The threat posed by high blood pressure

Dr Harun Otieno

The heart pumps blood around the body through blood vessels called arteries. Blood pressure is the force placed on the wall of the arteries by the moving blood. Many factors including lifestyle, stress and genetic predisposition can cause a person to have high blood pressure. If untreated, high blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart disease, loss of sight and kidney problems. Many people suffer from high blood pressure without displaying any symptoms, so the only way to be sure of healthy blood pressure levels is to be checked regularly.

Any person whose blood pressure is above 140/90 when checked on two separate visits is deemed to have high blood pressure.

The medical name for this is "hypertension". There are a number of recommended treatments, including lifestyle changes to prescribed medications that relaxes blood vessels. Lifestyle changes include healthy diet with less salt, fat, coffee and tea, cutting down on alcohol consumption, quitting smoking, losing weight and coping with stress.

Regular visits

Those who suffer from high blood pressure should see a doctor regularly. While there are no direct causes of high blood pressure, a number of correlations have been drawn between hypertension and certain lifestyle choices. Those who eat too much salt, smoke, are overweight, have diabetes, are stressed, drink too much alcohol, do not exercise, suffer from kidney, thyroid or adrenal diseases or have a family member with high blood pressure are more likely to suffer from hypertension. If one or more of these risk factors applies to you, you should have your blood pressure checked.

Chest pain, confusion, excessive tiredness, nausea and vomiting, severe headache, shortness of breath, significant sweating and vision changes are warning signs of hypertension. Unfortunately, many patients do not report any symptoms.

This is why hypertension is also known as the "silent killer" as it causes damage to the arteries and important organs without any symptoms.