Hypertension Causes

The pressure your heart exerts while pumping blood into your body determines your blood pressure. The range for normal blood pressure is 120/80. The first number is called the systolic pressure or the pressure the heart applies while pumping blood. The second number is called the diastolic pressure which is when the heart is at rest. Anything higher than this range is considered to be some form of hypertension.

For people who have chronic diseases, the normal range is lower than this range as their chronic conditions causes a weakening of the heart and other organs.

Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure and high blood pressure indicates that your heart is working harder than it should. Hypertension can be caused by different chronic diseases and by lifestyle choices too. There are different types of hypertension: essential, sudden, secondary and pre hypertension. Regular high blood pressure is called essential or primary hypertension. Certain essential hypertension causes are usually lifestyle related causes like a high body mass index (BMI), obesity, physical inactivity and water retention. Even change in the body type like pregnancy can cause hypertension. Sudden hypertension causes include the excessive consumption of stimulants like coffee, alcohol or even drugs, excess stress, or a major mishap or tragedy. Sometimes there are medical reasons for blood pressure to spike suddenly. Pre hypertension is elevated levels in blood pressure but not as high enough to be called hypertension. Pre hypertension causes include constantly elevated blood pressure levels due to hormonal imbalances. Obesity is a big cause for pre hypertension. Secondary hypertension is hypertension caused by a primary cause. Secondary hypertension causes include kidney trouble, lung or liver disease, heart disease, tumor in the adrenal gland and hereditary narrowing of the aorta. Once the cause or the disease is treated, the secondary hypertension usually corrects itself. It is important to understand hypertension causes and cures in order to correct one’s lifestyle and habits and thus control this condition.

In some cases, hypertension causes and effects can be related to certain medications as an individual’s regular medication causes hypertension. Medication like pain medication or contraceptives have shown to eventually cause hypertension. Hypertension has many causes, effects and cures. The causes of hypertension are usually lifestyle-related which makes it one of the most pervasive diseases in the world today along with diabetes and heart disease. Most of the effects of hypertension are slow and affect organ health and life. Cures of hypertension are not medical. It involves improving your life and eating healthily.

Hypertension Treatment

Hypertension can be treated with drugs but doctors generally advise a lifestyle change as that is a more long lasting and permanent cure. Some of the drugs given to hypertension patients include diuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, nervous system inhibitors and vasodilators. Each of these drug types do a different function and can help bring down blood pressure. As hypertension is affecting people quite rapidly, organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have treatment guidelines on how to deal with hypertension. These guidelines list out the different aspects of lifestyle changes you can make to reduce hypertension or the use of drugs to control hypertension. In all the hypertension treatments, one of the important hypertension treatments is a morning walk for one hour every day. The walk acts as a very effective treatment for hypertension. There is no such cure for hypertension but by leading a healthier life by choice of exercising every day and eating nourishing and healthy food, you can aim for prevention of hypertension. Basic lifestyle changes include dieting to lose weight, controlling foods like processed and fatty foods, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol intake, managing and learning to cope with stress, cutting down the tea and coffee intake. There are several natural and herbal hypertension treatment options. If you have borderline results from a Blood pressure test, the doctor may suggest a natural hypertension treatment to control this condition. However, it is important to follow the provided hypertension treatment guidelines as neglecting treatment can aggravate the condition. Increasing the amount of garlic you eat can slowly regulate your blood pressure. Lightly crush a garlic pod and add it to a glass of hot water. Allow it to stand undisturbed for fifteen minutes and then drink the water. You should do this as soon as you wake up as it is an effective morning hypertension treatment. In certain cases, there is no hypertension cure and instead you will need to take certain steps to control the condition. Those with a family history of hypertension will have to follow a hypertension prevention plan to avoid hypertension.

Fish oil and folic acid, both are considered good for reducing hypertension. Foods like honey, water chestnut and turnips have been known to reduce hypertension. Reducing the consumption of excess salt and sugar, especially table salt, is also very important. Reduction of fried foods, fatty foods and junk and processed food is also quite important for effective hypertension treatments. Yoga and meditation has also had a positive effect on bringing down high blood pressure. Eating a few pieces of the Indian gooseberry every day can bring down high blood pressure. Chewing on leaves of holy basil and neem every day can also bring relief. Eating a spoonful of soaked fenugreek seeds is also an effective home remedy for hypertension. A powdered mixture of equal parts of cumin seeds and anise seeds mixed with water is known to be beneficial for hypertension. Grapefruit and baked potatoes are also very good to bring down blood pressure. A ground mixture of watermelon seeds and poppy seeds, taken on an empty stomach with water, is very good to control high blood pressure. A mixture of onion juice and honey is known to be very good for high blood pressure.

Blood Pressure Symptoms

The symptoms of hypertension aren’t that obvious. That is why sometimes it is called the silent killer. Regular checkups are the only way to figure out whether you suffer from hypertension. Even during regular checkups, a doctor takes the blood pressure reading at least two to three times so as to be completely sure of the results. Moderate hypertension symptoms and Pre hypertension symptoms may be similar and so a blood pressure test is necessary for a definite diagnosis. There are no blood pressure symptoms so if you are obese or have a history of putting on weight; hypertension is something you should keep at the back of your mind. People who are older are especially susceptible to hypertension due to the wear and tear of the organs. Moderate hypertension has no symptoms as in this case patients have blood pressure that stays within the expected range but usually stays at the higher end of the range. In such cases, medication is usually not the first alternative and patients can make a successful recovery with natural hypertension treatment. In cases where the condition develops quickly, there are some high blood pressure symptoms in men that are very obvious such as nosebleeds, nausea and dizzy spells. One of the most common high blood pressure symptoms is a headache, which is generally persistent in nature.

Submitted on January 16, 2014