Hypertension Facts
Hypertension Facts You Should Know
Hypertension facts can help you change your lifestyle so that you can live a healthier, longer life.
• Hypertension can be a silent killer. You may be affected by hypertension for years without ever displaying any symptoms. If you don't control your high blood pressure, you may be more susceptible to stroke, heart attack and other serious medical conditions.
• Hypertension is easy to diagnose, and once you are diagnosed, you can control the problem so that you do not run the health risks that people do with uncontrolled hypertension.
• Normally, you will have hypertension facts in front of you each time you make a routine visit to your doctor. Your blood pressure is normally taken as a routine part of any exam.
• If you don't see a physician on a regular basis, you can also normally get free health screenings at drugstores and health clinics, if you are worried about hypertension.
• There are two main types of hypertension. Facts tell us that those types are Primary, which develops over a period of years and has no readily observed cause, and Secondary, which is caused by other medical issues you already have. About ninety to ninety-five percent of hypertension is Primary, and the remaining five to ten percent is Secondary.
• There are many risk factors that can cause hypertension. Some of them you can control and some you cannot. Race, age and family history, for example, are risk factors you can't change. But the hypertension facts tell us that there are many more factors that you can change. Those include being physically inactive, having too much sodium in your diet, drinking too much alcohol, having too little vitamin D in your diet, being obese or overweight, stress, and using tobacco.
• You may also be affected by other chronic conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol and kidney disease, which may increase your chances of developing hypertension.
• If you don't control your hypertension, facts indicate that this can lead to other health problems, including aneurysm, a ruptured blood vessel in your brain, damage to your arteries, heart failure and disabled blood vessels in your eyes.
• Your physician can diagnose your hypertension facts by certain tests, including a blood pressure check, and he may prescribe different medications to control your blood pressure and keep it down to an acceptable level. He will also ask you to modify your diet, controlling fat, eating healthy foods, watching your weight, decreasing your salt intake, limiting alcohol and quitting smoking.
• If you have hypertension, it's not something that you can “fix” and then move on. You will have to monitor your blood pressure for the rest of your life, and work with your doctor to make sure you maintain a healthy blood pressure level for you. You need to take your medications as prescribed and stick to a healthy diet.
• To motivate yourself, remember the consequences of hypertension. And enlist the help of your family and friends, to set up an effective support network.