Hypertension: High Blood Pressure

Michael Franchina
Comm. 3300
5/7/10

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a chronic condition in which blood pressure is elevated. “Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body 's tissues. As blood flows through arteries it pushes against the inside of the artery walls. The more pressure the blood exerts on the artery walls, the higher the blood pressure will be. T he size of small arteries also affects the blood pressure. When the muscular walls of arteries are relaxed, or dilated, the pressure of the blood flowing through them is lower than when the artery walls narrow, or constrict”.[1]
The degree hypertension can be treated depends on the case, factors such as current blood pressure level, sodium/potassium balance, detection and omission of environmental toxins, risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and the age at presentation determine this. The length of the detection period also depends on current blood pressure. Most doctors will diagnose it over several weeks to see if medical intervention is needed. If the case is mild then most doctors will then recommend the patient some non pharmacological solutions to the patient before any drug therapy is tried. The British Hypertension Society suggests that non-pharmacological options should be explored in all patients who are hypertensive or pre-hypertensive. These options include Weight reduction and regular exercise (specifically aerobic exercises) as regular exercise helps improve blood flow, reducing dietary sugar intake, reducing sodium intake[4], other dietary changes (such changes include the DASH Diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension), stopping smoking, reducing stress. There are also many different hypertension drugs on the market, common drugs include ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril, fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Zestril), quinapril, ramipril (Altace), Angiotensin II receptor antagonists may be used where ACE inhibitors are not tolerated: e.g., telmisartan (Micardis,
The DAS diet was mentioned earlier is an example of one such way. It can be summarized as such “The DASH diet calls for a certain number of servings daily from various food groups. The number of servings the body requires may vary, depending on your caloric need. When beginning the diet, start slowly and make gradual changes. A diet plan that allows 2,400 milligrams of salt per day (about 1 teaspoon) and then once the body has adjusted to the diet further lower reduction of salt intake to 1,500 mg per day (about 2/3 teaspoon) is suggested. These amounts include all salt consumed, including that in food products, used in cooking, and added at the table.”[5] Another alternative treatment suggested by the British Hypertension Society are various types of stress reduction. This includes meditation, mind body techniques, yoga, reducing environmental stress such as bright lights and noisy appliances, Jacobson 's Progressive Muscle Relaxation (which is essentially alternately tensing and easing muscles in the body to increase blood flow), Biofeedback (which is using sounds and certain pitches to use the brains internal mechanisms to change heart rate, breathing, and pain perception), and machine guided breathing.