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Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. [11] High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. [ 1 ]
Hypertension is usually treated to achieve a blood pressure of below 140/90 mmHg to 160/100 mmHg. According to one 2003 review, reduction of the blood pressure by 5 mmHg can decrease the risk of stroke by 34% and of ischaemic heart disease by 21% and reduce the likelihood of dementia, heart failure, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. [1]
Essential hypertension (also called primary hypertension, or idiopathic hypertension) is a form of hypertension without an identifiable physiologic cause. [1] [2] It is the most common type affecting 85% of those with high blood pressure. [3] [4] The remaining 15% is accounted for by various causes of secondary hypertension. [3]
A diagram explaining factors affecting arterial pressure. Pathophysiology is a study which explains the function of the body as it relates to diseases and conditions. The pathophysiology of hypertension is an area which attempts to explain mechanistically the causes of hypertension, which is a chronic disease characterized by elevation of blood pressure.
The treatment for hypertension will depend on how high your blood pressure is and what’s causing it. For example, elevated blood pressure and hypertension stage 1 may require some lifestyle changes.
At severely high pressures, mean arterial pressures 50% or more above average, a person can expect to live no more than a few years unless appropriately treated. [50] For people with high blood pressure, higher heart rate variability (HRV) is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. [51]
The term apparent refractory hypertension, as opposed to true refractory hypertension is used by investigators to refer to patients with resistant hypertension based on the number of prescribed medications, without accounting for common causes of pseudo-resistance, ie, inaccurate blood pressure measurements, nonadherence, undertreatment, or white-coat effects. [5]
A hypertensive emergency is very high blood pressure with potentially life-threatening symptoms and signs of acute damage to one or more organ systems (especially brain, eyes, heart, aorta, or kidneys). It is different from a hypertensive urgency by this additional evidence for impending irreversible hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD).