High blood pressure (Hypertension) Prevention

Hypertension or chronically increased blood pressure is defined as systolic blood pressure above 120 mm of Hg and diastolic blood pressure above 80 mm of Hg. In more than 95% of cases the cause is unknown and known as essential hypertension whereas in 5% of cases underlying cause is identifiable known as secondary hypertension.

Hypertension is a genetic disease. The identifiable causes of hypertension includes obesity, excess alcohol intake, heavy smoking, lack of exercise, increased intake of salt, decreased intrauterine growth, kidney diseases, endocrine diseases like hypothyroidism, thyrotoxicosis, pheochromocytoma, cushings syndrome, acromagaly, hyperparathyroidism, drugs like oral contraceptives, corticosteroids, NSAID, preeclampsia in pregnancy, coarctation of aorta etc.

Another very grave type known as mialignant hypertension is defined as complicated hypertension of any  underlying cause associated with organ damage like eye involvement or  retinopathy, brain involvement or encephalopathy leading to unconsciousness or stroke, kidney damage manifested by proteinuria, left ventricular failure etc.

Preventive measures:

• Visit your physician every month, monitor blood pressure and take anti-hypertensive drugs as prescribed by the physician
• Anti-hypertensive drug taking will lower your chance of complications and development of malignant hypertension
• Perform the lab tests every year or as per advice of your physician
• Avoid taking excess salt in food and avoid salty food like chips, salted fish, meat etc.
• Avoid smoking, drinking, addiction
• Avoid mental and physical stress, familial discomfort, exercise
• Make friends, talk to them, pass happy times with your family members
• Perform controlled life by following familial, social and religious norms, diet as per instruction of dietician.

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