What is hypertension?

The word itself comes up very often, but what does it really mean?  Hypertension is just a fancy way of saying high blood pressure.  But what exactly is high blood pressure?  When a doctor takes your blood pressure they say “(a number) over (another number)”.  The first number is called your systolic blood pressure and the second number is your diastolic blood pressure.

What causes it?

The cause of high blood pressure is unknown and high blood pressure does not have any symptoms.  That is why it is called the “silent killer.”  A third (or 30%) of people who have high blood pressure do not know they have it.  The only way to know if you have it is to have your blood pressure checked!  Your heart pumps blood through your body by means of vessels.  When these vessels get smaller, or narrow, the pressure inside them increases causing high blood pressure.  High blood pressure causes your heart and vessels to do extra work.  Your heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood out to all the organs.  This can cause damage to the vessels that carry blood which can then cause damage to the organs that the vessels supply blood to.

The truth about high blood pressure

• High blood pressure has NO symptoms, that is why it is called the ‘silent killer’
• High cholesterol does not automatically mean you have high blood pressure  (Although many lifestyle choices that lead to high cholesterol also lead to high blood pressure)
• High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke that can be changed (a stroke is a cardiovascular disease in which a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain becomes blocked or bursts causing parts of the brain to die due to lack of oxygen)
• High blood pressure also contributes to heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, atherosclerosis (fatty buildup in the arteries), and blindness
• Women and men are both at risk for high blood pressure
• You should start having your blood pressure checked when you are a teenager

Who does it affect?

High blood pressure killed almost 50,000 Americans in 2002 and was at least a factor in 261,000 American deaths in 2002. 

About 65 million Americans have high blood pressure.  One in three U.S. adults have high blood pressure. 

What gives you more of a risk for high blood pressure?

Things you cannot control:

• Age – As you get older your risk for high blood pressure increases.  It mostly occurs in people over 35 years old.  Women who have experienced menopause are also at a greater risk for high blood pressure.
• Race - African Americans are more at risk for hypertension.  More than 40% of African Americans have high blood pressure.
• Heredity – If any of your family members have high blood pressure you are more at risk at getting it.

(If any of the above three things are true for you, you should already have had your blood pressure checked and you should have it checked often.)

Things you CAN control:

• Obesity or lack of physical activity – Inactive, obese, or overweight people are more at risk for hypertension.

(Lose weight and get regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes on most days of the week) to decrease risk.)

• Eating too much salt – Eating a lot of salt increases blood pressure in some people.

(Avoid eating a lot of salt)

• Drinking too much alcohol - A heavy drinker is more at risk for high blood pressure.

(Limit yourself to no more than one alcoholic drink a day (for women) or two drinks a day (for men) and STOP smoking!)

• Stress – High stress situations can increase your blood pressure.

(Keep stress under control)

• Taking birth control pills can increase blood pressure in some women.

(Take medicines as prescribed and talk to your doctor about all medicines – Don’t be afraid to ask questions!)

• Pregnancy can also affect blood pressure.

(Talk to your doctor!)

• Having diabetes mellitus, gout, or kidney diseases can increase blood pressure.

(Talk to your doctor!)

How do you treat it?

There is no cure for high blood pressure, but it can be controlled. 

TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!

Article written by: Jessica Hartman, February 2007

Resource:

The American Heart Association publication on high blood pressure found at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2114