What is Hypertension :: Hyper Tension Symptoms, Warning Signs & Treatment

We know Hypertension in simple words as high blood pressure. It is a condition when heart vessel has to increase the pressure to pump the blood to different parts of body.

Not necessarily individual show the symptoms of hypertension. Most of them do not feel sick and even though they suffer from hypertension. Therefore it is termed as ‘silent killer’ too.

Hypertension can be classified as primary (essential) or secondary conditions.
Primary hypertension means no specific medical cause can be found for patient’s condition. It may be due to multiple risk factors like heredity, race, overweight, addictions to tobacco and alcohol, stress, high fat or high-sodium diet in at risk individuals.
Secondary type of high blood pressure is related to other medical causes like, kidney diseases or tumors.

Patients suffering from persistent hypertension are at a great risk of strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and chronic kidney problems, if untreated timely and properly.

Range of normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is termed as “pre-hypertension”, and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered as high.

The higher or top number (systolic blood pressure), shows pressure in arteries as heart contracts and pumps blood forward into arteries. The lower or bottom number (diastolic pressure) corresponds pressure in arteries as heart relaxes after contraction. An increase in systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure increases the risk of developing heart (cardiac) disease, kidney (renal) disease, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis), eye damage, and stroke (brain damage).

Treatment for hypertension:
Treatment of primary high blood pressure, especially moderate or severe high blood pressure, decreases the risk of heart and kidney disease, and it reduces the risk of death.

While treating hypertension it is important to note severity of the condition. Depending upon your life style, sugar level and heart problem your doctor may first advice you life style changes such as controlling weight, taking balance diet, doing regular exercises, cutting down salt intake, controlling alcohol intake etc.

Besides these, certain medicines are very effective to treat high blood pressure. Your doctor may prescribe you medications to achieve desired blood pressure level.
• Diuretics
• Angiotensin – Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
• Angiotensin-2 Receptor Antagonist
• Beta Blockers
• Calcium Channel Blocker
• Alpha blockers

Treatment of secondary high blood pressure varies depending on the cause. If you are suffering from high blood pressure caused by kidney disease treatment for hypertension will also include treatment for kidney problem. If you have secondary high blood pressure, you may have to take blood pressure medicine for long time, even if the underlying condition is treated. Older adults, African Americans, Children and Pregnant women would require special consideration while treating hypertension.

Quit Smoking - Live Long… Benefits of Quit Smoking

Most people have try hard to quit smoking themselves or when they are trying to convince others for the same. It is not just because they don’t want to quit smoking but in reality it is very difficult to change the habit. Time and again the medical professionals all over the world have proved that smoking is one the most contributory factor for the death of a human being. At the Initial stage beginners and teenagers indulge themselves in smoking just because of force or influence from the peer group, to try the new taste, just for fun, to impress others, to get immediate relief from the stress etc. reasons. At this stage they enjoy smoking. Eventually by the time they realize that they have become addicted to smoking it becomes difficult for them to give up it. Due to Nicotine, the fatal substance in tobacco makes the person addicted to smoking and then he/she becomes hardcore chain smokers. In efforts to quit smoking, nicotine shows withdrawal signs, so simply they unable to get rid of this smoking addiction. Withdrawal symptoms like cravings, headache, cough, fatigue, anxiety, anger, insomnia, constipation, weight gain etc can put tremendous pressure on someone who is trying to give it up, and more than often leads to them picking up the habit again.

Smokers have been trying various experiments from eating specific kinds of selected foods to all sorts of medicine including herbal, homeopathy to allopathic medicines in the efforts of trying to get rid of the cigarette cravings- the white cancer stick. For them to quit smoking and changing the habit is a herculean task because tobacco contains nicotine which is highly addictive to the body and mind just like cocaine and other addictive drugs. The body and mind get so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person has to smoke just to feel normal and think straight, after taking a puff smokers feel that it enhances the concentration, which is a myth.

Quit smoking because it does not affect the smoker himself but his kith and kin, spouse, finance, business, reputation, health of the family members especially children are worst hit. Also smoking is an open invitation to deadly disease like cancer, premature wrinkles of the body, erectile dysfunction, ulcers of the abdomen and many other ill effects of smoking, besides smoking contains over a thousand of deadly and harmful chemicals which inversely effects the smoker’s health with high risk of illness, low density of bones, infertility and reduced physical sexual performance, bad breadth, stained teeth and the list is a lengthy one, therefore its always advisable to quit smoking.

Today, health care practitioners and counselors work so hard to convince smokers to quit smoking by offering successful aids and therapies. One should avail the facilities but most importantly fist of all one has to make own mind strongly to quit smoking for the life time and further help and encourage others for the same.