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Hypertension affects older adults as well as teens and children. Thanks to stressful life, unhealthy diet, and common diseases, high blood pressure is finding a large victim base. You may be suffering from hypertension without being aware of it.
This is because high blood pressure doesn’t have very pronounced outward symptoms. But that doesn’t prevent it from being a silent killer. With time, this condition can damage the heart, kidney, and lungs.
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Young men are more likely to suffer from hypertension than women. But post 60 years of age, more women develop high blood pressure than men. More than 10 million cases are reported per year in India. Around 1/3rd of the number accounts for people who show no hypertension symptoms.
Learn about the causes and the mechanism of pressure rise in the sections to follow. This will help you to delve deep into the signs of rising blood pressure and the long-term implications of hypertension.
8 High Blood Pressure Symptoms
High blood pressure symptoms are rarely encountered. Hypertension is so silent that many patients suffer major health issue before realizing the problem. Primary hypertension is the commonest type of high blood pressure.
It develops gradually and is not caused by any other health condition. Secondary hypertension, on the other hand, is caused as a symptom of other diseases like hyperthyroidism and diabetes.
High blood pressure symptoms in men are more pronounced because of their likelihood to suffer from hypertension. High blood pressure symptoms in women are similar to those of men, except during pregnancy.
Here is a list of high blood pressure symptoms in men and women with uncomplicated high blood pressure.
1. A headache
A bad throbbing pain in your head, that won’t respond well to any medication, might be a symptom of hypertension.
If you are healthy and haven’t had many headache episodes, you might want to contact your doctor and get your blood pressure checked.
2. Blurred Vision
In the case of malignant hypertension, you may experience foggy vision. This is due to a sudden shoot in blood pressure and may have cardiac complications involved.
3. Dizziness
Elevated blood pressure manifests as dizziness along with a severe headache. This may cause confusion and loss of balance.
4. Chest Pain
Higher cardiac labour in high BP can result in clenching chest pain or symptoms similar to a heart attack. This symptom is seen in dangerously high blood pressure.
The health care provider should be contacted without delay to prevent a stroke or heart attack.
5. Fatigue and Confusion
Hypertension also leads to serious consequences of tiredness, fatigue and confusion. This is due to the impact of elevated blood pressure on the vital organs like brain, heart and kidney.
This state of tiredness is accompanied by other symptoms like shortness of breath, mental confusion and lack of concentration.
6. Irregular Heart Beat or Arrhythmia
Due to irregularity in the blood flow and blood pressure, the complaint of palpitations and irregular heartbeat is often heard from patients of hypertension.
If remain unchecked for long, it can lead to serious consequences of heart failure, coronary artery disease and even, stroke.
7. Nausea, Vomiting and Loss of Appetite
With the elevated blood pressure, the sufferer might have the feeling of nausea, vomiting and even, loss of appetite.
Such situations may lead to a hypertensive crisis that requires immediate medical attention.
8. Nose Bleeds
During the hypertensive crisis, blood may come from the nose. This is termed as epistaxis or nosebleed. This symptom indicates dangerous blood pressure which can be deadly if you don’t receive emergency medical care.
Some other rarely expressed symptoms are numbness, reduced urination, nausea and vomiting, seizures and weakness. High blood pressure symptoms in women during pregnancy cause pre-eclampsia. It is also known as pregnancy-induced hypertension.
The symptoms are sudden swelling of body parts due to fluid retention, upper quadrant stomach pain, vomiting, and headaches. Without treatment, the condition can lead to blood clotting problems, premature birth, and maternal mortality.
Hypertension Pathophysiology
Hypertension definition can be put as a recurring rise in blood pressure in the arteries, which exceeds normal blood pressure of 140 over 90 mmHg.
High BP indicates a blockage or narrowed down arteries which make the heart pump more blood. High BP develops stealthily and damages your vital internal organs in the meantime.
