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High Blood Pressure
(Part II)
If you number
among the one out of every three Americans who already has high blood pressure
or hypertension, there are several things you can do to stop it from worsening
and causing other health problems. If you smoke, quitting may help to lower
hypertension and will definitely improve lung function. Obese individuals will
gain improved quality of life and experience better health in many areas as they
loose weight. Often obese individuals were overweight kids who already showed
elevated blood pressure in their teen years. In this instance, damage to the
arterial wall is sometimes seen in individuals as young as thirty. Other
dietary controls include reducing the amount of salt and alcohol consumed. This
may be helpful as salt and regular alcohol consumption increase blood pressure
in some people.
Reducing the
amount of stress in a person’s life may not have a direct impact on high blood
pressure, but it is beneficial to many related health issues.
Finally, improving your overall fitness and increasing the amount of exercise
you get will play a role in reducing hypertension, since a sedentary lifestyle
is a key factor in developing high blood pressure. Aerobic or continuous
exercise that increases the heart rate should be done at a minimum of 3 times a
week for
twenty minutes at a time.
For patients with
high blood pressure, it is essential to get a physician’s approval before
beginning n exercise program and advice regarding the best form of exercise.
Popular exercises that are less strenuous include swimming and walking. The
1000 steps a day program recommends that a person include taking at least these
many steps in each day to improve fitness. It is easy to work in a number of
small walking sessions per day if a long walk at one time cannot be accommodated
by your schedule. A pedometer will count the steps for you and let you know
when your goal has been reached. Walking is also a great stress buster,
especially if done in pretty surroundings with a companion. Stationary
bicycling or a treadmill workout are good indoor, bad weather activities. Both
allow the exerciser to begin at a comfortable rate and increase it as the
fitness level improves.
In addition to life style changes, the person with
hypertension may be prescribed a blood pressure lowing medication. There are
many types of medications that target the different effects of hypertension upon
the body. For
example, diuretics or "water pills" work in the kidney to flush excess water and
sodium from the body. Beta-blockers cause the heart to beat slower and with
lowered force by decreasing the nerve impulses to the heart and blood vessels.
Alpha-blockers
also work to decrease the nerve stimulation and cause the blood pressure to go
down. Alpha-beta-blockers combine these effects to slow the heartbeat and
decrease the blood flow. Nervous system inhibitors also decrease the nerve
impulses and prevent blood vessel narrowing, and vasodilators cause the blood
pressure to lower by directly opening blood vessels by relaxing the muscle in
the vessel walls. ACE (Angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors
prevent the narrowing of the blood vessels by the hormone angiotensin II. Blood
pressure decreases as the vessels stay open. Angiotensin
antagonists also target angiotensin II and decrease its effect on blood
vessels, thus keeping them open and lowering blood pressure.
Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) prevent calcium from entering the heart muscle cells
and blood vessels, causing the blood vessels to relax thus decreasing the
pressure.
Once one of
these medications has been prescribe, it is important to continue taking it at
the prescribed dose. Discontinuing
the medication on your own is dangerous. It is also important
to be aware that other medications, even seemingly innocuous over the counter
cold medications can be dangerous. Some decongestants raise blood pressure and
other medications may counteract blood pressure medications. Check with your
physician before taking any additional medication if you have high blood
pressure.
Blood pressure is the
arterial force with each heartbeat (systolic pressure, and at rest (diastolic
pressure). It's measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and stated in terms
of systolic over diastolic. It is one of the standard tests done during medical
exams and it determines if an individual has hypertension, meaning blood
pressure greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg systolic pressure, or greater than
or equal to 90 mm Hg diastolic pressure. This is the clinical definition of
high blood pressure, but the meaning in terms of quality of life is enormous
since it greatly increases the risk of coronary heart disease, kidney damage,
diabetes, blindness and stroke. The major organs may remain unaffected by this
pressure for some time and the individual remains symptom less. However, the
increased workload on the heart and circulatory system and altered blood supply
to organs is taking a toll. The added force is limiting the efficiency of the
circulatory system, and contributing to the increased risk of stroke, congestive
heart failure, kidney failure and heart attack. The existence of other risk
factors for heart disease and stroke, such as smoking, obesity, increased
cholesterol or diabetes, together with high blood pressure increases the risk
dramatically for developing these conditions.
High blood pressure affects
people over 35 but is not limited to this age group; hypertension is seen all
ages from childhood upward. Hypertension is diagnosed in nearly 65 million
Americans, half of which are female. The risk of developing hypertension
increases in a woman’s life after menopause, when she is more likely to develop
it that a man of the same age. The prevalence is high in African Americans, and
it may also have a genetic component. Other high risk factors include obesity,
diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, and heavy drinking. Taking birth control
pills increases a women’s risk of developing high blood pressure, as does
pregnancy, which is why health care professionals monitor blood pressure
carefully during this time. Hypertension can develop during the last trimester
that usually, but not always, returns to normal after childbirth. Sometimes
hypertension must be treated with medication to ensure a healthful baby and
mother. Stress does seem to be a factor in high blood pressure, but the
relationship has not yet been defined. It is normal for blood pressure to rise
with stress or excitement but in most individuals it quickly returns to normal
measurements.
If you do not have one of
these risk factors, are you safe from developing high blood pressure.
Unfortunately not. The cause is unknown in up to 95% of cases diagnosed. Even
more alarming is that an individual may unknowingly suffer from the condition
for years, allowing significant damage to have been already been done. The
nature of the disease, which is often symptom less in the mild stage, is to
damage the arteries and organs slowly over time by exerting extra force while
pumping blood through the body. This is why it is nicknamed the “silent
killer”. The heart pumps oxygenated blood to the tissues first through large
arteries which diverge into the smaller blood vessels called arterioles and lead
into even smaller vessels, the capillaries, which actually nourish the body’s
organs and tissues. The blood is then recycled to the heart via veins. Nerve
impulses, often generated by the sympathetic nervous system, cause dilation, or
enlargement, and contraction, or narrowing, of the arteries.
In a narrowed artery, the
blood flow is impeded and slowed down and the force of the blood upon the walls
of the blood vessel is increased. This is the beginning of high blood pressure
which causes damage to the blood vessels since the force upon them is greater
than normal and is exerted with each heartbeat. The heart becomes strained and
the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs is reduced.
There is no cure for high
blood pressure but it can be controlled with the same life style changes that
are recommended fort the prevention of several other disease. Therefore, taking
steps to control hypertension reduces an individual’s risk of developing several
conditions and is be a major step in maintaining good health.
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