Hypertension: One major factor that causes high blood pressure

Hypertension is the leading cause of stroke, heart disease, renal complications and premature death. However, very few of us really have the awareness that the condition is nothing but high blood pressure.

Dr. Vikas Chopra, Sr. Consultant Interventional Cardiologist-Department of Cardiology, Primus Super Speciality Hospital,New Delhi says, “Yes, hypertension is commonly known as high blood pressure and can result due to many issues like family history, sedentary lifestyle, age, poor diet and stress among others. The pressure in arteries when the heart beats are known as systolic blood pressure and the pressure in arteries when the heart rests is called diastolic blood pressure.”

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the normal pressure level should be less than 120/80 mmHg. You are at risk of prehypertension in case of systolic: 120–139 mm Hg and diastolic: 80–89 mm Hg. Moreover, hypertension is caused when the systolic is 140 mm Hg or higher and the diastolic is 90 mm Hg or higher.

According to Dr. Chopra, “A sedentary lifestyle and an imbalanced routine have been the cause of many critical health conditions lately. People, often in the corporate world, are so passionate about achieving unachievable results that they skip the red flags their body sends. Excessive smoking, consuming alcohol, lack of physical activities, bad diet (that includes a lot of junk and no seasonal fruits & vegetables, dairy, whole grains, protein etc) are all part of an unhealthy lifestyle. Being hooked to the screen on our palms is another reason why we are not really paying attention to our routine. Not moving their bodies too much and living a sedentary lifestyle is the biggest factor contributing to hypertension.”

Stage 1 hypertension occurs when the top reading ranges from 130 to 139mm Hg or the bottom reading is 80 to 90 mmHg. Whereas, Stage 2 hypertension occurs when the top reading ranges from 140 mm Hg or higher or the bottom reading is 90 mmHg or higher. People with high blood pressure have face symptoms such as headaches, shortness of breath, and even nosebleeds.

“These are not specific to everyone and do not always occur unless the high blood pressure has reached a life-threatening level. An acute, marked elevation in the blood pressure linked with signs of target-organ damage is a hypertensive emergency. The patient in such a condition must receive emergency medical help with blood pressure numbers higher than 180/120 mm Hg. Hypertensive emergency comprises cardiac ischemia, pulmonary edema, acute renal failure, eclampsia, aortic dissection, and neurologic deficits,” says Dr. Chopra.

High blood pressure patients can not exhibit any symptoms. You can only find out by having your blood pressure checked. Therefore, prompt blood pressure monitoring and having a BP monitor on hand may aid patients in adopting preventative steps.