Your blood pressure is composed of two pressure components.
| BMI value | Categories |
|---|---|
| Less than 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5-24.9 | Healthy weight |
| 25-29.9 | Overweight |
| 30 and above | Obese |
Hypertension can be categorized into grades depending on the pressure reading range.
| Early Morning | Breakfast | Mid-Morning | Lunch | Snack | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | A banana & Green Tea | Oats with veggies & a bowl of fruit | Handful of nuts | Two Roti, Dal, Subzi & Salad | A glass of buttermilk | Grilled Vegetables or grilled chicken & quinoa salad |
| Day 2 | A handful of nuts and green tea | Banana milkshake and three egg omelet with veggies | Bowl of fruits | Rice, dal, subzi, salad, yogurt | Handful of roasted peanuts | Dal, subzi, big bowl of salad |
| Day 3 | 1 apple with green tea | 2 boiled eggs, fruit yogurt, 1 toast with cheese | Chickpea salad | Dal, subzi, brown rice, salad, yogurt | fruit salad | Sauteed vegetables, salad and tomato soup |
| Day 4 | Amla with green tea | Besan chila in less oil, mint chutney and 1 glass of milk | Peanut salad | Dal, subzi, multigrain roti, salad, yoghurt | Handful of dried fruits | Broccoli soup with 1 multigrain toast |
| Day 5 | 10 almonds with green tea | Oats idli with sambhar | 1 glass chaach(buttermilk | Dal, subzi, red rice, salad | Handful of nuts | Lentil soup and veggies |
| Day 6 | A glass of jeera water | Boiled channa with a cup of tea (no sugar) | Moderate Consumption of fruits. | Jowar roti, subzi, vegetables and dal | Poha | Salad, Chappati, Vegetables |
| Day 7 | Warm water with 1 pinch cinnamon powder | Sugarfree Muesli with milk | Grilled Paneer with salad | Vegetable Soup, Dal Khichdi, Curd | Green tea with digestive biscuits | Jowar roti, subzi, sprouts, green salad. |
Your doctor or nurse will measure your resting blood pressure using a gauge and an inflatable shackle. The shackle inflates as the pump is compressed and then it is released.
With the help of an attached stethoscope, he/she will hear the first whooshing sound which is the systolic pressure. The point on the gauge when the sound stops is the diastolic reading.
Hypertension pathophysiology deals with the physiological factors that contribute to high BP. Blood pressure is the combined result of cardiac yield and total vascular opposition of your body. Here is a list of such factors that contribute to elevated blood pressure.
- A family history of hypertension points towards genetic mutation which can lead to hypertension in future generations. The mutation mainly affects the reabsorption of salt by kidney and hyperlipidemia.
- A hyper excited sympathetic nervous system can ruin cardiovascular homeostasis and increase your blood pressure.
- Elevated levels of Renin enzyme can increase smooth muscle mass and cause constriction of blood vessels. This directly increases blood pressure.
- Changes in the endothelium of blood vessels can deprive the body of substances influencing blood flow. This can change the vascular tone and disrupt constriction-dilation balance in your blood vessels.
- High sodium and low potassium levels in your blood can also cause smooth muscle contraction of blood vessels and subsequent high blood pressure.
Keeping a Check on Hypertension
It can wreck your internal organs and cause a plethora of health problems. Some are:
- An aneurysm or balloon-like bulge on the arterial
- Kidney disease.
- Heart attack.
- Cardiac failure.
- Dementia
- Atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis (Plague deposit on artery walls).
Some simple precautionary steps and remedial lifestyle changes can prevent and manage hypertension.
- Regular blood pressure screening.
- Engaging in a regular physical exercise of some form.
- Reducing extra body weight by exercising and diet control.
- Quitting alcohol and smoking.
- Better stress management to avoid high BP trigger.
- Following hypertension, diet is known as DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
Quick Bytes:
What is the treatment for hypertension?
Lifestyle modification and taking prescribed high blood pressure drugs like diuretics, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors can help you to keep your blood pressure under control.
What is DASH diet?
This diet includes divided daily servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains without much use of sodium.
What are the drugs that can elevate blood pressure?
Corticosteroids, birth control pills, amphetamines, and cyclosporine are some drugs that can raise your blood pressure.
What is the daily sodium intake limit?
A limit of 1500 mg sodium per day can help to prevent high BP.
What is hypotension?
When the heart doesn’t pump enough blood, the blood pressure goes down and results in hypotension.
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Great post. Very helpful.
Hi! We thank you sharing your positive feedback towards 5 signs that you might suffering from hypertension or high BP. Keep following our blog to know more health information.