High Blood

                                                                      High blood

Introduction                                                                                                                      

High blood is used in medical terms to refer to a chronic medical condition known as hypertension which is sometimes referred to as arterial hypertension. It is a condition whereby there is an increase in the blood pressure, in the arteries which causes the heart to pump blood harder than normal situations.                 

The normal blood pressure situation is of 100-140mmHg systolic and diastolic of 60-90mmHg. During high blood pressure, the reading is usually at or above 140/90 mmHg.                                            

This kind of disease can cause a heart attack, stroke, aneurysms of the arteries and eventual death.

 

Signs and symptoms                                                                                                          

Its symptoms are rare to note but they can be identified through screening and when seeking treatment for other ailments and one is lucky to be tested for high blood pressure. Some of its signs include:

·        Hypertensive emergency whereby there is severely elevated pressure of the blood.

·        Secondary hypertension where other parts of the body suffer less or more blood pressure and supply due to other defects such as kidney or endocrine diseases.

·        Pregnancy and this has been indicated by research that about 9% of all pregnancies leads to high blood pressure.

Diagnosis and tests                                                                                                

Diagnosis must be done on the basis of high blood pressure that is persistent and tests done by sophisticated instruments are a way to inform practitioners if one is nearly succumbing to hypertension. Some of the tests include microscopic urinalysis, proteinuria, BUN and creatinine which is performed on the renal system, serum sodium, potassium, calcium, TSH made on the endocrine system, fasting blood glucose, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol done on the metabolic system and other tests such as the hematocrit, electrocardiogram and chest radiograph.                                              

In all these tests, the use of the electrocardiogram is most prominent in determination of hypertension.

Treatment and prevention                                                                                                                       Lifestyle changes have been known to be the best cure of high blood pressure. Some of the lifestyle shifts that have been recommended by practitioners in reducing chances of hypertension include:

·        Reduction in consumption of dietary sodium to less than 100 mmol per day.

·        Maintenance of healthy body weight for individuals such as adults at BMI of about 23kg per square meter.

·        Engaging in physical activities that are of vigorous regular and aerobic nature such as running, push-ups. All the activities should be taken for more than 30 minutes each day.

·        Reduction in levels of alcohol consumption to less than 3 units per day for men and 2 units per day for women.

·        Increased intake of diets rich in vegetables and fruits.