High blood pressure in humans

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.

Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. A blood pressure reading is given in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). It has two numbers.

Symptoms

Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels.

A few people with high blood pressure may have headaches, shortness of breath or nosebleeds, but these signs and symptoms aren't specific and usually don't occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage.

Causes

There are two types of high blood pressure.

Primary Hypertension

For most adults, there's no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure, called primary (essential) hypertension, tends to develop gradually over many years.

Secondary Hypertension

A few groups have hypertension brought about by a fundamental condition. This sort of hypertension, called optional hypertension, will in general show up out of nowhere and cause more severe hypertension than does essential hypertension. Different conditions and drugs can prompt auxiliary hypertension, including:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Kidney disease
• Adrenal gland tumors
• Thyroid problems
• Certain defects you're born with (congenital) in blood vessels
• Certain medications, such as birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs
• Illegal drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines

Both numbers in a blood pressure reading are important. But after age 50, the systolic reading is even more important. Isolated systolic hypertension is a condition in which the diastolic pressure is normal but systolic pressure is high. This is a common type of high blood pressure among people older than 65.

Because blood pressure normally varies during the day and may increase during a doctor visit (white coat hypertension), your doctor will likely take several blood pressure readings at three or more separate appointments before diagnosing

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Nancy Ella