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When determining a person's blood pressure the amount of blood being pumped by the heart, and the resistance to the blood flow is measured.
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As the amount of blood being pumped increases and the arteries narrow blood pressure increases.
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It can take several years for symptoms of high blood pressure to appear, even when readings are very high.
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Symptoms of hypertension do not usually appear until it has become life-threatening. These symptoms can include nosebleeds, being short of breath, and headaches.
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When someone has hypertension for a long period of time they increase their risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, vision loss, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke.
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Some cases of hypertension are caused by an identifiable secondary factor which can include birth control pills, chronic kidney disease, and narrowing of arteries. These account for between 5-10% of hypertension cases.
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Between 90-95% of primary hypertension cases are caused by lifestyle and inherited factors, such as smoking, being overweight, consuming too much salt, indulging in too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise.
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In some cases, when lifestyle changes do not reduce an individual's blood pressure medication can be used.
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It is estimated that as much as 37% of the world's population suffers from hypertension.
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An individual with blood pressure reaching higher than 180 systolic or 110 diastolic is considered to be in hypertensive crisis. If the hypertensive crisis results in damage to one or more organs it is considered hypertensive emergency and the blood pressure must be reduced more rapidly than if there is no organ damage.
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It is estimated than 8-10% of pregnant women experience hypertension, which can be from pre-existing hypertension, hypertension caused by the pregnancy, or pre-eclampsia which increases the risk of death of both mother and fetus.
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In those individuals that are salt-sensitive, their blood pressure increases when they consume salt in the diet.
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It is possible to reduce hypertension by decreasing salt in the diet, decreasing weight if overweight, decreasing stress, and decreasing depression. Increasing exercise has also been shown to decrease hypertension in some people.
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Consuming a diet rich in vegetables and fruit is believed to help reduce hypertension.
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Exercises to reduce hypertension include resistance exercises, aerobic exercises, isometric resistance exercises and others.
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The most preventable risk factor for early deaths worldwide is hypertension, so controlling blood pressure is important for the majority of people as they age.
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