Related topics: diabetes , blood pressure , high 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
A single mechanism for hypertension, insulin resistance and immune suppression
Jun 30, 2008 |
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Many of the 75 million Americans with essential hypertension also develop diabetes and other complications in addition to their high blood pressure, and researchers have discovered a common molecular mechanism ...
Leading worldwide cause of cardiovascular disease may be modified by diet
Jul 08, 2008 |
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A new article indicates that an increased intake in minerals such as potassium, and possibly magnesium and calcium by dietary means may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and decrease blood pressure in people with hypertension. ...
Researchers Build World's Largest Disease Association Network
Apr 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If you suffer from hypertension, how much does your risk for developing diabetes or other illnesses increase? Medical experts have long known that many diseases are related to one another, ...
Anti-aging gene linked to high blood pressure
Aug 19, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have shown the first link between a newly discovered anti-aging gene and high blood pressure. The results, which appear this month in the journal ...
More Americans have, get treated for high blood pressure
Oct 14, 2008 |
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First, the bad news: More American adults have hypertension (high blood pressure) and prehypertension than ever before.
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 ...
Cutting salt isn't the only way to reduce blood pressure
Jan 26, 2009 |
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Most people know that too much sodium from foods can increase blood pressure.
Study finds antioxidant deficiency linked to pulmonary hypertension
Sep 23, 2008 |
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A recent study shows that a loss of antioxidants in the endothelial cells that line blood vessels in the lungs contributes to the loss of vasodilator effects and, ultimately, to the development of pulmonary hypertension. ...
High-blood-pressure treatment for the over-80s too aggressive, warns expert
Dec 23, 2009 |
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People over 80 years are being treated too aggressively for high blood pressure, warns an expert in an editorial in BMJ Clinical Evidence this week.
Sleep apnea thickens blood vessels, increases heart disease risk
May 04, 2009 |
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Obstructive sleep apnea, or periodic interruptions in breathing throughout the night, thickens sufferers' blood vessels. Moreover, it increases the risk of several forms of heart and vascular disease.
Book demystifies psychiatry for the general public
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Psychiatric disorders are underdiagnosed, poorly treated and highly stigmatized, according to psychiatrists Charles F. Zorumski, M.D., and Eugene H. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D. So these Washington University physicians ...
Disease leads to vision loss more often in men
Oct 15, 2008 |
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A new study shows that men are more likely to lose vision as a result of a particular cause of intracranial hypertension, or increased pressure in the brain, than women with the condition. The research is published in the ...
Simple new way to analyze sleep disorders
Apr 15, 2009 |
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Sleep is such an essential part of human existence that we spend about a third of our lives doing it -- some more successfully than others. Sleep disorders afflict some 50-70 million people in the United States and are a ...
High blood pressure easy to miss in children with kidney disease
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension - even during doctor's office visits — increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from ...
Psoriasis associated with diabetes and high blood pressure in women
Apr 20, 2009 |
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Women with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk for developing diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.
