High blood pressure

High blood pressure is a very serious condition and should be treated appropriately. If caught and treated early on, you can prevent irreversible damage being done to your heart and other important organs. High blood pressure, that is uncontrolled, will accelerate the hardening of the arteries and contribute to the accumulation of cholesterol plaques on arterial walls. This can be deadly. It is very important to see a doctor and be evaluated for high blood pressure. This is not a condition in which you have time to wait to be treated.

High blood pressure can be caused by many different things. Sometimes high blood pressure can occur without a known cause. When this happens, the high blood pressure is referred to as Essential Hypertension. Most people that have high blood pressure fall into this category. Essential hypertension can be found more in different races and ethnic groups and seems to be hereditary. If you have several people in your family that have this sort of high blood pressure, then chances are you run a higher risk of developing it yourself. Research is being done to try to determine what may be causing hypertension. Some of the factors may be related to genetic disorders, insulin resistance, sodium in the urine, arterial stiffening, blood vessel thickening, resetting of baroreceptors or deficiencies in vasodilators. A lot of that may seem quite confusing to you. If you are not a medical expert, you may be extremely confused as to what this means for you. That’s why seeing a doctor regularly is very important.

For some, having high blood pressure is a result of an underlying condition. When this happens the high blood pressure is referred to as Secondary Hypertension. Some of the conditions that may contribute to secondary hypertension are renal disorders, endocrine disorders, hyperthyroidism, pregnancy, certain drugs and chemical reactions, or coarctation of the aorta.

Fortunately, if treated, you can help decrease the risk of high blood pressure affecting your organs and doing permanent damage. Often your doctor will prescribe certain medicines in order to lower your blood pressure. However, there are a few lifestyle changes that you can start doing at home that may have a huge impact on helping you lower your blood pressure. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise have shown to have excellent results in lowering blood pressure. Be sure you are eating plenty fruits and vegetables and stick to low fat foods. Try cutting back on sodium in your diet. Limit the amount of caffeine and alcohol you include in your diet as well. If you are overweight, you are more likely to have high blood pressure. By making a few changes in your diet and adding a few exercise routines into your schedule, you will probably lose some of the extra weight that you have been carrying and this will result in lowered blood pressure.

Smoking and drinking too much alcohol are also bad habits that can lead to high blood pressure. If you smoke you need to try your hardest to quit as soon as possible. We all know that smoking leads to several health problems, and high blood pressure is one of them. By not smoking, you drastically lower your chance for having high blood pressure. Also drinking alcohol in excess will affect your blood pressure. For some people, drinking any amount of alcohol will increase blood pressure, but usually drinking one glass of beer or wine a day is okay. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor since some cases of high blood pressure will not tolerate alcohol consumption well.

Overall, dealing with high blood pressure is no joke. This condition can be potentially fatal and you should be checked by a doctor regularly to make sure you are staying healthy and that your blood pressure is under control.

[quote|tags=Cardio-Klenz,blood pressure]

Last updated on Jun 4th, 2009 and filed under Cardiovascular Disorders. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed