High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the most common cardiovascular disease. Blood pressure refers to the force of blood pushing against artery walls as it flows through the body. High blood pressure can threaten healthy arteries and lead to life-threatening conditions such as heart disease and stroke. Hypertension is the leading cause of stroke and a major cause of heart attack.
Hypertension is often called "the silent killer" because it rarely causes symptoms, even as it inflicts serious damage to the body. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to vision problems, as well as to heart attack, stroke, and other potentially fatal conditions, including kidney failure. One in four American adults has high blood pressure. Hypertension is defined as a blood pressure at or above 140 / 90 mm Hg (CDC, n.d.).
Fortunately, high blood pressure can be controlled effectively. Patient education is one of the most important jobs of a nurse. The purpose of this teaching plan is to improve health and possibly save lives by generating and d...
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to the dysfunctional conditions of the heart, arteries, and veins that supply oxygen to vital life- sustaining areas of the body like the brain, the heart itself and other vital organs. Since the term cardiovascular disease refers to any dysfunction of the cardiovascular system there are many different diseases in the cardiovascular category, and many of these diseases are strongly intertwined. Ischemic Heart Disease is the medical idiom for the obstruction of blood flow to the heart. It is usually due largely in part to excess fat or plaque deposits that narrow the veins that provide oxygenated blood to the heart. This excess fat buildup and plaque are respectively known as arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. Hypertension is frequently a result of both arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis, and can lead to more serious CVDs, such as angina attack (an acute and squeezing chest pain due to inefficient blood flow to the heart), and myocardial infarction( the sudden death of part of the heart muscle). A stroke is a CVD that occurs when there is in inadequate oxygen flow to the brain. An abnormally high or abnormally low heart rate because of the disruption of the natural electric impulses of the heart is called cardiac arrhythmia. Carditis and endocarditis, the infection and inflammation of the heart, can occur as a result of a weak immune system, liver problems, heart surgery, or an autoimmune disorder.
Hypertension is considered to be a disease in which a constantly raised blood pressure, or higher than what is perceived “normal” blood pressure, causes a halt in organ function such as heart failure, a stroke etc (Opie, L. H.). Most people don’t even know that they have hypertension as a condition because they haven’t had their blood pressure measured at a health care facility. In South Africa Hypertension is usually considered to be a “silent killer” because most people do not even realise that they are suffering from it because of their lack of knowledge on the subject. “Consequently, hypertension is universally underdiagnosed and/or inadequately treated resulting in extensive target-organ damage and premature death. Furthermore, hypertension frequently co-exists with other risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL), such as diabetes and obesity” (Steyn, 2005).
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed hypertension or high blood pressure a global public health issue (World Health Organization, 2013). Not only does hypertension affect over 1 billion people worldwide but in the Unites States alone, about 76.4 million Americans over the age of 20, equating to about 1 in 3 adults, have hypertension (AHA, 2012). This growing health condition occurs when an individual’s blood pressure when the heart beats (systolic) is higher than 140 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) and their blood pressure when the heart relaxes (diastolic) is 90 mm Hg or higher (AHA, 2012). The higher the blood pressure means more force is used to pump blood from the heart to arteries, which causes several health problems (AHA, 2012). For instance, the increased force stretches out blood vessels which may lead to tears and ruptures (AHA, 2012). This can also form blood clots that can stop blood from reaching other parts of the body which can cause other organs, specifically the heart, to become overworked (AHA, 2012). Unfortunately, hypertension is also known as a “silent killer” as it does not cause any symptoms (World Health Organization, 2013). If left untreated, hypertension can lead to cardiovascular disease and other fatal health consequences, such as heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure (World Health Organization, 2013). In fact, the WHO estimates that hypertension accounts for 9.4 million deaths each year (World Health Organization, 2013).
Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated.
