High Blood Pressure
Your Health Information
What is high blood pressure?
When blood is pumped out of the heart and into the arteries, it pushes against the artery walls. Narrowed blood vessels or an increased volume of blood in them increase the pressure of blood on the vessel walls. The added pressure makes the vessel walls grow thicker, harder and less elastic.
This can damage the blood vessels and the organs which depend on these channels for their blood supply. Because the vessel passages become smaller, the heart has to work harder and needs more oxygen to pump the same amount of blood as it did before the condition existed.
Fright, emotional stress or exercise can cause occasional fluctuations of blood pressure. These temporary elevations are normal and do not harm the body. But sustained high blood pressure is extremely serious because of its long-term effect on important body organs. Over time, hypertension can lead to a heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and heart failure by damaging blood vessels and restricting blood flow to vital organs.
Early detection and treatment of hypertension can prevent serious complications later on. On the average, individuals with uncontrolled hypertension are three times as likely to develop heart disease, six times as likely to suffer heart failure and seven times as likely to have a stroke as individuals with controlled high blood pressure.
How do you know if you have high blood pressure?
Most health problems have symptoms. You feel sick, tired, weak, uncomfortable or even in pain. But you can have high blood pressure and feel perfectly fine, even though it is damaging your body. A few people may have headaches, shortness of breath, chest pains, heart palpitations or dizziness because of high blood pressure. But these symptoms can occur unrelated to hypertension. Most people experience no symptoms at all. The only sure way to detect high blood pressure is to have it checked.
Adults should have their blood pressure checked at least once a year. This can be done at hospitals, clinics, employee health departments and health fairs, as well as during routine physical examinations.
Why does high blood pressure occur?
Many people think hypertension results from anxiety or emotional tension and that it afflicts only people who are high-strung, have high pressure jobs or face many problems. But statistics do not support this idea. Many calm individuals have high blood pressure.
Definite causes are unknown for most hypertensives. Certain groups seem to be at special risk, however. People who are older, overweight, diabetic or have a family history of high blood pressure are most likely candidates for the condition.
High blood pressure most often affects individuals over age 35, but it can occur at any age. Up to age 50, men are more likely than women to develop high blood pressure, although statistics for women increase after menopause.
Pregnant women can develop high blood pressure, particularly during the last three months of pregnancy. This condition, called pre-eclampsia, can be dangerous to both mother and child, so expectant mothers should have their blood pressure checked at least once a month.
Birth control pills have also been linked to hypertension. Women taking oral contraceptives should have their blood pressure checked regularly. Blood pressure usually returns to normal within six months after a woman stops taking the Pill.
Doctors don't know why, but high blood pressure is a particularly serious problem among blacks. It has been called the number one killer of blacks. One out of every four black persons has high blood pressure, a rate more than 8 percent higher than the general American population.
How can you lower your blood pressure?
If you have high blood pressure, your doctor can give you instructions for controlling it. These may include diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes, as well as prescription medication.
Losing weight, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, exercising and decreasing the amount of stress in your life can help lower your blood pressure.
Your doctor will probably tell you to cut back on salt. Medical researchers aren't sure why, but salt increases blood pressure in some people. Excessive salt causes the body to retain water and adds extra work for the heart.
You can trim your salt intake in several simple ways. Avoid using salt in cooking; try substituting lemon juice, herbs and spices. Take the salt shaker off your dinner table. Choose fresh foods instead of processed ones containing lots of salts and preservatives. Stay away from chips, pretzels, packaged soups, lunch meats, canned hams and hot dogs.
Your doctor can provide a low-salt, low-calorie diet tailored to your own medical condition, food preferences and lifestyle. Many local bookstores and public libraries offer low-salt and low-calorie cookbooks.
