Q. What is hypertension?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high. It can lead to heart disease, stroke and other serious health problems if left untreated. It is one of the most common conditions affecting people worldwide, with nearly one-third of adults in the United States having it.
The two components that make up blood pressure are systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number). A normal blood pressure reading should be less than 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). If your systolic reading is between 130 to 139 or diastolic reading between 80 to 89 then you have hypertension.
Hypertension can have many causes including lifestyle behaviors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity or being overweight; medical conditions like kidney or thyroid problems; family history; stress; smoking; drinking alcohol excessively; illegal drug use; and certain medications such as birth control pills or some cold medicines.
Treatment for hypertension involves lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, increasing physical activity levels and eating a healthy diet rich in fruits & vegetables while limiting salt intake. Your doctor may also prescribe medication to lower your blood pressure if lifestyle changes alone don't work well enough. These medications include ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme), beta blockers and calcium channel blockers among others which work by relaxing your arteries so that more oxygenated blood flows through them more easily thus helping reduce your risk for potential health complications associated with uncontrolled hypertension.
It's important to get regular checkups to monitor your progress because hypertension can increase risk for other long term health issues including stroke & damage to organs due heart not receiving enough oxygenated flow from restricted pathways caused by clogged arteries stemming from hypertension over time without proper management or treatment intervention plans put into place when medically indicated by primary care physician(s).
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