Related topics: blood pressure
Hypertension
hideHypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, HTN or HPN, is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated. In current usage, the word "hypertension" without a qualifier normally refers to systemic, arterial hypertension.
Hypertension can be classified as either essential (primary) or secondary. Essential hypertension indicates that no specific medical cause can be found to explain a patient's condition. About 90-95% of hypertension is essential hypertension. Secondary hypertension indicates that the high blood pressure is a result of (i.e., secondary to) another condition, such as kidney disease or tumours (adrenal adenoma or pheochromocytoma).
Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. At severely high pressures, defined as mean arterial pressures 50% or more above average, a person can expect to live no more than a few years unless appropriately treated. Beginning at a systolic pressure (which is peak pressure in the arteries, which occurs near the end of the cardiac cycle when the ventricles are contracting) of 115 mmHg and diastolic pressure (which is minimum pressure in the arteries, which occurs near the beginning of the cardiac cycle when the ventricles are filled with blood) of 75 mmHg (commonly written as 115/75 mmHg), cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk doubles for each increment of 20/10 mmHg.
For more information about Hypertension, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with hypertension
Key player identified in cascade that leads to hypertension-related kidney damage
Nov 05, 2009 |
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A key player in a cascade that likely begins with stress and leads to high blood pressure and kidney damage has been identified by researchers who say the finding may lead to better ways to control both.
High fructose corn syrup: A recipe for hypertension
Oct 30, 2009 |
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A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San ...
AMD drug and IOP; getting good eyeglasses to those in need
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A first-time finding of intraocular pressure increases in patients with no personal or family history of glaucoma following anti-VEGF treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and a report on a simple, low-cost ...
Researchers reverse pulmonary arterial hypertension in mouse models
Oct 25, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have identified a key protein that promotes the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans and mice. This groundbreaking discovery has implications for ...
Learning the risks for stroke -- and taking action
Oct 23, 2009 |
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The theme of this year's World Stroke Day on 29th October is "What can I do?". As the World Stroke Organization says, everyone can do something: learn to recognise symptoms and take action, learn to recognise the risk factors ...
Accelerated bone growth may be an indicator of hypertension in children
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Children whose bones are "older" than their chronological age may be at an increased risk of hypertension, according to a study reported today in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. As a result, the in ...
Never Too Old to Keep Blood Pressure in Check
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Treating hypertension in adults 60 years old and older can help them live longer, healthier lives, according to an updated review.
Cost effectiveness of blood pressure device evaluated
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates that, for certain patient populations, an experimental device that lowers blood pressure may be a cost effective treatment. The implantable device, ...
Treatment can allow birth despite dangerous disorder
Oct 08, 2009 |
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It's a decision that an expecting mother should never have to make: Abort your unborn child and save your own life or deliver the baby and face possible death a few days later.
Vitamin D deficiency in younger women increases risk of high blood pressure
Sep 24, 2009 |
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Vitamin D deficiency in premenopausal women may increase the risk of developing systolic hypertension 15 years later, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's 63rd High Blood Pressure Research Conference.
Researchers seek clues to high blood pressure's origins, impacts
Sep 17, 2009 |
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How high blood pressure develops and the effects it has on the body are the focus of a two-part study underway at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University that will look at hypertension in the human body and in the laboratory.
Combat exposure may increase likelihood of newly reported high blood pressure
Sep 14, 2009 |
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A survey of American servicemen and women who reported experiencing multiple combat exposures were more likely to self-report high blood pressure than military members not exposed to combat, according to research reported ...
Cutting sodium consumption: A major public health priority
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Reducing sodium intake is a major public health priority that must be acted upon by governments and nongovernmental organizations to improve population health, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Endothelin drugs benefit those with pulmonary hypertension
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Recent research to block the effects of endothelin, a powerful substance that constricts blood vessels and stimulates cell growth, has led to successful treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and provides hope for treating ...
Irbesartan reduces heart failure in patients with quivering heart
Sep 02, 2009 |
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Most research in atrial fibrillation (AF) has focused on reducing stroke and other embolic events. Yet heart failure occurs more frequently in AF patients, but has not been the focus of intervention research.
