The high blood pressure or the so called “Hypertension” is the condition wherein there is a sustained elevation or increase of pressure in the main artery.

Primary hypertension

The primary hypertension is also known as essential hypertension or idiopathic hypertension. This kind of hypertension has no definite cause that has been discovered.

Secondary hypertension

The secondary hypertension is the condition wherein it is the common result of some other primary illness like the renal disease and this will create another illness which is hypertension such as renal diseases.

A person has already high blood pressure is his / her blood pressure is 140/90 or more.  He/She is at risk for this condition and the other complication that hypertension may bring about.

1. Those people who are smokers.
2. Those people who are 10% over their ideal body weight
3. Those people who are regularly eat salty and fatty foods
4. Those people who take more than two bottles of beer or two shots of whiskey each day
5. Those people who are constantly under a lot of stress
6. Those people with sedentary life
7. Those people whose cholesterol level is over 200 mg/dl
8. Those people who have diabetes or with fasting sugar over 126 mg/dl
9. Those people with heart disease (chest pains or heart attack)
10. Those people who had stroke
11. Those people who have kidney disease or with protein in urine

Hypertension can be controlled through the following measures:

• By having a healthy diet which means to avoid salt and the fats in our foods intake.
• By choosing the right and healthy lifestyle
• By watching over and monitoring weight (weight management)
• By avoiding or stop smoking
• By setting limitation of alcohol in take.
• By having a regular exercise
• By avoid or staying away from extra caffeine intake.
• By taking blood pressure medication prescribed by the doctor

These are the usual results that may happen to a person if hypertension is left untreated:

• stroke
• blindness
• heart attack
• heart failure
• kidney failure

Hypertension does not occur solely by chance and it can be developed anytime to anybody. However some individuals are more prone to develop high blood pressure while others are not.

It is our personal obligation to know our health and check if we are at risk of developing hypertension through the hereunder factors:

You must check your lifestyle:

• Do you smoke?
• Are you more than 10% above your ideal body weight?
• Do you regularly eat salty, fried or greasy food?
• Do you regularly take alcoholic drinks (more than one ounce of alcohol) each day?
• Are you constantly under a lot of stress>
• Do you have a “sit-down” life style, without much physical activity at work or at home?

You must check your background:

• Are you a person above 35 years?
• Do you have a close blood relative who has high blood pressure or heart disease?

You must check your medical history:

• Is your cholesterol level over 200 mg/dL
• Do you have diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease?
• Had you gone stroke?

The more checks (yes) you got on the questions above, the higher your risk of having or developing hypertension together with its complications. Be protected and must act now and have your blood pressure taken to prevent yourself away from this Silent Killer.

1. You must know your blood pressure

Hypertension is a silent killer. High blood pressure may slowly destroy your body without feeling any symptoms at all.

Be proactive! Be vigilant and informed of the danger! You must have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis or even once year. If your BP level is borderline or elevated (from 140/90 mmHg and up), see your physician immediately. Make a program or plan to control you BP, to maintain it and bring it down when it is above normal.

2. You must live a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle keeps you less likely to develop high blood pressure. Knowing that you are protected from having hypertension, you will also feel good and this lessens stress.

Initially, changing lifestyle and habits will be very hard for any individual. But through a strong determination and with the help of love ones and friends, all the hardships will be overcome along the way.

The ways for a healthy lifestyle

• Do exercise regularly
• Do watch your weight
• Do keep stress under control
• Do avoid salty and fatty foods
• Do avoid too much caffeine
• Do limit alcohol intake
• Do stop smoking

3. You must take your medication

If you are consistently hypertensive despite undergoing a healthy lifestyle, your doctor will now prescribe a drug to combat your high blood pressure.

Medications will definitely lower high blood pressure safely and effectively. Your doctor and other authorized medical practitioners can explain the proper medication together with its side effects, if there’s any. Closely monitoring the high blood pressure is the main ways to discover the best medication and control. In the beginning of the medication, most people may feel few side effects but this is natural. However, you must immediately tell you when you feel different or worse after taking medicines.

Blood pressure or BP in short is the force created when our heart pumps our blood all over our body passing through our blood vessels. The continuous flowing of our blood in our veins provides the supply of the needed oxygen and nutrients of our body to keep us alive and healthy.

The apparatus that measures the blood pressure is called sphygmomanometer. A BP reading consists of two numbers – the top number (systolic BP) is the measurement of BP while your heart is pumping, while the bottom number (diastolic BP) is the measurement of your BP while your heart is at rest.

Normal BP is a level below the Systolic 140 mmHg and Diastolic 90 mmHg

BP normally fluctuates depending on the time of day, body position (sitting or lying down), mental stress and level of physical exertion. Thus, BP determination is standardized – at the left arm, sitting position, after 5 – 10 minutes of rest. You have to take two or three BP levels and the average of which is considered the final BP value.

When your BP is 140 mmHg or above (Systolic) and 90 mmHg or above (Diastolic), you are HYPERTENSIVE especially if your blood pressure is taken two or three times in a two-week period is consistently.

Hypertension kills! Hypertension or the High blood pressure can cause damages to various organs of our body or may further leads to some complication if uncontrolled and untreated.

Here are the major organs of our body that are usually affected by having hypertension:

1. The Heart – It leads to heart attack and heart failure
2. The Brain – It leads to stroke and internal bleeding
3. The Kidneys – It leads to renal failure and the need for dialysis
4. The Eyes – It leads to blindness
5. The Peripheral Blood Vessels – It leads to peripheral vascular diseases like limping (claudication) and tissue death (gangrene).

The disease will continue to progress and eventually will lead to death if you will not control and treat it.