Faqs about hypertension

Hypertension is high blood pressure. It is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries as it circulates through your whole body. It does not show symptoms and once caused cannot be cured but controlled. This FAQ guide will help you answer the common questions you have in your mind.

What are the causes of high blood pressure?

The actual cause of high blood pressure is unclear, but some of the reasons which can cause it are: physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, old age and genes.

What are the symptoms of Hypertension?

Hypertension shows no symptoms, so over time it causes severe damage to your arteries, heart and brain even before the condition is diagnosed.

Why is Hypertension called silent-killer?

It is called as a silent-killer because it usually has no warning signs or symptoms. There are many people who do not realize they have high blood pressure so it is important that you get your blood pressure checked regularly.

What are the health problems associated with Hypertension?

There are several health problems associated with hypertension. They are: Atherosclerosis, heart diseases, kidney diseases, stroke and eye disease.

Which are the drugs used for treating it in elderly?

Trials for the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension have shown benefits of thiazides and calcium channel blockers (CCBs). Other trials like LIFE show improvements of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs).

Is Hypertension curable?

No, you cannot cure hypertension, but you can control it by following a healthy diet, losing weight and doing regular exercise.

What is the right diet for patients with hypertension?

Diets like DASH and Pritikin are low in fats, salt, cholesterol, red meat and sweets and are high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans. They are moderate in seafood, poultry, nuts and low-fat or non-fat dairy food. Both of this diet help to control hypertension.

Which body parts are affected by hypertension?

Hypertension affects the heart, kidney, brain and eyes. It can clog or weaken the vessels which can narrow the vessels which causes damage to the heart and brain.

What percent of people have hypertension?

About 29% of the people have high blood pressure that is 1 in 3 people.

How can you reduce the risk of high blood pressure?

To reduce the risk of high blood pressure, you should get your blood pressure checked regularly, you should eat a healthy diet, maintain proper weight, by active, limit alcohol intake and don’t smoke.

Does Hypertension go away without treatment?

It is very rare that hypertension disappears without treatment. It gets higher with time and the risk of complication also increases.

What are the stages of hypertension?

There are 3 stages of hypertension.

Prehypertension is where the blood pressure is between the range of 120/80 to 139/89.

Stage 1 hypertension is where the blood pressure is between 140-159 / 90-99.

Anything above those levels is considered to be Stage 2 hypertension.