Hypertension: What Causes It?
submitted: 2008-04-12 18:12:37 |
by: CarlPruitt
Total views: 30 |
Word Count: 507 |
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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is known in the health care field as the "silent killer". It usually exhibits no symptoms until it has already done substantial damage to a patient's body. Most people only find out about their hypertension when they go in for a routine physical, but most people also tend to skip their routine physicals. Do not take this disease lightly, or delay treatment, just because there are no symptoms. A great majority of the people who experience heart attacks or develop congestive heart failure start out with hypertension. High blood pressure is the number one causative factor in heart disease and one out of every 3 people has high blood pressure
A standard procedure of any medical physical examination is to check blood pressure. Most often this will be done by the nurse either before entering or upon first entering the examination room. Take into consideration a condition called "White Coat Syndrome" in which nervousness about visiting the doctor actually causes increased blood pressure. This is a common reaction that has sometimes resulted in trips to the emergency room. If you experience this, consider buying a relatively cheap home digital blood pressure monitor. Wrist units are available which are very simple to use and are very accurate. Do not use this home device as a replacement for doctor visits though.
Although hypertension is the leading cause of strokes and coronary heart disease, the sad fact is that the cause of the disease is unknown or unclear in more than 90% of the cases. There are no easy answers to why high blood pressure occurs and there is no simple catch-all solution to the problem. Hypertension is most effectively treated holistically with major lifestyle changes.
In a normal person blood pressure is kept within strict limits naturally. Low blood pressure results in arteries constricting to increase resistance and raise the blood pressure. When blood pressure goes too high, the body relaxes the arteries and veins to lower the pressure. People suffering from long term hypertension do not experience this normal pressure regulation and the disease must be treated with drugs, diet and major lifestyle changes.
Some of the factors which are thought to cause high blood pressure include the following:
* Excessive alcohol
* Tobacco smoking
* Failure to maintain normal weight
* Excess sodium in the diet
* Excessive levels of stress
* Taking in too much caffeine
* Inherited tendencies
Clearly, most of the above factors are well within the patient's control. Therefore, controlling blood pressure naturally can help a great deal. Increasing fruit and vegetable intake while lowering dietary fat and cutting out a few bad habits will usually substantially lower blood pressure. If you are too fat, dropping a few pounds will make an amazing difference in blood pressure. Walking for 30 minutes a few times a week will lower blood pressure through weight loss and stress relief. Switching to the clinically proven DASH diet will help as well. Of course, with any medical condition, you need to consult with your doctor before you begin any exercise program or drastic dietary changes.
About the Author
Controlling high blood pressure is crucial to avoiding health problems lby going toer in life. Find out more about how to treby going to high blood pressure by going to http://bloodpressuredanger.blogspot.com You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
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