertension:

    Maintain normal body weight for adults (body
    mass index between 20-25kg/m2)
    Reduction in dietary sodium intake
    Engage in regular aerobic physical activity
    such as brisk walking (for at least 30min per day for most days of the week)
     Limit alcohol consumption
    Consume diets rich in fruits and
    vegetables.

Management of Hypertension

Management of high blood pressure is targeted towards lowering the blood pressure and keeping it within normal range and also prevention of possible complications that might arise from the condition. The management approach to hypertension involves:

Lifestyle Modification: this is the first line of treatment of hypertension. This includes:

Dietary
changes: diets with low sodium, vegetarian diets and green tea
consumption. Also increasing dietary potassium intake has potential to lower
the blood pressure. Adopting a dietary pattern such as DASH diet or
Mediterranean diet. The DASH diet is the most suitable. DASH diet means Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is a simple diet and can be easily followed
and it entails that you:

Ø Eat more fruits, vegetables and cow fat dairy foods

Ø  Cut back on foods that are high in saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fats

Ø  Eat more whole grain foods, fish, poultry and nuts

Ø  Limit sodium, sweets, sugary drinks and red meats.

 
Read: Health Benefits of Fruits in 2025

Physical exercise: such as isometric resistance exercise, aerobic exercise, etc.


Medications: antihypertensive medications of various classes are available for the management of the condition. Contact you doctor for the appropriate prescription and treatment.

Conclusion

Hypertension is