PT. Indosehat Lestari
Hypertension
• Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood against the walls of blood vessels, and the magnitude of this force depends on the cardiac output and the resistance of the blood vessels
Based on AHA (American Health Association):
• Normal blood pressure is below 120 systolic and below 80 diastolic
• Prehypertension is 120-139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic
• Stage 1 high blood pressure (hypertension) is 140-159 systolic or 90-99 diastolic
• Stage 2 high blood pressure (hypertension) is 160 or higher systolic or 100 or higher diastolic
• Hypertensive crisis (a medical emergency) is when blood pressure is above 180 systolic or above 110 diastolic
Causes
• Lifestyle factors: physical inactivity, salt rich diet through processed and fatty food, too much alcohol consumption and smoking.
General risk factors: age, size, sex.
• Everyone is at higher risk of high blood pressure as they get older.
• People with obesity / overweight has higher risk of high blood pressure.
• Men are more prone at younger age, while women are prone at older age.
Symptoms
• Asymptomatics, a silent killer.
Complications
• An enlarged or weakened heart, to a point where it may fail to pump enough blood (heart failure)
• Aneurysm - an abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery
• Blood vessel narrowing - in the kidneys, leading to possible kidney failure; also in the heart, brain and legs, leading to potential heart attack, stroke or amputation, respectively
• Blood vessels in the eyes may rupture or bleed, leading to vision problems or blindness (hypertensive retinopathies, which can be classified by worsening grades one through four).
Treatments for Hypertension
• Salt restriction - typical salt intake is between 9 and 12 g a day and modest blood pressure reductions can be achieved even in people with normal levels by lowering salt to around 5 g a day - with a bigger effect in hypertensive people
• Moderation of alcohol consumption - expert guidelines say moving from moderate to excessive drinking is "associated both with raised blood pressure and with an increased risk of stroke"
• High consumption of vegetables and fruits and low-fat - the Mediterranean diet has been found to be protective, and people with high blood pressure are advised to eat fish at least twice a week and between 300 and 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day
• Reducing weight and maintaining it - hypertension is closely correlated with excess body weight, and weight reduction is followed by a fall in blood pressure
• Regular physical exercise - guidelines say "hypertensive patients should participate in at least 30 min of moderate-intensity dynamic aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, cycling or swimming) on 5 to 7 days a week."