Hypertension: The Silent Killer

Why Is Hypertension Dangerous?

Hypertension is known as the silent killer because you rarely know you have it unless you have regular blood pressure readings taken. Symptoms of hypertension are "silent," meaning they either don't appear at all, or they're so subtle that you may never notice them. But make no mistake, hypertension is a killer.

Why is hypertension dangerous? Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure, and to understand why it can be deadly, you need to understand what blood pressure means. As explained elsewhere on this website, a blood pressure reading is a way of measuring the pressure exerted by your blood against your blood vessel walls as it circulates through the body.

When you have high blood pressure or hypertension, it means your heart has to pump blood harder and exert more pressure than it should to force blood through your circulatory system to your organs and tissues. The reason hypertension is a serious health threat is usually because your blood vessels have narrowed. As these blood vessels grow more narrow (usually with advancing age), the wear and tear on the heart increases. Hypertension is therefore a major factor that increases your chances of having a heart attack or stroke someday.

Essential hypertension causes Heredity is one of the main hypertension causes. If your family has a history of high blood pressure, it's more likely you'll get it too.

But very often, your lifestyle causes hypertension. These lifestyle choices seem to make hypertension more likely:

• alcohol abuse or alcoholism,
• a sedentary lifestyle that includes little or no exercise,
• obesity,
• poor diet and nutrition choices that increase your cholesterol levels.

Kidney problems can also trigger high blood pressure. It's essential for anyone with kidney problems should get regular blood pressure readings to make sure their blood pressure is in the normal range.

What are the symptoms of hypertension? Hypertension often develops slowly over the course of many years. Very often, hypertension can become dangerous before you ever know you have it because you won't notice a single symptom. This is one of the reasons hypertension has been called a "silent killer."

The subtle, often unnoticeable symptoms include

• occasional dizziness or nausea,
• headache,
• blurred or double vision.

The symptoms of hypertension are similar to the symptoms of other health problems, however. So the best way to determine if you have this silent killer is to have regular blood pressure readings done. This way you'll know for sure that your blood pressure is in the normal range - or not.

Hypertension treatment guidelines If you find out you have hypertension, you'll need to work with your doctor to bring your blood pressure down. Your doctor will certainly recommend lifestyle changes: getting more exercise, eating blood-pressure-friendly foods, and lowering your cholesterol levels.

Prescription medications may be essential to help you manage your hypertension. These include diuretics, ACE inhibitors and beta blockers. For a more detailed description of how these medications work, click on blood pressure medications. Also see high blood pressure treatment.
 

Click Here To Read About the Most Current Developments in Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Health