{"id":146,"date":"2019-02-20T13:20:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T13:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/?p=146"},"modified":"2019-02-20T13:20:17","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T13:20:17","slug":"what-is-high-blood-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/what-is-high-blood-pressure","title":{"rendered":"What is High Blood Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"

High Blood Pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is hypertension?<\/strong>
\nHigh blood pressure caused by a disease or another known medical problem is called secondary hypertension. Most cases of secondary hypertension are caused by kidney or hormonal problems.
\nNormal blood pressures average 120\/80 (“120 over 80”) but can rise and fall with exercise or rest. The pressures are measured in millimeters of mercury, with the upper number (120) being the pressure at the end of the heartbeat (systolic pressure). The lower number (80) is the pressure at the beginning of the heartbeat (diastolic pressure). If repeated checks of your blood pressure show that it is higher than 140\/90, you have hypertension. If your blood pressure is between 120\/80 and 140\/90, you may need treatment for high blood pressure if you have other health problems, such as diabetes.<\/p>\n

How does it occur? <\/strong>
\nMany medical conditions, diseases, and medicines can cause secondary hypertension, including:
\n\u2022\tnarrowing of the arteries in the kidneys
\n\u2022\tnarrowing of the aorta, a large blood vessel that supplies blood to the lower body
\n\u2022\tseveral types of kidney disease
\n\u2022\texcess secretion of a hormone called aldosterone from the adrenal gland
\n\u2022\ttumor of the adrenal gland
\n\u2022\tCushing’s syndrome, a disorder in which there is too much corticosteroid hormone in the blood
\n\u2022\tmedicines such as estrogen and oral contraceptives
\n\u2022\tabuse of drugs such as amphetamines, alcohol, or diet pills
\n\u2022\tpregnancy.<\/p>\n

What are the symptoms?<\/strong>
\nHigh blood pressure may not cause any symptoms. Even secondary hypertension may have few symptoms. Symptoms are usually general and may include:
\n\u2022\theadaches
\n\u2022\tdizziness
\n\u2022\tfatigue
\n\u2022\trestlessness and sleeplessness
\n\u2022\tnosebleeds
\n\u2022\tpalpitations or an awareness of your heartbeat
\n\u2022\tgeneral feeling of ill health
\n\u2022\tthe need to urinate often
\n\u2022\tround or “moon” face, excess body and facial hair, and weight gain if the high blood pressure is caused by Cushing’s syndrome.
\nHow is it diagnosed?
\nYour health care provider will ask about your symptoms and will do a physical exam. Blood tests, chest x-rays, and an electrocardiogram may be done. Your provider will want to measure your blood pressure on three different days when you are relaxed and not in a hurry and have not had alcohol for 72 hours.
\nYour medical history is an important part of diagnosis. Your health care provider will ask about your personal and family history of high blood pressure and heart or kidney disease.<\/p>\n

How is it treated?<\/strong>
\nSecondary hypertension is treated by treating the condition causing the high blood pressure. For example, if you have high blood pressure caused by Cushing’s syndrome, treatment for Cushing’s will lower your blood pressure.
\nYour health care provider may recommend additional treatments to lower your blood pressure, such as diuretics or other medicines that reduce blood pressure.
\nHow long will the effects last?
\nIf the cause can be diagnosed and treated, your blood pressure should improve. If you are taking medicine to reduce your blood pressure and your underlying condition is treated, you may be able to cut down or stop taking the blood pressure medicine.<\/p>\n

How can I take care of myself?<\/strong>
\n\u2022\tAlways follow your doctor’s instructions for taking medicines. Don’t take less medicine or stop taking medicine without talking to your provider first. It can be dangerous to suddenly stop taking blood pressure medicine. Also, do not increase your dosage of any medicine without first talking with your provider.
\n\u2022\tCheck your blood pressure (or have it checked) as often as your health care provider advises. Keep a chart of the readings.
\n\u2022\tDon’t smoke.
\n\u2022\tReduce the salt in your diet according to your health care provider’s advice.
\n\u2022\tWith your provider’s approval, start an exercise program that you can do regularly (such as biking or walking).
\n\u2022\tLose weight if you need to.
\n\u2022\tLimit the amount of alcohol you drink.
\n\u2022\tTry to reduce the stress in your life or learn how to deal better with situations that make you feel anxious.
\n\u2022\tSee your doctor as often as he or she recommends.<\/p>\n

What can be done to help prevent secondary hypertension?<\/strong>
\nMost of the conditions that cause secondary hypertension cannot be prevented. However, regular checkups can help detect many conditions before they become serious, including those that can result in high blood pressure. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High Blood Pressure What is hypertension? High blood pressure caused by a disease or another known medical problem is called secondary hypertension. Most cases of secondary hypertension are caused by kidney or hormonal problems. Normal blood pressures average 120\/80 (“120 over 80”) but can rise and fall with exercise or rest. The pressures are measured in millimeters of mercury, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-blood-pressure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nishithchandra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}