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Causes and Symptoms of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
By Esther Dacanay | August 4, 2009
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is considered one of the major medical problems of modern times. The average blood pressure should be 120/80 for males, and slightly lower for females.
Hypertension is a condition in which too much pressure is exerted on the arteries when the blood is pumped by the heart. A blood pressure reading of 140/90 can be considered suspicious. Higher readings are considered clinical hypertension. The 120 (systolic pressure) is the pressure in the arteries when the heart is in the middle of its contraction; the 80 (diastolic pressure) is the pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest.
The bottom number or diastolic pressure is considered the most important number to be aware of as this indicates the amount of pressure present in the arteries when the heart is at rest. When a person has high blood pressure, the heart must work extremely hard to pump blood through the circulatory system. This puts an enormous amount of stress and strain on the entire cardiovascular system.
While the main cause of high blood pressure is not yet solidified, there are some risk factors that are proven to increase the risk. Smoking, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, high cholesterol, stress, obesity and high sodium ingestion are just to name a few. In addition, the narrowing of blood vessels due to fatty elements and cholesterol also holds a key factor in the onset of high blood pressure. Research also suggests that “unnaturally” produced fats and oils such as margarine increase the risk more than that of fats and oils produced naturally.
Thus far, no research has been done to differentiate the effects of refined unsaturated oils from the effects of unrefined cold pressed unsaturated oils. The refined oils are a questionable health risk since many changes occur in the natural oil as it is processed at high temperatures. Hydrogenated oils such as margarine are a definite risk factor. It interferes with essential fatty acid metabolism. One of the known symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency is high blood pressure.
Hypertension is known as the silent killer because often times, this condition does not exhibit any symptoms at all until it is in its advanced stages, wreaking havoc on the internal organs with irreversible effects.
Symptoms of advanced hypertension include dizziness, eye problems, rapid pulse, headache, nose bleeds, nervousness, irritability, insomnia and energy loss. More advanced cases will exhibit symptoms such as hypertensive heart disease with enlarged heart and possible left ventricular failure, myocardial infarction, possible senility, cerebral hemorrhage, paralysis and death.
A person with high blood pressure should be closely monitored by a physician and be checked at least every six months. Prolonged high blood pressure can result in damage to the kidneys with secondary conditions surfacing, such as end-stage renal failure, which requires weekly dialysis (blood filtering) treatments.
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