Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a common disorder where blood pressure is consistently higher than normal levels. It can be caused by factors like obesity, high salt intake, smoking, and excessive alcohol. While lifestyle changes like exercise, diet modifications, and stress management can help control hypertension, some people may require medication. Common drug classes used to treat hypertension include ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics, which work to relax blood vessels, widen blood vessels, or flush out excess salt and water respectively. Natural remedies incorporating potassium-rich foods, caffeine reduction, and dark chocolate consumption may also help lower high blood pressure.
2. What is HYPERTENSION?
Hypertension is a very common
disorder, particularly past middle
age. It is not a disease in itself, but
is an important risk factor for
cardiovascular mortality and
morbidity.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood
pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure
changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having
blood pressure measures consistently above normal may
result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure (or hypertension).
3. Classification
In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart
Association revised their hypertension guidelines. The previous guidelines set
the threshold at 140/90 mm Hg for younger people and 150/80 mm Hg for
those ages 65 and older.
4. Cause:
• Primary hypertension can result from multiple factors, including:
• having obesity
• insulin resistance
• high salt intake
• excessive alcohol intake
• having a sedentary lifestyle
• smoking
• Secondary hypertension has specific causes and is a complication of
another health problem.
• Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common cause of high blood pressure,
as the kidneys no longer filter out fluid. This excess fluid leads to
hypertension. Hypertension can also cause CKD.
6. Simple lifestyle changes can help reduce high blood pressure, although some
people may need to take medicine as well
REMEDY
•if you're under 55 years of age – you'll usually be offered an
ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin-2 receptor blocker (ARB)
•if you're aged 55 or older, or you're any age and of African or
Caribbean origin – you'll usually be offered a calcium channel
blocker
ACE inhibitors
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
reduce blood pressure by relaxing your blood
vessels.
Common examples are enalapril, lisinopril,
perindopril and ramipril
7. CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS:
Calcium channel blockers reduce blood pressure by widening your blood vessels.
Common examples are amlodipine, felodipine and nifedipine
DIURETICS:
diuretics work by flushing excess water and salt from the body through your pee.
examples are indapamide and bendroflumethiazide.
8. NATURAL WAY:
1.Walk and exercise regularly...
2.Reduce your sodium intake. ...
3.Drink less alcohol. ...
4.Eat more potassium-rich foods. ...
5.Cut back on caffeine. ...
6.Learn to manage stress. ...
7.Eat dark chocolate or cocoa. ...
8.Lose weight.
9.
10. REFERENCES:
1.ESSENTIAL OF MEDICAL
PHARMACOLOGY,BY KD TRIPATHI,JAYPEE
BROTHERS MEDICAL PUBLISHERS,8TH EDITION
2. Rang & Dale's Pharmacology,By
James M. Ritter, Rod J. Flower, Graeme
Henderson, Humphrey P. Rang, Churchill
Livingstone publishers,8th 16 March
2015