By Yinka Shokunbi
Health experts especially cardiologists have always warned that the harder the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries are, the higher your blood pressure rises. Over time, the wear and tear caused by untreated high blood pressure can damage blood vessels and vital organs.
The last month of the year 2013 has indeed witnessed a lot of hustling and bustling in almost all cities and towns across the country with many doing last minute rush to meet up with the demands of their families as well as ‘mad rush’ to make ends meet.
The first month of the new year is also one many dread as children would be resuming schools and school fees would have to be settled as well as other expenses would have to be settled. Experts have therefore warned that unnecessary agitations could lead to build up of damage to the vital organs such as the heart and arteries.
High blood pressure—also known as hypertension—is a condition that increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, coronary heart disease, and other serious health problems. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the inside walls of arteries.
There is no absolute figure or data to show how many Nigerians suffer hypertension but according to Associate Professor of Endocrinology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Femi Fasanmade, one out of every four admissions in the medical ward is a stroke patient, a result of untreated high blood pressure or hypertension.
About one in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet, because high blood pressure itself usually has no symptoms, the CDC says 22 per cent of those with the condition aren’t aware they have it. That’s why getting your blood pressure checked periodically is so important, even if you are feeling fine. Otherwise, you may not realize there is a problem until a complication arises—indicating that possible permanent damage may have already been done.
Fortunately, blood pressure is easily measured with a simple, noninvasive test. Once you know you have high blood pressure, it can be treated with lifestyle changes and blood-pressure-lowering medication.
Types of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can be divided into two broad categories based on its cause.
Primary hypertension
Also called essential hypertension, primary hypertension has no clear-cut cause, although genetic and lifestyle risk factors increase the odds of developing it. This type of high blood pressure usually develops gradually over many years. From 90 to 95 per cent of high blood pressure cases in adults fall into this category.
Secondary hypertension
Secondary hypertension is the direct result of another underlying health condition or a drug side effect. It often develops suddenly, and it sometimes causes higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Secondary hypertension accounts for the remaining five to ten per cent of high blood pressure cases in adults as well as most cases in children under ten years old. Secondary hypertension is broken down further into a number of types:
•Renovascular hypertension
•Hypertension secondary to other renal disorders
•Hypertension secondary to endocrine disorders
•Other secondary hypertension
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