High Blood Pressure is on a rise and a most common public health concern. Stressful and sedentary lifestyles with no diet and other modifications increase proneness to hypertension. Medical experts identify family history as a big reason for hypertension. With the changing environmental and lifestyle conditions, people are inviting hypertension much early in their lives. WHO reports that 1 out 3 deaths are due to heart diseases in India. About 72 million Americans i.e. 60% of the US population have hypertension.
Blood pressure is pressure inside the walls of blood vessels or arteries with which the blood is able to flow throughout the body. Systolic pressure is force of contraction period of heart. Diastolic pressure is when the ventricles are enlarged or in other words when heart relaxes and sucks blood in itself. A Systolic pressure of 120 and diastolic pressure of 80 is considered to be optimal. A systolic of 120-130 and diastolic of 80-89 is pre-hypertension. While 140/90 is an alarming situation of high blood pressure or hypertension.
High blood pressure can trigger Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is plaque formation in blood vessels. Slow steady formation of plaque formation can lead to organ failure, stroke and kidney and heart diseases.
Causes
- There is no identifiable cause for hypertension. Genetic and environmental causes seem to play a key role in developing hypertension.
- People with family history may have hypertension as early as in their 30s.
- Increase of stress (Physical, Mental, Emotional), obesity (BMI above 25), diet with excess salt or sodium and lack of exercise are environmental factors that can lead to hypertension.
- Secondary factors such as hormonal changes in women (menopause) or birth control pills that can lead to higher estrogen may also cause hypertension
Symptoms
Known as silent killer, hypertension does not have any clear symptoms. It can persist for long with no visible symptoms but can cause progressive damage inside. Some of the symptoms are:
- Dilated eyes
- Sweating
- Heart beats faster
- Blood vessels contract
- Headache and dizziness
- With the Blood pressure monitor it can be easily detected.
Prevention
- Smoking and alcohol should be completely avoided
- Salt should be avoided
- Weight management is extremely important
- Caffeine should be avoided
- Avoid soda beverages, processed foods, ketchups, sauces, pickles
- Avoid eating egg yolks and high fat meats. Vegetarian diet is recommended.
- Stress-free lifestyle is important. Meditation should be followed to relax and be emotionally free from stress.
- Good Sound sleep is very important
- Exercises such as Yoga and cardio-vascular exercises, treadmill should be performed daily
- Walking is best exercise to prevent from hypertension
- Once a year Blood pressure monitoring is advised for above 50 people
Medication
- Allopath or conventional experts give diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide commonly known as water pills which remove excess salt from body.
- The other drugs are angiotensin blockers which block one type of hormone influence that causes blood pressure
Diet
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
- Low salt and Low fat diet
- Green Tea
- Carrots- beta carotene, red peppers
- Lycopene found in tomatoes
- Potassium-Bananas, Asparagus, Oranges, grapes, cauliflower
- Magnesium- 15000-2000mg- nuts, legumes, beans
- Omega 3 fatty acids- nuts and seeds in salads
- Calcium- low fat milk, cheese, low fat yogurt, celery
- Fiber rich diet, whole grains
- Leafy Dark green vegetables
- Low fat dairy
- Natural blood thinners- garlic, turmeric, ginger, curry leaves lower cholesterol in blood
- Ayurvedic herb Shankha pushpi is good for heart health
Other lifestyle modifications
- Relaxation techniques such as Deep Breathing (Pranayam), Massage, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, guided imagery, relaxation music, help relieve stress and calms body
- Yoga- parvatasan, dog pose
- Emotional balance
- Losing 10 pounds reduces blood pressure
- Experts say that people who work more than 40-50 hours a week have higher chances of hypertension