High Blood Pressure: What You Should Know About The Disease

High blood pressure is a common disease: estimated 103 million U.S. adults are said to be affected by the vascular disease. We give you the most important information about causes, symptoms and treatment.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure, which is technically called arterial hypertension, develops slowly. In the beginning, the increased pressure in the vessels causes hardly any problems, which is why the vascular disease remains undetected and untreated for a long time. Over time, however, the pressure on the circulation overloads the heart and other vital organs. Doctors speak of high blood pressure if the values are permanently above 140/90 mmHg. They distinguish between two basic forms of vascular disease:

Primary hypertension: It is the most common form of the disease and is also called essential hypertension in the medical jargon. About 90 percent of patients suffer from this form of hypertension, which occurs suddenly and without any detectable reason.

Secondary hypertension: In this form, the cause of high blood pressure is due to other diseases, such as kidneys or thyroid gland. Only ten to 15 percent of hypertensive patients suffer from secondary hypertension.

Incidentally, blood pressure is subject to certain fluctuations in every person. During stress or physical exertion it is higher than, for example, during sleep. However, the values of a healthy person quickly settle back into the normal range. If high blood pressure occurs suddenly, doctors call it a hypertensive crisis – it should be treated immediately as it is life-threatening. Another special subtype is pre-eclampsia, which can occur during pregnancy.

How does vascular disease develop?

The exact causes of the disease often remain in the dark. Most hypertensive patients do not have any other underlying disease. Usually there are a number of factors that favor the first form of high blood pressure:

• Smoking and high alcohol consumption
• Lack of exercise
• Overweight
• Hereditary predisposition to high blood pressure
• High salt consumption with low potassium intake
• Stress

In women there is said to be a connection between menopause and high blood pressure, which often occurs after the end of the fertile years. Researchers also found that primary hypertension is often associated with conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood lipid levels. In this case, doctors refer to it as the so-called metabolic syndrome.

Secondary hypertension is caused by other diseases. The most common triggers for high blood pressure are kidney disease, metabolic disorders or vascular diseases. Also the sleep apnoea syndrome, a sleep-related breathing disorder, or medication and rheumatism drugs are possible causes. Quite rare, but nevertheless probable, are also disturbances in the hormone balance.

Which symptoms speak for the disease?

Now how can the symptoms be classified? As already mentioned, high blood pressure tends to develop gradually and often at the transition to the second half of life. The signs, such as nervousness, dizziness, sleep disturbances, headaches, concentration problems and mood swings, are often misunderstood during this time – and tend to be attributed to the hormonal change. However, even at a younger age, vascular pressure is often not recognized, which is why it is also called the “silent danger”.

The following symptoms are also typical:

• Red face colour with fine veins on the skin
• Visual disorders
• Nausea
• Tiredness
• Ringing in the ears
• Shortness of breath
• Headaches that tend to be in the back of the head and occur shortly after waking up
• Palpitations or skipped heartbeats

If you notice some of these symptoms in yourself, it is always advisable to consult a doctor. After all, early treatment is important to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and other complications. So take the signs seriously!

What can you do about it?

In order to obtain a reliable diagnosis, you will have to undergo repeated pressure measurements and a long-term measurement of your blood pressure. In addition to the blood pressure measurement, the doctor will clarify in his consultation whether there are any family history of blood pressure and what role lifestyle plays in the disease (anamnesis). Under certain circumstances blood and urine tests may also be necessary to rule out secondary hypertension. Often hypertension is only diagnosed when vessels of the heart, brain, kidneys or eyes are already affected. In the long term, the heart muscle can also be damaged, resulting in heart failure.

High blood pressure has been treated for a long time with drugs – so-called antihypertensive drugs in tablet form. Of course, this drug-based blood pressure reduction must always be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle. If cardiovascular diseases or diabetes are present, it is important to ensure as closely as possible that the blood pressure is within the normal range. In general, the pressure should be reduced to blood pressure values below 140/90 mmHg according to current recommendations of the German Hypertension League. However, the doctor will adjust the recommendations for the target values individually. In the case of secondary hypertension, the therapy is cause-related. This means that the treatment here is primarily related to the disease that caused the hypertension. Only then can blood pressure normalize.

You can do that yourself to lower your blood pressure:

• Restrict coffee consumption to reduce stress
• Healthy nutrition (little animal fats, fruit, vegetables, little salt)
• Reduce or completely eliminate nicotine and alcohol consumption
• Relaxation exercises (Yoga, autogenic training etc.)
• Regular, physical exercise
• Reduce weight if you suffer from overweight
• Restrict drugs that have an influence on blood pressure