About the disease
Essential hypertension, also known as primary hypertension, is abnormally high blood pressure, which is not caused by other heart diseases. Secondary hypertension can develop as a result of any disease, which affects heart. Overall, two numbers indicate blood pressure. They are called systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure shows, how big is the force of blood against arteries, when blood is pumped to all systems in the body. Diastolic pressure also shows the force of blood against arteries, but in this case it records the force between the heart beats, when heart relaxes. These two readings of blood pressure continuously change throughout the day. Anger, sleep, exercise, stress, and excitement also affect the blood pressure. Normal indicator of systolic and diastolic pressure is 120/80 mmHG. Systolic pressure which is higher 140 mmHG and diastolic pressure higher 90 mmHG are usually the first indicators of hypertension.
Even though the exact cause of essential hypertension is not known, it is believed that environmental factors, unhealthy lifestyle, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and genetic predisposition are contributing factors to this disease. Continuous stress, depression and emotional distress can also cause development of essential hypertension in future. Overall, this condition is very common with 33.5% of all population being affected by it to some extent.
Symptoms
- Anxiety
- Headache
- Pain in the chest
- Pounding in the ears
Diagnosis
- Blood pressure monitoring is used to determine if diastolic and systolic pressure are higher than usual.
- Electrocardiogram is the second most commonly used diagnostic measure for this condition, as it determines the electrical activity of the heart and detects any abnormality in its function.
- Holter monitoring is used to monitor the blood pressure for 24 hours and see if hypertension is a tendency or if it is recurrent for short periods of time.
Treatment
Conservative treatment is the most commonly used therapy for this disease. Most often a person needs to undergo lifestyle changes, such as quit smoking, drinking, stressing too much and going on a healthy diet. A person can also be prescribed drugs, which aim to reduce the blood pressure, such as beta-blockers and diuretics. You need to take them carefully and only by doctor`s prescription to avoid complications in future.
Authors: Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko
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