What is essential hypertension and how to manage it

Essential hypertension is a form of high blood pressure without underlying cause. The condition is also often called primary or idiopathic hypertension, and the majority of people with high blood pressure have this type.

Jump at the main dishes to remember.

Causes and risk factors

There are many contributing factors associated with essential hypertension. They include:

• Genetics, as some people are more likely to develop high blood pressure than other
• More advanced age, like those over 65 have a higher risk
• High alcohol or sodium consumption
• Have obesity
• Live a sedentary lifestyle

What are the symptoms?

In many cases, people with essential hypertension will not feel any symptoms or have no sign. If someone has a blood pressure of 180/120 or more (which is very high), it can start to feel symptoms such as:

Essential hypertension vs secondary hypertension

Essential hypertension, which takes into account most cases, occurs when there is no underlying health or to cause its development. It tends to develop slowly and can be soft, moderate or severe.

Secondary hypertension develops at a faster rate and is often more serious.

There are some different causes of secondary hypertension, including:

• Certain drugs, including anti-inflammatory drugs, chemotherapy drugs, immunosuppressive agents and psychiatric drugs
• Health disorders, including kidney diseases, obstructive sleep apnea and thyroid disorders
• Structural heart problems that are present at birth

How is it diagnosed?

A health care provider will read blood pressure using a cuff and a stethoscope to diagnose essential hypertension. They will do several readings at different times to see if the blood pressure beaches change over time.

To exclude the underlying causes, a health care provider can do tests for other disorders, ask which drugs you are currently taking and taking note of your lifestyle habits.

Sometimes they may have to carry out tests of the electrical activity of your heart, ultrasound your kidneys or check your cholesterol levels.

What are the processing options?

To treat essential hypertension, you may have to make lifestyle changes and take medication, or both. Certain lifestyle changes that can help lower blood pressure include:

• Eat a healthy diet with low salt consumption
• Reach and maintain healthy weight
• Be more physically active and less seated
• Quit smoking
• Reduce your alcohol consumption
• Reduce your consumption of foods rich in saturated or trans fatty

Medicines to treat high blood pressure include:

• ACE inhibitors
• Angiotensin-2 receptor blockers
• Calcic channel blockers
• Diuretics (water pills)

Risks of untreated essential hypertension

If you do not treat essential hypertension, it can continue to worsen over time, which leads to complications.

Complications of untreated essential hypertension include:

• Cardiovascular complications, such as strokes, heart attack, heart failure, sudden heart death or arrhythmia
• Kidney disease or failure
• Loss of vision
• Sexual dysfunction

Can you prevent hypertension?

In some cases, essential hypertension can be avoided with lifestyle changes. This implies:

• Eat healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables
• Sitting less and obtaining at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate intensity per week
• Be more physically active
• Lose weight if you have an excess weight or obesity
• Take prescription drugs to maintain other conditions that may lead to hypertension under control
• Stop smoking and reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption
• Limit refined sugar intake
• Reduce and manage stress

Perspectives and prognosis

High blood pressure can have serious consequences. However, if you remain vigilant on the readings of blood pressure and reduce your risk factors, you can manage or lower your blood pressure rate and, with it, serious complications.

Since untreated hypertension is progressing and worsening over time, making lifestyle changes to manage blood pressure and staying healthy is vital. With adequate management, most people live a long and healthy life with essential hypertension.

Main to remember

• Essential hypertension develops without identifiable cause and can be cracked in lifestyle, genetics or age. It can be soft, moderate or serious in people who develop the condition.
• If you are not sure of your state of blood pressure or if you feel certain symptoms and fall into one or more high -risk categories, you should see your health care provider for a reading.