High blood pressure
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, affects 30 percent of Americans over the age of 20 and can cause many serious health issues, such as stroke and heart failure. Therefore, it is important to understand hypertension, its causes, symptoms and treatment, and what you can do to prevent it.
Blood pressure is read using two numbers. The first number, the systolic reading, measures the blood pressure as the heart contracts, and the second number, the diastolic reading, measures the pressure as the heart relaxes. One is considered to have pre-hypertension if his or her blood pressure is 120-139/80-89. Stage 1 hypertension is 140-159/90-99 and stage 2 hypertension is 160 and above/100 and above.
Many things can contribute to developing hypertension, including smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, too much salt in the diet, too much alcohol consumption, stress, old age, and genetics. Certain groups are also at higher risk of developing high blood pressure than others, particularly African Americans, women who are pregnant and women who take birth control pills.
Usually, high blood pressure does not exhibit symptoms, which is why it is important to be checked regularly. If, however, you have an extreme case of hypertension you may experience severe headaches, fatigue or confusion, vision problems, chest pains, difficulty breathing, an irregular heartbeat or blood in your urine. It is more important to recognize that hypertension can cause an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure and vision problems.
Treatment of high blood pressure usually involves lifestyle changes, which include changing your diet, exercising regularly and quitting smoking. You should talk to your doctor about which lifestyle changes to make.
In addition, there are several drug therapy options to go along with lifestyle changes:
ACE Inhibitors — Limit the effect of a chemical that narrows blood vessels, allowing for easier passage of blood and lower blood pressure.
Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers — Reduce the effect of a chemical in your body that narrows your blood vessels.
Diuretics — Help your body to expel excess water and salt, effectively lowering blood pressure by lowering the volume of fluid in your body.
Beta Blockers — Reduce the effect of adrenaline on your heart, which decreases the amount of work your heart has to do and effectively lowers blood pressure.
Calcium Channel Blockers — Relax blood vessels, which leads to lower blood pressure
All of these drug treatment options must be considered carefully with your doctor before they are employed.
Cholesterol
Another risk factor for cardiovascular disease along with hypertension is the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Too much cholesterol in the blood causes plaque to develop in the arteries. Plaque is a thick, hard deposit that can clog the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow and raising blood pressure.
There are different types of cholesterol — “good” and “bad” — and each affects your body in different ways. Cholesterol travels through the blood attached to a protein. These protein-and-cholesterol pairs are called lipoproteins, and are classified by the ratio of fat to protein in the lipoprotein. “Good cholesterol,” made up of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), is high in protein and helps the body remove cholesterol from blood vessels. “Bad cholesterol,” made up of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), on the other hand, contributes to the buildup of plaque on the artery walls, and, along with very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), contributes to heart disease.
Many factors contribute to the levels of cholesterol in your body. Saturated fats and cholesterol in your food can raise your levels, as can being overweight. Your age, gender and genes can also affect your cholesterol levels, and while you may not have control over how much cholesterol your body produces, it is still important to keep your cholesterol low. One way to do this is to exercise, which increases the levels of HDL and decreases the levels of LDL. In addition, you should eat foods low in fat and cholesterol and abstain from smoking.
The most common drugs for treatment of high cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association, are statin drugs. Statin drugs (like atorvastatin, simvastatin, rosuvastatin, and others), work by stopping the effects of the hormone in the body that causes the production of cholesterol. They also lower the levels of LDL by helping the liver remove more of it from the blood.
Other drug treatment options are available as well, but all must be accompanied by a healthy diet, exercise regimen, and, if you are overweight, a weight loss program. You should talk to your doctor about your cholesterol levels and what can be done if they are high and you are at risk for heart disease.
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