High Blood Pressure (hypertension): Symptoms, Causes and Risk for HBP

Blood Pressure is the force of blood pressure while it is circulating on the arterial walls. In a person with HBP or hypertension, this force is higher than normal and causes the arterial walls to shrink and thicken, exerting additional pressure on the heart. Blood pressure also fluctuates in healthy subjects. It tends to increase with physical activity, fear or emotional stress, but these increases are generally transient

Most doctors will not diagnose hypertension unless the blood pressure is high on at least three separate occasions. Obesity, alcohol and sugar consumption and hereditary and ethnic factors contribute, as well as diabetes, kidney disease and pregnancy.It is usually only when secondary complications (damage to the arteries, brain, eyes or any other part of the body) have developed symptoms,  by wich time the condition is serious

How does your heart work?

To know what high blood pressure is, you need to understand a little bit about how the heart muscle works. Your heart is a muscular pump that pushes blood around all organs in the body that provides oxygen and nutrients it needs through your blood vessels. The pumping action is activated by electrical signals which are sent through the electrical system of the heart to the heart muscle.These are signs of the heart when to contracting (squeeze) and when to relaxing 

This pumping action pushes blood from the right side of the heart into the lungs, where it collects oxygen. Then, the blood returns to the left side of the heart and is expelled to be transported from the rest of the body through the blood vessels. The valves between the chambers of your heart make the blood flow in the right direction

Your blood vessels are carrying  blood to and from your heart:

• Arteries: carry blood rich with  oxygen from the heart throughout the body

• Veins: carry the blood that has returned its oxygen to the heart

What is Blood Pressure? 

Blood pressure is the force (pressure) exerted by the blood inside the arteries (walls of the blood vessels). Some pressure is needed to maintain blood folowing throughout the body. When you run or walk fast, your heart will beat faster and your blood pressure will rise. This is normal and is a good workout for your heart. In any case , if the BP is always high, the lining of the blood vessels can be damaged. If you smoke or have high cholesterol, damage to your blood vessels can increase. When blood pressure is high, the heart has to do much more work to pump blood throughout the body

• Blood is transported throughout the body in tubes called blood vessels. The heart beat continues to move through the blood vessels

• Blood pressure is a measurement of the pressure in the walls of the largest blood vessels called ateries

What is Normal Blood Pressure?

BP varies from moment to moment. It is influenced by many causes, such as breathing, body position, emotional state, exercise, sleep, medications and alcohol (gorg). Normal blood pressure is below 130/85 mmhg. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmhg)

Blood Pressure is composed as two numbers, such as 112/78 mmhg. The highest number, systolic, is the pressure when the heart beats. The bottom number, diastolic, is the pressure when the heart rests between the beats. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm hg. If you are an adult and your systolic blood pressure is between 120 and 129 and your diastolic blood pressure is less than 80, you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a pressure of 130 systolic or higher, or 80 diastolic or higher, which remains high over time

Blood pressure is generally recorded as two numbers:

• The upper (systolic) number represents the pressure when the heart muscle contracts

• The lower number (diastolic) represents the pressure while the heart rests between the beats

What is High Blood Pressure?

High Blood Pressure is one of the most common disease that affect the heart and blood vessels. It is important to ask your nurse or healthcare professional to monitor your blood pressure. High blood pressure (HBP) means that the pressure in the arteries is higher than it should be. Another name for HBP is hypertension

What are the Symptoms of Hypertension?

There are no clear or specific signs or symptoms for people with high blood pressure 

However, some patients with high blood pressure, especially at dangerously high levels may have:

• Headaches

• Shortness of breath

• Nosebleeds

What Causes Hypertension?

Am I at greater risk of developing HBP? There are risk factors that increase your chances of developing hypertention. Some you can control and others you can't

Those that can be controlled are:

• Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke

• Diabetes

• Being obese or overweight

• High cholesterol

• Too much salt in the diet

• Unhealthy diet (high in sodium, low in potassium and Too much alcohol consumption)

• Lack of Physical inactivity

Factors that cannot be changed or difficult to control are:

• Family history of high blood pressure

• Race / ethnicity

• Older age 

• Gender (men)

• Chronic kidney disease and obstructive sleep apnea

• Adrenal and thyroid disorders

Socioeconomic status and psychosocial stress are also risk factors for hypertension. These can affect access to basic lifestyle needs, medications, healthcare professionals and the ability to make lifestyle changes

How Do I Know when I have HBP?

The only way to know if you have hypertention is to measure it. HBP usually has no symptoms, sometimes BPH causes headaches or nosebleeds, so most people don't know they have HBP until their blood pressure is checked. Some readings will be necessary because it is normal for blood pressure to vary from time to time throughout the day. Other factors such as exercise or emotion also affect blood pressure levels

If you have already been diagnosed with HBP or if you have another health condition such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease or have had a stroke, you will need to check your blood pressure more often

How is Blood Pressure measured?

Blood pressure is usually measured with outomated BP  monitor. This device uses a "cuff" that wraps around the upper arm. The person taking BP should check the pulse at the same time. This is to ensure that your heart rate is regular. Having an irregular heart beat can make reading on outomated BP  monitor less reliable. A single reading of HBP does not necessarily mean that you have HBP. BP floats during the day

Feelings of anxiety or stress can also increase your blood pressure when you measure it. Your doctor may ask you to check your blood pressure at home for a period of time if your blood pressure is high (over 140/90 mm hg). Home monitoring can be done through 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) or home BP monitoring (HBPM). This will confirm whether your BP is consistently high or if it was only once

When having your Blood Pressure taken?

• Avoid alcohol, smoking and exercise for 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure

• Make sure you have emptied your bladder

• Rest for at least 5 minutes before reading. Ideally, you should sit quietly with your arm resting and rest on a solid surface

• Take off your long-sleeved clothes or roll up your sleeves so you can put the bracelet around your upper arm

• Do not speak during blood pressure measurement as this may affect reading

Risks for Hypertension / High blood pressure

Persistent High Blood Pressure can increase the risk of several serious and life-threatening conditions, such as:

• Heart disease

• Heart failure

• Stroke and transient ischaemic attacks  (TIAs)

• Peripheral arterial disease

• Kidney failure

• Eye problems

• Vascular dementia