One of the main reasons hypertension can be so dangerous is because you may not even know you’re suffering from it, in fact, nearly one-third of patients suffering from hypertension don’t even know that they have it (WebMD 2015). The number one reason hypertension goes undetected for so long is because in most cases, there are no clear warning signs of the blood pressure being high. Some signs/symptoms
Blood pressure is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body. Hypertension is another term used to describe high blood pressure. This common condition increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death for Americans. High blood pressure contributed to more than 362,895 deaths in the United States during 2010. Approximately 67 million persons in the United States have high blood pressure, and only half of those have their condition under control. An estimated 46,000 deaths could be avoided annually if 70% of patients with high blood pressure were treated according to published guidelines (Patel, Datu, Roman, Barton, Ritchey, Wall, Loustalot; 2014).
What is hypertension? Hypertension is a medical condition where the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. (Nordqvist 2013) Hypertension is commonly known as high blood pressure. If hypertension is left untreated, it can cause severe health problems such as stroke and heart failure. In order to treat hypertension, the drug Losartan is used. Losartan is an angiotensin-II receptor antagonist (AIIRA). In other words, it can also be known as angiotensin receptor blocker. (Allen 2012)
Cardiovascular Disease is broad term that encompasses several diseases related to heart or blood vessels or both. Some of which include, congenital heart abnormalities, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, diseases of the cardiac valves, cardiomyopathies, and cancer. There are many causes of CVD but hypertension and atherosclerosis (hardening of the artery) are most common. It’s true when H.L. Menchen said, “As the arteries grow hard, the heart grows soft.”
Hypertension also known simply as high blood pressure is a common problem related to heart disease. When a person has high blood pressure, the heart has to work harder. It also speeds up the hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Although high blood pressure cannot be cured, it can be controlled with a healthy diet, exercise and if necessary medication
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a disease by which the force of the arteries raises the blood pressure in the body. The continuous elevation of the high blood pressure will ultimately lead to major health issues. Boedthjer & Aalkjaer (2013) states, "frequently described causes for hypertension involve changes in the kidneys, the resistance vasculature, and the autonomic nervous system" (p.1). Blood pressure is assessed by the strength of blood that depresses against the vessel walls. Consequently, an increase in an individual 's blood pressure will tighten the arteries and cause the heart to pump more blood.
High blood pressure can damage and weaken you arteries. It is known as the silent killer because many people do not know they have the condition. High blood pressure is common in some areas of the United States than in others. High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for strokes. It can be controlled by several different ways. You can take medication, lose weight, exercise regularly, eat healthy, reduce sodium in your diet, limited your alcohol you drink, avoid tobacco and secondhand smoke, cut back on caffeine, reduce your stress, monitor your blood pressure at home, and get support from your family and friends
Hypertension is deadly and it is a silent killer, if not detected on time, it can cause severe complications to major organs in the body.
The nurse is always looking for ways to educate the patient. To be effective at educating the patient, the nurse must be willing and able to combine assorted styles and methods to help teach additional information. The nurse will have more success in this teaching role if she understands learning theories and which ones to apply in different populations (Nies and McEwen, 2015). The purpose of this post is to describe a learning theory which would be well suited when providing teaching to an adult population in my community who have cardiovascular disease and need education on lowering blood pressure levels.
High Blood Pressure and Heart disease: There are a number of factors that causes high blood pressure and heart disease like smoking, drinking heredity, obesity, and excessive intake of fats, but one of the most important factors that lead to high blood pressure and heart disease is stress. Laughter definitely helps to control blood pressure by reducing the release of stress related hormones and bringing relaxation.
Patient education is an important element of nursing practice and its purpose is to increase the competence and confidence of clients for self-management (Falvo, 2011). In order to educate the patient about a newly diagnosed condition, it is important for nurses to first construct an effective lesson plan. The scenario of Mr Singh`s newly diagnosed hypertension in part A is used as an example of a successful teaching plan. The purpose of the following essay is to explain and justify the content of the lesson plan. Each section of the plan will be discussed in order according to part A, with an effective use of scholarly literature.