Do You Have High Blood Pressure? – You May Have!

With no obvious symptoms high blood pressure is a disease that can creep up on you. It is a condition that sometimes is only diagnosed after a heart attack or stroke, which is far too late. But what is it and what can it do to your body?

What Is High Blood Pressure

Hypertension is the medical term. It is defined as a resting pressure above 140/90 mmHg. It can only be diagnosed with a monitor. The 140 figure is the pressure as your heart beats and 90 is the pressure between beats. There are two types of hypertension. Primary hypertension, which is the commonest, has no obvious cause and secondary hypertension, which is caused by another disease such as kidney problems. The treatment is different so it is important to reach an accurate diagnosis.

It increases as you get older almost as a normal part of aging. Over the age of 65 over 6 in 10 people have hypertension. Although it causes no obvious symptoms it markedly increases your risk of disease or death so treatment is important.

Primary hypertension

Primary hypertension has no obvious cause. It is clear that there is a genetic component as it runs in families and through the generations. In addition other factors such as stress, being overweight, excess salt intake and smoking cam be involved. Interestingly it seems you need to have the genetic predisposition before being fat gives you high blood pressure.

Secondary Hypertension

Secondary hypertension is caused by many medical problems. The commonest is kidney problems such as chronic glomerulonephritis or polycystic renal disease. Other less common causes include tumours, hormone imbalances, both over and under active thyroid disease and drinking too much alcohol. As primary and secondary hypertension are treated differently it is important to work out which you have. Your doctor will do blood tests and a tracing of your heart initially. You may also have an exercise stress test and possibly an ultrasound of your heart.

If your blood tests suggest it, you may have a range of other tests, scans and X-rays to determine the cause of your problem and treat it. But the first and most basic investigation is using a blood pressure monitor to measure your blood pressure.

Want To Know More?

Click here for more FREE information on blood pressure monitors and how to measure blood pressure.