A Silent Killer.

Hypertension or arterial hypertension is a very serious and grave condition which can make you or your beloved ones sleep before you could blink. In hypertension the pressure in our arteries accelerate and mount up which propels the heart to work faster as well as with more power to maintain the supple of blood in the vessels and can have dire consequences.Normal blood pressure is generally below 120/80 mm HG (Systolic= 90-119) (Diastolic= 60-79) and hypertension is caused when the reading is at least 140/90 mm HG  .


Effects of High Blood pressure:-
1. High blood pressure can annihilate your arterial system debilitating the artery's inner lining. This launches a cascade of processes which make our arterial wall thick and stiff called arteriosclerosis. This causes fats from your diet to enter your arteries and accumulating there which subsequently causes choking of blood supply in your body leading to heart failure, kidney failure, cerebral hemorrhage.



2. Due to continued supply of blood from the weak and feeble arteries, a section of arteries could swell and this could lead to rupture giving way to internal bleeding and causing the victim to die.

3. Heart Failure: Because of hypertension your heart has to do more work than its capacity or its potential and this cause cause heart muscles to weak and work with less efficacy leading to heart failure.

4. 

Hypertension is one of the causes of Dementia. Hypertension blocks the supply of blood to our brain causing dementia.

5.Stroke happens when our brain doesn't receive adequate and ample supply of blood or oxygen. The obliteration of arteries can lead to internal bleeding in the brain and can also lead to stroke.

6. High blood pressure can lead to damage of arteries and small blood vessels in kidney curtail the efficiency of kidneys and restraining them from filtering blood and therefore making kidneys recede.


Symptoms of Hypertension:-
Victims of hypertension rarely exhibit any abnormal condition. A proportion of people victimized by the ailment report headache in the back most probably in the morning (as in case of 32nd US Prez Franklin D. Roosevelt), altered or blurred vision, fainting and lightheadedness. Problems in kidney, heart etc. can lead to Hypertension too. People with thyroid, truncal obesity, glucose intolerance are more prone to the attack.
Breathlessness, cough, chest pain, blood stained sputum, heart muscles damage (Due to high blood pressure), anemia, kidney damage are things which cast the web of this serious and chronic disease. 

Irritability, anger, lack of energy and difficulty in breathing are prevalent in children affected by the illness.

Causes of Hypertension:

Hypertension rises with aging. This could generally have an impact on someone due to genes factor and environmental situation. Recently numerous genes variant which affect the blood pressure have been discovered but the genetic causes have been murky and gloomy as enough study and research has not been done in this sector. Vitamin D deficiency and obesity also contribute in a brobdingnagian manner in the hypertension.

Diagnosis of Hypertension:

Hypertension Stage 1: Blood pressure 140-159 mm HG systolic and 90 mm HG diastolic.

Hypertension Stage 2: Blood pressure- systolic 160 or higher and diastolic 100 or higher.

Blood pressure is measured by an instrument sphygmamonometer. If your doctor has observed high blood pressure in your body he will then take your blood pressure reading in three other appointments as blood pressure level fluctuate after that he may recommend some tests like ECG (Electrocardiogram), urine test and blood test.

Prevention

1.Maintain normal body weight.
2.Reduce dietary sodium intake (<6g of NaCl (Sodium Chloride) and <2.4g of Sodium per day)
3.Limit alcohol consumption to no more than 3 units/day for men and 2 units per day for women.
4.Consume a balanced diet.
5. Walk for at least 30 minutes per day and do exercises and meditation.

Awareness
World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified hypertension as the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality leading to innumerable deaths. World Hypertension League (WHL) has said that around 50% people even don't know that they are affected by it. Every day May 17 is observed as World Hypertension Day. Using Mass media and Internet people are making others aware of this disease therefore disseminating knowledge of this disease.


Now we all have a need to do something, to do something for the people and for the welfare of the society.

Jai Hind, jai Bharat

Jai Ma  Bharti