Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a medical condition in which the blood pressure chronically rises above the normal levels. In current usage, the word hypertension refers to arterial hypertension. Normal blood pressure is around 120/80. Blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called "pre-hypertension", and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high. 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. In individuals older than 50 years, hypertension is considered to be present when a person's systolic blood pressure is consistently 140 mm Hg or greater.

Resistant hypertension is defined as the failure to reduce blood pressure to the appropriate level after taking a three-drug regimen. The American Heart Association released guidelines for treating resistant hypertension. Although some people report headaches, fatigue, dizziness, blurred vision, facial flushing, transient insomnia, it usually produces no symptoms in isolation as it is often confused with mental tension, stress and anxiety. Hypertension is rarely severe enough to cause symptoms, which surface when the systolic blood pressure is above 230mmHg and the diastolic over 120mmHg.

Hypertension often has several contributing factors. These include obesity, salt sensitivity, insulin resistance, genetics, age, stress, sedentary life. The risk of hypertension is 5 times higher in the obese as compared to those of normal weight and up to two-thirds of cases can be attributed to excess weight. Sodium is an environmental factor that has received the greatest attention. Approximately one third of the essential hypertensive population is responsive to sodium intake. This is due to the fact that increasing amounts of salt in a person's bloodstream causes the body to hold back fluids to equilibrate concentration gradient of salt between the cells and the bloodstream, increasing the pressure on the blood vessel walls.