This content is for informational and educational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.
Hypertension, which is also known as high blood pressure is a serious health issue that affects so many people, in the world.
Studies show that an estimate of 1.28 billion people between the ages of 30 to 79 have hypertension. Hypertension feels like having too much pressure pushing against the walls of your arteries. It is so scary, people call it the “silent killer”, because it can be causing damage to your body, without causing symptoms.
As time goes by, it can cause some serious problems, and can lead to problems like:
- heart disease
- kidney problems
- stroke
And other nasty things.
📋 Table of Contents
Causes
The exact cause of hypertension is kind of complex, cause there is no “one way” answer. However, it could sometimes be due to one’s genetics, meaning it runs in the family. It can also be due to a person’s age, because blood pressure tends to increase with age.
Other times, it’s the lifestyle of a person. Things like a poor diet such as:
- Having too much salt in meals
- Eating processed foods all the time
Or:
- Not exercising
- Smoking
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Sitting all the time
Carrying excess weight may also increase blood pressure, and cause hypertension. Also, if you have certain health conditions like diabetes, kidney problems, including some type of meds, can increase your blood pressure.
There are lots of reasons a person may become hypertensive.
Symptoms of hypertension
It’s quite sad that hypertension usually doesn’t show symptoms, until it’s gotten to a point where it’s really bad.
Like it was mentioned earlier, this is why it is called the “Silent Killer”, because it won’t show any noticeable symptoms.
However, some possible symptoms people might have include:
- Severe headaches
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Frequent nosebleeds or shortness of breath
However, these symptoms aren’t always present, and most times people with high-blood pressure very fine, until something really bad happens.
Prevention of hypertension
There are many ways to prevent or manage hypertension:
- Exercise regularly, it helps lower blood pressure.
- Reduce stress, it’s really important. There are stress reducing techniques like meditation, or deep breathing exercises.
- Buy foods that are healthy, cook and eat them.
- Reduce the salt in your food
- Lose some weight, it can make a difference in your blood pressure.
- Do other things like swimming, cycling, brisk walking around your area, or playing sports.
- Reduce the way you drink alchohol.
- Stop smoking (completely quit).
Lastly, blood pressure checkups, this is like the best way to know for sure, if you have hypertension. It can help catch anything that seems off in your body, so you can start treatment immediately.
When you understand hypertension, and how it works, you can reduce your risk of becoming hypertensive.
