Hypertension AKA High Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a medical condition that affects your system's blood pressure by chronically elevating it. This condition is also known as high blood pressure, HTN, and HPN. There are two classification to hypertension; essential and secondary. The classification depends on the cause of the hypertension.

Essential hypertension is about 95% of hypertension cases. Even though hypertension is, by definition, without cause, there have been many factors that have been deemed at risk for causing hypertension. One common risk factor in America today is obesity. The risk of hypertension is 5 times higher in the obese as compared to those of normal weight and up to two-thirds of cases can be attributed to excess weight. More than 85% of cases occur in those with a Body mass index greater than 25. There has been a definitive link made connecting obesity and hypertension, though these links have only been made in animal clinical studies so far. There are many other factors that can be a factor in a patient having hypertension, which include; sodium sensitivity, genetics, age, and consumption of vitamin D, among others.

Unlike essential hypertension, secondary hypertension is actually cause by an identifiable cause. According to Drs. Silverberg and Iaina of the Tel Aviv Medical Center, about one half of patients who have essential hypertension have obstructive sleep apnea, and about one half of patients who have obstructive sleep apnea have essential hypertension. Despite the numbers of patients having obstructive sleep apnea and showing clear symptoms of the disorder, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of cases are undiagnosed. Other causes of secondary hypertension include tumors and drugs.

In most cases of hypertension, the treatment can be simple lifestyle changes. One lifestyle change many people can make is just a reduction of your weight and a regular aerobic workout routine. This does not have to be a highly strenuous routine, but rather a low impact aerobic routine. Reducing sodium and sugar intake can also help treat, and prevent, hypertension in many patients. There are other ways to treat and prevent hypertension, including: discontinuing tobacco and alcohol use, reducing stress, and meditation.

Hypertension has the ability to turn into a serious medical condition if not caught early on. The good news is that with the little lifestyle changes I have mentioned, combined with other healthy changes, hypertension is easy to keep at bay, if not prevent altogether. Recommendations would be to stay healthy and watch your blood pressure level to help prevent any issues with hypertension.