High blood pressure, or, if put in a much more pleasant term, hypertension may simply be defined just as another synonym of the following: High Blood Pressure. This has been one of the greatest disorders that have been affecting people from all across the world; so this has also been called the "silent killer" because sometimes this condition does not appear with any symptom, and if left unattended then the disease becomes a killer in reality. Now let's try to explain what hypertension is, its causes and symptoms, complications, diagnosis, treatment-almost everything with lifestyle changes that may be helpful in the attempt to control the condition.

What is Hypertension?

Blood pressure:

It is the pressure exerted by blood in flowing in the body against its arteries. Blood pressure is measured in units of millimetric units of mercury (mm Hg). It is expressed in two numbers:

Diastolic Pressure:

the tension on your arteries when your heart is contracted to pump blood through it. Top number Diastolic: the tension on your arteries if your heart is resting between beats, bottom number.

General Principles Definition of a point estimate to describe elevated blood pressure is at or greater than 130/80 mm Hg. For a well patient, as defined by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, this is almost but not quite that precise cut. There are two kinds of hypertension.

1. Essential Hypertension: It presents apparently fortuitously and the onset is invariably after birth and no cause can be shown. It accounts for the large majority of patients with hypertension.

2. Secondary Hypertension: It may occur at any age although most patients have an identifiable definable cause either by some disease of an identifiable kidney or endocrine disorder, or some drugs .

Causes of Hypertension

Although the primary cause of primary hypertension isn't identified, but there are some risk factors that boost the chances to suffer from that medical condition. Some of those risk factors are:

Family History:

"If there is a family background, then you are at high risk."

Age:

On an average, this parameter is directly proportional to hypertension.

Obesity:

Over weight and obesity increase the chance of getting caught with high blood pressure.

Physical Inactivity:

A sedentary lifestyle-people who are rather inactive more so increase the chance of gaining obesity and hypertension.

Tobacco Use:

Cigarette smoking, whether active or passive undermines blood vessels.

Excessive Alcohol Intake:

More alcohol consumption up to date has been believed to be the primary cause for hypertension.

High Sodium intake:

Sodium has reached such a high level owing to most of the salt intakes that retention of fluid over and above its limits result in high blood pressure.

Stress:

Over-stress is the secondary causes which may elevate the blood pressure for some time.

Secondary hypertension has medical causes of a patient. Some of them are:

disease of the kidneys:

there are some diseases of the kidneys that may cause retention of fluid and thus, result in high blood pressure.

Hormonal Disorders:

Some are associated with Cushing's syndrome or even hyperthyroidism, to name but a few. 

Sleep Apnea:

This is an ailment, shallow breathings or even inadequate breathings at times during sleep causes high blood pressure.

Medicines:

Except for few classes of drugs which are prescribed, there are others-over-the-counter and prescription-which also come under the category of NSAIDs but some anti-depressants raise blood pressure.

Symptoms of Hypertension

Often referred to as the "silent" disease, since it may begin with little or no warning. Often by the time symptoms occur, the disease has progressed extensively. In fact, some people experience followings:

headaches

shortness of breath

nosebleeds

flushes 

dizziness

These never occur and have nothing at all to do with hypertension. Due to this among many other reasons, blood pressure must always be measured, always and repeatedly in all patients with predisposing factors.

Complications of High Blood Pressure

This disease is complicated by, if not cared for. Some of these complications include;

1. Heart Diseases:

the heart is overstretched from its normal level of performance thus leads to various heart failure, coronary artery disease, left ventricular hypertrophy among others.

2. Stroke:

High blood pressure was among the common causes of stroke. The blood vessels of the brain are damaged thus resulting in thrombosis or hemorrhage.

3. Kidney Damage:

The kidney fulfils its functions by purifying the remaining fluids which are associated with the remaining poisonous wastes substances that exist within the blood. If it is hit by hypertension, then any disease consequence which normally comes with the blood vessels contained within the kidney will result in chronic kidney diseases thereby leading to failure of kidneys.

4. Blindness:

the high blood pressure damages the blood vessels of the retina; it can cause blindness.

5. Aneurysm:

if the patient's blood vessel is bursting, then there is exposure of an aneurysm. when an aneurysm is ruptured then the outcome of the rupture is fatal bleeding in the body.

