What is essential hypertension and what are the factors affecting it?

What is essential hypertension and what are the factors affecting it?

Essential hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that has no clearly identifiable cause, but is thought to be linked to genetics, poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity. It is by far the most common form of high blood pressure, affecting the majority of those who experience hypertension.

What are the five key risk factors to health of having a high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is also a cardiovascular disease in its own right. The risk factors for high blood pressure include poor diet (particularly a high salt intake), obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and insufficient physical activity.

Who is most at risk for hypertension?

Essential Hypertension High blood pressure tends to run in families and is more likely to affect men than women. Age and race also play a role. In the United States, blacks are twice as likely as whites to have high blood pressure, although the gap begins to narrow around age 44.

What are the symptoms of essential hypertension?

If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, including:

• Severe headaches.
• Nosebleed.
• Fatigue or confusion.
• Vision problems.
• Chest pain.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Irregular heartbeat.
• Blood in the urine.

What is the underlying cause of hypertension?

For most, hypertension is the result of either genetic or lifestyle factors such as obesity or smoking, but for approximately 10% of Americans, hypertension is caused by the existence of another disease. When hypertension is the result of another medical condition it is referred to as secondary hypertension.

Why is essential hypertension called a silent killer and what are some of the risk factors for essential hypertension?

Often referred to as the “silent killer” because it may show no symptoms, high blood pressure puts you at an increased risk for heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, among other things.

What are the risks of high blood pressure?

Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:

• heart disease.
• heart attacks.
• strokes.
• heart failure.
• peripheral arterial disease.
• aortic aneurysms.
• kidney disease.
• vascular dementia.

Why is hypertension a major risk factor for heart disease?

High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart muscle to thicken and become stiffer. This stiffening of the heart muscle is not normal and causes the heart to function abnormally. It also increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and congestive heart failure.

How can you prevent essential hypertension?

The best approach to the primary prevention of hypertension is a combination of lifestyle changes: weight loss in overweight persons; increased physical activity; moderation of alcohol intake; and consumption of a diet that is higher in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and lower in sodium content than the …

Why is essential hypertension called essential?

What is essential hypertension? Essential hypertension is high blood pressure that doesn’t have a known secondary cause. It’s also referred to as primary hypertension. Blood pressure is the force of blood against your artery walls as your heart pumps blood through your body.

What are controllable risk factors for hypertension?

Controllable risk factors include: Smoking. High LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and low HDL, or “good” cholesterol. Uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure) Physical inactivity. Obesity.

What are the risks of untreated high blood pressure?

Complications and risks of high blood pressure. Over time, untreated high blood pressure can cause heart disease and related complications such as heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Other potential problems are: vision loss. kidney damage. erectile dysfunction (ED) fluid buildup in the lungs. memory loss.

What is considered dangerously high blood pressure?

Dangerously high blood pressure is a systolic reading above 170 or 180, or a diastolic reading higher than 100 or 110. Untreated high blood pressure can lead to severe health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and stroke. There are many medications designed to lower blood pressure.

What are the long term effects of hypertension?

Hypertension is associated with a number of serious long-term effects on the body. High blood pressure is a risk factor for the development of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, eye disease, kidney disease including kidney failure and some life-threatening emergencies.