Hypertension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hypertension - Essay Example This is not a condition which can be treated lightly. If you have Hypertension, you have to get it treated. You ignore it only at your peril. Doctors think that many things combine to cause Hypertension2. Hypertension can be caused by other illnesses and it is often cured once the original medical problem is cured Essential hypertension indicates that no specific medical cause can be found to explain a patient's condition and the symptoms just show chronically high blood pressure. Secondary hypertension indicates that the high blood pressure is a result of another condition, such as kidney disease or tumors, Being overweight, drinking too much alcohol, and eating too much salt, stress ,genetics, older age, family history of high blood pressure , chronic kidney disease and adrenal and thyroid disorders are risk factors because they raise your risk of having hypertension. They do not cause it directly but they can contribute to it and if not watched can aggravate it.. It is interesting to know, that while you cannot accuse a disease of being racist or sexist, if you are an African American you are more likely to get Hyperte nsion. If you are a pregnant woman you are again more susceptible to it. These are things which can't be ignored and many times these risk factors can add up and can be even more dangerous. A pregnant African American woman may need to look at the possibility of hypertension with that much more care. Now it does not mean that if you have any of these you are likely to get hypertension and that if you have none of these, that you won't get hypertension. It just means that if you have any of the above risk factors, you should make an effort to take precautions. Statistics on Hypertension The number of people suffering from Hypertension in the United States is staggering. In reports given by the department of Health, the percent of non-institutionalized adults ages 20 and over is 29% (2001-2004)3. That is more than one out of every four adults has Hypertension. This is a staggering number. And this is not some benign number either. This is a number which directly translates into fatalities. The number of deaths in 2004 was 23,076. In other words deaths per 100,000 populations are 7.9. These are real and frightening numbers. Symptoms of Hypertension Now, how would one know if they have hypertension There are usually no symptoms or signs of hypertension. In fact, nearly one-third of those who have it don't know it. The only way to know if you have hypertension definitely is to have your blood pressure checked regularly. If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, including, Severe headache , Fatigue or confusion , Vision problems , Chest pain , difficulty breathing , Irregular heartbeat Blood in the urine . People often think that High Blood Pressure is dangerous and while very often it is true, we deal with high blood pressure constantly on a daily basis. Blood pressure goes up in all people during periods of stress or exercise. But avoiding stress will not prevent high blood pressure. You can have High Blood Pressure even though you are usually a calm, relaxed person. High Blood pressure is fairly common and that is precisely why, everyone