Hypertension – Summary

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

You can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years without any symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels. Although a few people with early-stage high blood pressure may have unclear headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe — even life-threatening — stage.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to: Heart attack or stroke. Aneurysm. Heart failure. Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys. Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes. Metabolic syndrome. Trouble with memory or understanding. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors that come together in a single individual. These metabolic factors include insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities, and an increased risk for clotting. An aneurysm (AN-u-rism) is a balloon-like bulge in an artery

Blood pressure treatment goals Your blood pressure treatment goal depends on how healthy you are. Blood pressure treatment goals 140/90 mm Hg or lower If you are a healthy adult 130/80 mm Hg or lower If you have chronic kidney disease, diabetes or coronary artery disease or are at high risk of coronary artery disease 120/80 mm Hg or lower If your heart isn't pumping as well as it should (left ventricular dysfunction or heart failure) or you have severe chronic kidney disease

Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren't enough. In addition to diet and exercise, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure. Which category of medication your doctor prescribes depends on your stage of high blood pressure and whether you also have other medical problems.

Medications to treat high blood pressure Thiazide diuretics like Hydrochlorothiazide Beta blockers like Atenolol Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. like Enalpril Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) like Losartan Calcium channel blockers like amlodipine

Renin inhibitors like Aliskiren (Tekturna) Alpha blockers like Prazosin Alpha-beta blockers like Labetalol Central-acting agents like Clonidine Vasodilators like hydralazine

Lifestyle changes to treat high blood pressure No matter what medications your doctor prescribes to treat your high blood pressure, you'll need to make lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure. These changes usually include eating a healthier diet with less salt (the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet), exercising more, quitting smoking and losing weight.

Treatment Treatment  — There is no uniform agreement as to which antihypertensive drugs should be given for initial therapy. The major options are: Thiazide-type diuretics Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) Calcium channel blockers Beta blockers, which are now used less often for initial therapy in the absence of a specific indication for their use

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