Increasing Health Risks From High Blood Pressure
Hypertension, more commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is an all too common malady. It affects more than 50 million people just in the U.S. alone, or about one out of every four adults, according to the most recent studies.
Hypertension high blood pressure is also an insidious condition because it contributes to many other health problems and it is often referred to as “the silent” killer. This is because there are virtually no symptoms to draw attention to the problem.
However, high blood pressure is the predominant cause of such serious diseases and conditions as heart failure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, kidney stones and even blindness. The statistics on the results of chronic hypertension are sobering as it can triple your chance of contracting heart disease. It makes it seven times more likely that you will suffer a stroke and it increases the possibility of congestive heart failure by six fold.
Because there are no symptoms to alert you to the fact that you may have high blood pressure, it is extremely important to have your blood pressure measured on a regular basis. This is the only way you will be able to detect if it is becoming high enough to be concerned about. You can have your blood pressure checked at your doctor’s office, at public locations such as pharmacies and other retail stores where they have monitoring devices available, or you can check it at home using a home blood pressure monitor.
It has been estimated that up to a third of the people who have high blood pressure are not even aware that they have a silently harmful situation happening within their own bodies. This is another reason why it is so important to be proactive about having a blood pressure monitoring routine so that you can catch it before serious conditions evolve.
The good news is that nowadays hypertension is usually fairly easy to get under control, once you discover the situation. Simple improvements in your diet and exercise routines can yield significant benefits and lead to lower blood pressure. In addition, there are many anti-hypertensive medications available that can help to keep the blood pressure within acceptable, healthy standards.
However, of the people who know they have high blood pressure and are under medical care and receiving some type of treatment, it has also been estimated that only about 40% of these people are receiving the correct treatment. This means that many are either not on the right medication or are not taking the right amount, which means that their blood pressure control methods are not effective. This is another reason that blood pressure monitoring must be undertaken regularly even when under treatment.
There is ample evidence to prove that once high blood pressure levels have been reduced, there is a corresponding lessening in the incidence of stokes and heart attacks. A lower blood pressure reading also helps to slow down the advance of kidney disease and helps to avoid developing more severe cases of hypertension. It also lowers the overall mortality rates.
Published by Health Editor
