What is hypertension?

Hypertension is a disease that affects your heart and blood vessels. It is often called the “silent killer,” since it usually has no symptoms and can be found during a routine checkup.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) occurs when your heart has to work too hard to pump blood through your body. When your heart works too hard, it starts to enlarge and thicken, which puts added stress on the heart muscle. This can lead to heart failure or an enlarged heart that doesn’t pump as efficiently as before.

As hypertension progresses, the walls of your arteries become thicker and stiffer, which increases the force needed to pump blood through them. This makes it harder for blood to flow through vessels, resulting in high blood pressure readings.

If left untreated, hypertension can cause serious health problems, including:

• Heart disease or stroke
• Stroke — one of the leading causes of death in the United States
• Kidney failure — if high blood pressure damages your kidneys

What are the cause of hypertension?

The causes of hypertension are complex and involve both genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, stress, sleep habits, and alcohol use.

Hypertension is classified into primary (essential) or secondary hypertension. Primary hypertension has no clear cause but involves some degree of constriction in the arteries that carry blood to the heart (coronary arteries) or to the head (cerebral arteries). Secondary hypertension has an identifiable underlying cause such as kidney disease or pregnancy-related hormones.

Hypertension has many causes. It may be due to one or more of the following:

• Lifestyle factors, such as poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking
• Obesity, especially around the waist
• High salt intake (sodium)
• Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)
• Kidney disease
• Thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism)
• High levels of cholesterol in the blood

Symptoms of hypertension

Hypertension can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.

The main symptoms are:

• Headache, often worse in the morning
• Dizziness on standing up or walking quickly
• Fatigue, pale appearance (anemia) and shortness of breath when exercising or walking up stairs or hills
• Nausea, vomiting, indigestion, loss of appetite and weight loss

Medications for hypertension

The most common medications for hypertension are diuretics, beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Diuretics: Diuretics help control high blood pressure by causing the kidneys to excrete more salt and water. Diuretics are also called water pills or “loop” diuretics because they work by increasing the volume of urine the body produces. This helps reduce pressure on the arteries and veins in your body.

Examples: Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), chlorthalidone (Hygroton), indapamide (Lozol).

Beta blockers: These drugs slow down the heart rate and reduce blood pressure by blocking certain signals from nerves to muscles in your heart and blood vessels. They are generally used for longer periods of time than other medications for high blood pressure.

Examples: Metoprolol tartrate (Toprol XL), propranolol hydrochloride (Inderal LA, Innopran XL), atenolol (Tenormin).

ACE inhibitors: ACE inhibitors lower blood pressure by reducing production of a hormone that narrows blood vessels and constricts muscles in the walls of arteries and veins — including those in your kidneys — which increases resistance.

How regular physical exercise prevent hypertension?

Regular physical exercise is one of the best ways to prevent high blood pressure (hypertension).

Exercise is also a very effective way to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. Even people with high blood pressure who continue to exercise have less chance of having a heart attack or stroke than those who don’t exercise.

If you have high blood pressure, it’s important that you choose an activity that you enjoy and that fits into your daily routine. The most commonly recommended forms of exercise are walking and cycling, because they’re safe and easy for most people.

Exercise can help reduce the risk factors for high blood pressure:

• It reduces stress on the heart by increasing your heart rate and improving its ability to pump oxygen-rich blood around your body.
• It increases muscle strength and tone, which helps protect against damage from high blood pressure.
• Regular exercise helps control weight gain, which is another risk factor for high blood pressure.