Treatment for Hypertension

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Blood pressure is the force at which one’s heart pumps blood throughout the body. The body often increases and decreases in blood pressure depending on the external work the body is performing. Physical activities, for example, cause the heart to beat faster and pump blood through the body at a more powerful rate. Hypertension, defined as a chronically elevated blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg, affects nearly 75 million Americans. If left untreated, hypertension can dramatically increase your risk for heart attacks, strokes and peripheral arterial disease. It refers to the increase of blood pressure due to the malfunctioning of the organs responsible to maintaining a normal blood pressure causing the blood pressure to reach abnormally high levels and remain high. An excess volume of blood improperly excreted by the kidney, increased pumping of the blood by the heart, and the constriction of blood vessels cause the body to malfunction. Hypertension is often referred to as the silent killer because there are no symptoms of the disease, slowly causing serious damage and putting one at a risk of sudden death from stroke or heart disease. It is the most prevalent risk factor for development of cardiovascular and kidney disease.

Treatment for hypertension has been associated with reductions in stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. In order to prevent high blood pressure, lifestyle modifications should be made. Choosing a healthier diet, avoiding smoking, and adding physical activity to one’s daily routine can help reduce the rates abnormal blood flow and lower the risks of heart complications. Exercise not only improves the workings of the cardiovascular system, but can lower blood pressure as well. The key to maximizing th...

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...there can be a wide variation in cost. The recommendations for particular drug classes are made with the recognition that sometimes only alternative drug classes will be available. However, most of the time, the use of any drugs that reduce blood pressure is more likely to help protect patients from strokes and other serious events than giving patients no drug at all.

Once one’s treatment program becomes routine, whether it is through lifestyle changes or medication, maintaining a lower blood pressure is much easier. Hypertension is not a problem that one can treat and ignore. It is a condition one needs to manage for the rest of their life. Managing blood pressure is a lifelong commitment and by reminding oneself of the preventive measures of heart failure and stroke allows one to stay on track of their treatment goals and enjoy the benefits of a healthier life.

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