Understanding Hypertension: Exploring the Effects, Causes & Treatment on World Hypertension Day

May 17th is celebrated as World Hypertension Day to highlight how it has become a common condition across the globe and has further led to other health problems. As per Apollo Hospital, Delhi, 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women are subjected to Hypertension without even knowing about it.

In this blog, we will lay emphasis on the effects, causes, and treatment of Hypertension.

What is Hypertension?

Medical theories have defined Hypertension as high blood pressure when the flow of blood is equal to or higher than 140/90 mm HG.

According to health experts, blood pressure can be measured in two ways:

Systolic Blood Pressure: Measure how much pressure is in the arteries while the heart pumps.

Diastolic Blood Pressure: Measure the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests.

What are the symptoms of Hypertension?

Usually, high blood pressure quietly damages an individual’s heart and other crucial organs without any signs or symptoms. A person diagnosed with Hypertension can have headaches, difficulty breathing, blood-red eyes, and frequent dizziness.

What are the effects of Hypertension?

If not treated, Hypertension can result in heart attack, stroke, vision defect, difficulty in thinking, high sugar and kidney disease. It can also be very harmful for pregnant women.

What causes Hypertension?

In today’s fast-paced world, everyone is eager to win the race of life. But one does not have time to embrace a healthy lifestyle, spare a little time,and indulge in physical activities. Adults settled away from home are prone to eating junk food. All these factors contribute to Hypertension.

Below are the key factors that lead to Hypertension:

Excess Junk Intake: When one tends to avoid exercise and indulges in junk food
Family History: Genetic health problems are likely to transfer from generation to generation, which is also a key factor in diagnosing Hypertension
No Control on Weight: When one is overweight due to a lack of physical activity and an unhealthy lifestyle
Medicine-related Side Effects: Certain medical prescriptions can cause Hypertension as a side effect
Frequent Stress and Overthinking: taking stress and overthinking leads to Hypertension

How can Hypertension be treated?

When diagnosed, the best thing to do is get medical prescriptions from your doctor. Make timely appointments and keep track of your blood pressure levels.

Lifestyle changes also play a pivotal role in reducing blood pressure, which can be improved by:

Switching your diet intake to healthy edibles on your plates like fruits, cereals, and green vegetables
Reduce the intake of junk food and high-calorie dairy items that are prone to increasing cholesterol
Build your fitness routine through regular exercise
Cut down on caffeine intake, as it may cause a sudden increase in blood pressure
Quit smoking and alcohol to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Check your health parameters with Apollo Diagnostics

We, at Apollo Diagnostics, keep your health at the utmost priority, which is why we have labs equipped with a quality assurance system for timely results.

Conclusion

Hypertension exists in most of us and hampers our health through many negative effects. Effective measures should be taken to treat it; we should lead the way with lifestyle changes, healthy food intake, and taking less stress in little things.

Moreover, timely check-ups are mandatory to keep a check on your health parameters. And if there is a certain imbalance, then a proper medication course should be taken.

Let’s adopt a healthy routine and consult health experts to get high blood pressure under control this Hypertension Day.