Blood Pressure, also known as blood pressure, is a value that measures the strength that blood exerts when circulating through the arteries. The higher the blood pressure, the higher the number of health problems, it is important to change the lifestyle to cope with both hypertension and high blood pressure or low blood pressure. Although having low values in blood pressure measurements is considered a symptom of good health, extreme values in both are worrying, and it is necessary to control it by measuring it daily, consulting with a specialist doctor, and following both an adequate diet and a way of life that helps regulate it.
In this case, hypertension has in recent years been revealed as one of the most widespread blood circulation disorders among the adult population, affecting about 40% of the Spanish population. The big problem with hypertension is that in many cases it shows no symptoms, being a silent disease that is only detected when it has already caused significant damage.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force that blood exerts against the walls of the arteries when pumped from the heart. If the tension is high, the heart suffers more as it has to exert more force to pump blood. Hypertension is therefore a pathology that, although it may take a long time to manifest, is necessary to be strictly controlled by the serious cardiovascular risk factor it entails.
It should be borne in mind that cardiovascular diseases from high blood pressure are one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The damage it causes is conducive to associated diseases such as arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, kidney failure, or stroke.
What Causes High Blood Pressure?
The causes of high blood pressure are numerous and affect one in five adults, generating both direct diseases and complications arising from it. According to WHO, diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension is a health priority worldwide by affecting both developed and underdeveloped countries.
Thus, sedentaryness, high diets in salt, overweight, and habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol are some of the main causes of hypertension. And while older people are more likely to have high blood pressure from the hardening of the arteries, younger people are not free to suffer from this pathology.
Sedentaryism and obesity, two serious problems in Western society and common in increasingly young people, are two of the major risk factors.
Other causes affecting blood pressure include:
- Stress and anxiety.
- The hormone levels.
- If you have a first-degree family history of high blood pressure.
- If you have diabetes.
- Men are more likely to develop high blood pressure, although the percentages between the sexes are equal when women reach the age of menopause.
- Black people are more likely to have hypertension than white people.
This wide variety of causes means it is often difficult to identify a single or clear cause of high blood pressure. In these cases, it is called essential hypertension, and if it is associated with another disease or as a result of taking any medicine, then it is called secondary hypertension.
Among the diseases that cause hypertension are:
- Hyperparathyroidism.
- Cushing syndrome.
- Chronic kidney disease.
- Obstructive sleep apnea.
- Schonosis of the renal artery.
- Tumors of renin producers.
- Liddle syndrome.
- Pheochromocytoma.
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
- Brain tumors.
- Polymylitis bulbar.
- Intracranial hypertension.
- Acromegalia.
- Pregnancy-induced Hypertension.
For medicines, among those who may develop high blood pressure, we find:
- The birth control pills.
- The corticosteroids.
- The slimming pills.
- Cycleporine, tacrolimus.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Decongestants containing ephedrine.
Finally, it should also be borne in mind that alcohol, drugs, and nicotine also lead to the onset of hypertension.
When And How Should I Measure My Blood Pressure?
Although in many cases hypertension is not usually accompanied by clear symptoms, some of those who warn of its development are headaches, vertigo, chest pains, palpitations, nasal bleeding, and breathing difficulties.
The prevention of high blood pressure begins with a change of habits by abandoning a sedentary lifestyle, tobacco, alcohol, and fatty and salt-rich diets, as well as self-medicating blood pressure. This is a preventive and/or control measure that doctors can recommend as a way of better understanding how blood pressure evolves in daily life, in different slots, and at home, in an environment in which the patient feels more relaxed. According to specialists, blood pressure values in medical consultations are often somewhat higher as patients tend to feel more tense.
The measurement of blood pressure must be done in the morning and the evening after taking a break of a few minutes. To do it correctly it is necessary to sit with your legs without crossing, resting your back on the back of the chair, and supporting the arm in which the sleeve of the tensometer is placed on a table. Keep in mind that arm tensiometers are more precise than those on the wrist.
It is also essential to keep track of every measurement made in a notebook. These daily measurements are a basic tool for the doctor as they will serve as a reference to fine-tune the diagnosis and treatments.
The devices used for measuring blood pressure are the mercury sphygmomanometer, the air, and the electronic blood pressure measurement apparatus. The first two are the most precise, although they require a kinescope for use. Electronics are the easiest to use, although they are very sensitive to movements and noises, sometimes untrue.
Normal Blood Pressure Values
Blood pressure readings usually consist of two numbers. The higher number is called systolic blood pressure and the lower one represents diastolic blood pressure. The blood pressure considered normal is 120 mm Hg when the heart beats or systolic tension, and 80 mm Hg when the heart relaxes or diastolic tension. If the systolic tension is equal to or greater than 130-140 mm Hg and/or diastolic tension is equal to or greater than 80-90 mm Hg, blood pressure is considered high or high, although other factors such as sex or age should be taken into account.
Normal Blood Pressure And Hypertension Values are classified:
- Normal: from 120/80 to 129/84 mmHg.
- High normal: 130/80 to 139/89 mmHg.
- Stage Hypertension 1: 140/90 to 159/99 mmHg.
- Stage 2 spray: 160/100 to 179/109 mmHg.
- Stage 3 spray, over 179/109 mmHg.