Hypertension or raised blood pressure is one of the major risk factors of heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases. Worldwide, the number of people with hypertension is increasing but about half of these people do not know. Below we answer some questions.
- What is hypertension?
Hypertension is when blood pressure is consistently too high in the blood vessels. This can cause the arteries to harden, decrease the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart and make the heart to pump harder, consequently damaging the heart. The elevated blood pressure can also block or burst the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain, leading to stroke. This makes hypertension one of the most important preventable case of heart diseases and stroke. - What causes hypertension and does a high salt diet cause hypertension?
Unhealthy diets (excessive salt intake and fat intake, low intake of fruits and vegetables), physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and being overweight or obese are the risks factors that contribute to hypertension. A family history, age over 65 years, co-existing diseases such as diabetes or kidney disease are also risk factors that contribute to hypertension. - Who gets hypertension?
From 2 above, everyone (30 years and above) can get hypertension especially if we do not maintain a healthy weight, eat unhealthily, use tobacco and alcohol, and stay inactive. Family history, age over 65 years, co-existing diseases such as diabetes or kidney disease can put one at a higher risk. - How can one know that he or she has hypertension?
Testing confirms if one has hypertension. Fact is hypertension mostly do not present any symptoms at all; therefore, it has been labelled as the “silent killer”. Occasionally hypertension present symptoms such as morning headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, vision changes, chest pain, irregular heart rhythms, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, confusion, anxiety, and nose bleeds, but this is not always. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your blood pressure either at home or with a health professional. If you measure your blood pressure at home, we do recommend to periodically confirm the values with a health professional. The measurement values should not be equal to or above 140/90mmHg. A value equal to or above 140/90mmHg on different days may establish hypertension. Early diagnoses greatly improve treatment outcomes. - How can hypertension be treated? How can I manage my hypertension better?
Treatment and management differ from one individual to another. We will therefore recommend that you work with your health professional after diagnosis to develop a diet and physical activity plan suitable for you as well as prescribe the medication suitable for your individual situation. It is important to seek early treatment to avoid or delay any negative health impact. - What can I do to help prevent hypertension? Can hypertension be prevented?
One can prevent or delay the onset of hypertension by eating healthily (cutting down on salt and fat intake, eating more fruits and vegetables), staying active, avoiding the use of tobacco, safe use of alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing and managing stress, treating existing diseases and regularly checking their blood pressure.
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Written and reviewed by: Irene Danquah, ANutr
Last page review: 23/12/2021
Next page review: 31/12/2024