What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the world. So what does it mean when someone has hypertension with hypertension? The patient consistently keep suffering from a mean higher blood pressure as compared to the normal range. In other words, it means that the pressure of the blood in the arteries tends to remain higher than what it should be when measured by a blood pressure monitor. The optimal normal blood pressure measurement is considered to be 120 over 80 M-m H.G. and the normal upper range of blood pressure is believed to be one hundred and thirty five. Over 90 M-m h.g. When a person shows blood pressure measurements that are higher than the normal upper range, then the person is said to have high blood pressure or hypertension. High blood pressure can prove to be lethal as it can affect normal heart functioning. It also can cause brain damage and can hamper normal kidney functions. Data suggests shortened life expectancy in patients if proper treatment and management is not applied, many different factors can contribute to the occurrence of the disease. It has been noted that about 90 to 95 percent of the people who have hypertension suffer from primary hypertension. The word primary hypertension implies that the hypertension is of unknown origin. Still, there are some factors that have been found to contribute to the occurrence of the disease. The biggest one is obesity and weight gain. These play a major role in the development of hypertension. Obesity may account for 65 to 70 percent of the risk for the onset of hypertension. In an individual, sedentary lifestyles are a lifestyle devoid of physical activity, and they've been termed as a leading cause for the development of hypertension in most patients. Junk food and high sodium intake is also a culprit. We are naturally adapted for the intake of 2.5 grams of salt per day, and usually the same amount of salt has to be excreted from the body.

Hypertension can develop as a consequence of the body not being able to excrete sodium from its system properly. Most junk foods contain high quantities of sodium, which leads to increased sodium load in the body. Therefore, junk foods should be avoided. Some other factors are diabetes, aging, emotional stress and low potassium intake. These all also contribute to increasing the probability of developing hypertension. Now that we've learned a little bit about hypertension, here are three ways you can manage it. First, a non pharmacological approach does not involve medication. It mostly pertains to having an active lifestyle. The aim of such an active lifestyle is to promote weight loss in patients by increasing their physical activity. It also involves diet control and stress management, reduced salt, alcohol and tobacco consumption and increased potassium and fiber intake are prescribed in this approach. The second approach is a pharmacological approach. In this one, specific drugs are used to control high blood pressure. Most patients find it hard to change their lifestyle. People get used to leading a specific way of life for so many years and prefer drugs instead of making a change in their daily routines. These drugs work by maintaining the blood pressure at normal levels so the injury to the different organs of the body can be avoided. And lastly, a combination of both pharmacological and non pharmacological approaches can be used. This comprehensive hypertension management approach focuses on reducing the overall harmful effects of the disease by applying both lifestyle modifications and pharmacological interventions