High blood pressure is not a disease but a condition. It is often called "the silent killer" because it usually has no symptoms, and cannot be observed easily. High blood pressure is fatal. When high blood pressure is not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to other life-threatening conditions, including heart diseases and stroke. Therefore, we cannot neglect it.

What is blood pressure?

Each time your heart beats, it pumps oxygen-rich blood through the blood vessels, or arteries, that run through your body. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. The pressure of blood against the artery walls when your heart beats is called systolic pressure. The pressure between beats when your heart relaxes is called diastolic pressure. As defined by the World Health Organization, a reading below 140 / 90 (measured in mmHg) is considered a normal blood pressure reading. You are considered to have borderline hypertension (High blood pressure) with readings of of 141 / 90 to 160 / 95. Blood pressure reading higher than 160 / 95 is considered high blood pressure, or hypertension. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Your blood pressure changes throughout the day. It is usually lowest when you're asleep, and it rises when you awaken. It also can rise when you are excited, nervous, or active. So it varies throughout the day. To determine whether you have high blood pressure, measurement has to be done for several times in different days.


Causes of High Blood Pressure

The causes of high blood pressure can be divided into two types, primary and secondary hypertension. About 90 % of those with high blood pressure have no known specific cause. This is called primary hypertension. It is associated with genetics, and diets such as obesity, eating too much salts or drinking too much alcohol. Long-term medication is needed for these patients in order to control their blood pressure. The remaining 10 % of those with high blood pressure have a known specific cause. For example, your high blood pressure may be caused by having  another problem, such as having hyper- thyroidism, pheochromocytoma, and kidney disease. This type of high blood pressure is called secondary hypertension. If a specific cause is cured, hypertension will subside. In addition, there is a close relationship between diabetes and hypertension for people with ages over 40.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

People with mild or moderate high blood pressure do not show any symptoms, or just occasionally get headache, feel dizzy, insomnia, or feel fatigue in necks. However, when the blood pressure surges from 160 mmHg to 240mmHg, people may have serious headache, nausea and vision blockage. Most patients discover that that they have high blood pressure after measuring their blood pressure by doctors. High blood pressure is often called the "silent killer". The only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure measured.
 

Risks caused by High Blood Pressure

Over time, high blood pressure can cause serious complications. Symptoms include:

  • your heart work too hard and become larger or weaker, leading to heart failure, angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction.
  • hypertensive encephalopathy, breakage of blood vessels of brain or brain infarction, leading to stroke.
  • blood vessels in your kidneys narrow, which can cause kidney diseases, kidney failure, uremia...etc.


Influence of Cholesterol on Blood Pressure

When the blood cholesterol level is too high, blood vessels will become narrow, leading to atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Thyroxine imbalance contributes partly to high cholesterol level; while most of the cases are caused by inheritance or eating problems. Therefore, it is important to maintain the right eating habits in order to prevent atherosclerosis.

Prevention

You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle. For example, you can:

  • lower the intake of saturated fat and cholesterol from diets by consuming less high-fat food such as animal organs and butter.  Use canola oil when frying vegetables. Eat moderate amount of lean meat, tofu and dairy products. Consume more low-fat and high dietary fibre food.
  • lower your salt intake and avoid processed food. The key to reducing the amount of salt we eat is making wise food choices.
  • do not overeat or eat too much fat-energy food(high fat or sugar) to prevent obesity due to intake of surplus energy.
  • ensure adequate intake of minerals, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium
  • if you drink alcoholic beverages or smoke, do so in moderation 
  • be physically active and maintain a healthy weight. Overweight can add extra burden to the heart, leading to increased blood pressure.