High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a major cause of heart disease or stroke.

About 1 in every 5 American adults are thought to develop high blood pressure. The disease is likely to develop in men rather than women. Blood pressure is the amount of pressure exerted by the blood against the arterial walls. Excess sodium in the diet and inadequate potassium and calcium have all caused high blood pressure to occur. People who use alcohol, smoke, or overweight are more likely to develop this disease.

The link between diabetes and high blood pressure is equally complicated. People with high blood pressure and diabetes are at an increased risk. A person that develops hypertension can exacerbate the complications of diabetes. In addition, both diabetes and hypertension tend to occur together with high levels of blood fats and obesity, both of which are risk factors for heart disease. Serious complications of high blood pressure such as kidney failure are more likely to develop in African Americans as opposed to people of other ethnic backgrounds.

Additional factors such as the difference in social stressors, sodium content of the diet and access to medical care may also help explain the disparate nature and rate of hypertension among people of different racial backgrounds. Damage to arteries from high blood pressure, can cause bleeding into the brain (stroke) and into the retina of the eye (which may lead to blindness). Kidney disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, heart attacks can also occur because of hypertension. If an individual experiences symptoms like this you should seek medical attention. Weight reduction in overweight people, eating a diet high in potassium, calcium, magnesium will help lower blood pressure.

A cardiologist usually prescribes medicine depending on the medical condition of each individual.

This entry was filed under Diseases and Conditions.

Tags: heart failure, high blood pressure, risk factors for heart disease