6. metabolic syndrome:

if a patient falls under any of the criteria listed below, then such a patient will be classified to have a disease condition-if they have high blood pressure, the increased sugar in the blood, the excess body fats around the waist line, and the unhealthy cholesterol and lipid levels that place them at a risk for heart disease, the stroke, and the diabetes.

7. Degeneration of Cognitive Skills:

This is the risk whereby most studies normally classify hypertensive patients because they are easily manipulated by degenerated mental skills and even by Alzheimer's disease in some generalized cases.

Diagnosis of Hypertension

Most of the diagnoses that depend on the hypertensions are made with the aid of a sphygmomanometer. The further the patient is from the doctor's bedside, then is when the doctor has the opportunity to ask for further readings that confirm the diagnosis. Most of the giant steps that have taken place in most instances comprise the following

1. Measurement of BP:

 The doctor must take measurements at different times so he has at least two or more measurements.

2. Disease history:

it will include a proper history of diseases and the risk factors for them, family history, and symptoms.

3. General Appraisal:

she should be guided to become aware of the presentations or expressions of actual complications of relevant diseases.

4. Other Researches:

Blood workup and urinalysis, and ECGs need to be conducted for evaluation of the current situation and potential cause  

Treatment of Hypertension

As much as it would depend on how much of the severity of hypertension and diseases were left behind to worsen in situ how much it might be vulnerable to lifestyle changes or drugs.

Lifestyle Interventions

1. Diet:

The DASH diet was heart-friendly with plentiful amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grain, low-fat dairy products that significantly reduced blood pressure.
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2.Physical Activity:

For normal body weight, at least 150 minutes of moderate work should be obtained in a week, and beside that, lower the blood pressure.

3.Weight Management:

Even for the highly obese patients with very high level of hypertensions, moderate weight loss reductions.

4.Limiting Sodium Intake:

Reducing sodium consumption to less than 2,300 mg per day (or ideally 1,500 mg) can help lower blood pressure.

5.  Alcohol:

Moderation in one word. Some good can be attained through alcohol-cutting by one drink in women and two drinks in men.

6  Quit Smoking:

Quitting smoking also makes a person healthy-related to the heart because it also lowered the blood pressure of the individual.

7. Manage stress:

Meditate, do some yoga, and do deep breathing to keep your stress level as minimal as possible.

Drugs Rationale

Another factor in it is smoking and alcohol, which are considered bad drugs. Their effect on health is for a short period, but they release a very significant outcome in the long term. Other than this factor is managing stress, a major solution for the lifestyle to be healthy.

Medications

They need to start taking the medication right away, if lifestyle change won't work-the blood pressure pills. Among all, there are far too many classes and categories of the antihypertensive drugs. Some of them include;

1.Diuretics:

The term diuretics is usually referred to as "water pills". Diuretics help flush out the sodium bound with water, and this normally makes the kidneys to lower blood volume.

2. ACE Inhibitors:

 They cause dilation of the blood vessels by inhibiting the production of one of the hormones whose level circulating in blood results in contraction of the blood vessel walls.

3. ARBs, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers:

These drugs do roughly the same things that the ACE inhibitors do but instead of that, they block the action of one hormone that would otherwise have allowed vasoconstriction to take place.

4. Calcium Channel Blockers:

it also carries the claim of being an anti-arrhythmic stretch muscle in the heart as well as of the blood vessels and also said to be causing a drop in blood pressure.

5. Beta-Blockers:

this will reduce the heart's pumping speed at which the blood will also have lessened tension of contraction and therefore blood pressure will fall.

6. Renin Inhibitors:

This will result in low activity level which successively lowers the levels of renin. As this is the low level of renin, the pressure is sure to increase with the enzyme known as enzyme.

Follow-up Monitoring

Monitoring will be very spontaneous, and the alarm very intuitive. The patients will look forward to health care providers coming up with the best drug that should be followed in controlling the situation. Blood pressure home monitoring helps the patient see developments and even problems that they might need to solve.

Conclusion

It is some of those conditions that continue remaining under-diagnosed but may as well turn fatal if unchecked. Indeed, the condition genuinely concerns only its understanding through knowing causes, developing awareness of symptoms as well as lifestyle modification that appears helpful in the prevention of associated health disorders and the development of any form of hypertensive disorder. Patients diagnosed to be suffering from hypertension but are unaware of such a disease will become better if they receive proper treatment with follow-ups from physicians routinely. Then, there would be proper and proactive steps toward a healthier full life minus one marked by high blood pressure.