HBP

WHAT IS High Blood Pressure or
Hypertension ?

About one in every four Americans has high blood pressure or hypertension.
You can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years without a single
symptom. But silence isn't golden. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases
your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke.

Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the
amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart
pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

To understand how blood pressure works, imagine that your blood vessels are
interlocking garden hoses. The water flowing through the hose is your blood and
a water pump as your heart. As you turn on the pump you may notice that the
garden hose would eventually harden as the pressure inside increases.

High blood pressure or hypertension typically develops without signs or
symptoms. And it affects nearly everyone eventually. If you don't have high
blood pressure nor hypertension by age 55, you have a 90 percent chance of
developing it at some point in your life, according to the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute. Fortunately, high blood pressure (hypertention) can be
easily detected. And once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work
with your doctor to control it.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF high blood pressure

Signs of high blood pressure or symptoms of hypertension are not usually
noticeable. To most people with high blood pressure, there are no significant
signs or symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high
levels.

Though to a few people at an early-stage high blood pressure may have
dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more
nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms of high blood
pressure typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached an advanced
— possibly life-threatening stage.

CAUSE OF high blood pressure or hypertension

The American Heart Association says there's no single
identifiable cause for 90 to 95% of high blood pressure cases. This type of high
blood pressure, called essential hypertension or
primary hypertension, tends to develop gradually over many
years.

The other 5 percent to 10 percent of high blood pressure cases are caused by
an underlying condition. This type of high blood pressure, called
secondary hypertension, tends to appear suddenly and cause
higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Various conditions can
lead to secondary hypertension, including kidney abnormalities, tumors
of the adrenal gland or certain congenital heart defects.

Secondary high blood pressure can also be caused by certain medications —
including birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants,
over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs. In a 2005
study, women who took an average of 500 milligrams or more of
acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) daily over several years were
more likely to develop high blood pressure than were women who didn't take any
acetaminophen. It's not known if the same holds true for men.

Various illicit drugs, including cocaine and
amphetamines, also can cause high blood pressure.

DIAGNOSIS AND TESTS FOR hypertension

High blood pressure or more generally blood pressure is measured with an
inflatable arm cuff and a pressure-measuring gauge. The blood pressure reading,
given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), has two numbers. The
first, or upper, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart
beats (systolic pressure). The second, or lower, number
measures the pressure in your arteries between beats (diastolic
pressure).

The latest blood pressure guidelines, issued in 2003 by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, divide blood pressure measurements
into four general categories:

• Normal blood pressure. Your blood pressure is normal if
  it's below 120/80 mm Hg. However, some data indicate that
  115/75 mm Hg should be the best standard. Once blood pressure rises above 115/75
  mm Hg, the risk of cardiovascular disease begins to increase.
  
• Prehypertension. Prehypertension is a systolic pressure
  ranging from 120 to 139 or a diastolic pressure ranging from
  80 to 89. Prehypertension tends to get worse over time. Within
  four years of being diagnosed with prehypertension, nearly one in three adults
  ages 35 to 64 and nearly one in two adults age 65 or older
  progress to definite high blood pressure.
  
• Stage 1 hypertension. Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic
  pressure ranging from 140 to 159 or a diastolic pressure
  ranging from 90 to 99.
  
• Stage 2 hypertension. The most severe hypertension, stage 2
  hypertension is a systolic pressure of 160 or higher or a
  diastolic pressure of 100 or higher.

At the age of 50, the systolic reading is even more significant.
Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) — when diastolic pressure
is normal but systolic pressure is high — is the most common type of high blood
pressure among people older than 50.

A single high blood pressure reading usually isn't enough for a diagnosis.
Because blood pressure normally varies throughout the day — and sometimes
specifically during visits to the doctor — diagnosis is based on more than one
reading taken on more than one occasion. Your doctor may ask you to record your
blood pressure at home and at work to provide additional information.

If you
have any type of high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend routine tests,
such as a urine test (urinalysis), blood tests
and an electrocardiogram (ECG) — a test that measures your
heart's electrical activity. More extensive testing isn't usually needed.