High Blood Pressure is a silent, mysterious killer: silent
because it has no characteristics, mysterious because
in more than 90% of cases the cause is not known.

MISCONCEPTS

Most of us have had our bp taken and are familiar with the
procedure used and the familiar cuff. Yet with all the awareness
of the procedure, blood pressure is something of an unknown
to the general public. Only 13% of the population and 18% of
people with HBP knows that High Blood Pressure is the major
cause of heart problems.

SYMPTOMS

HBP often goes undetected because most victims don't feel
sick or have pain and othe symptoms. Symptoms do not
usually develop until the disease is advanced. Another
reason is too many of us do not see a Doctor for regular
checkups. When symptoms are present the most common
complaint is a headache which occurs most frequently in the
morning and disappears as the day wears on. The pain may
be in any part of the head but most often is in the back. It may
be no more than a feeling of stiffness or tightening and may less
often also be an excruciating , throbbing pain. Fatigue is the
next most often complaint with irritability and nervousness.
Diziness is another complaint with feelings of vertigo and
faintness. Some hypertensives develop frequent nosebleeds
that persist longer than ordinary nosebleed. Chest heaviness
may be a symptom. Pressure develops in the chest because
the heart cannot pump out as much blood as it is receiving and
fluid backs up in the lungs. There may be chest pain and shortness
of breath. Some people are plagued by pains in the arms, legs,
shoulder blades,and back which disappear when your blood
pressure is brought under control. These symptoms are common
to other ailments and by no means indicate hypertension
exclusively. Let your DOCTOR sort them out.

TREAMENT DROP-OUTS

Several reason why people do not remain on treatment are:
they feel better and do not continue to see Doctor and take
medications, think when Doctor says blood pressure is
controlled thinks that means it is normal, lacks motivation to
continue, lacks knowledge of condition and/or doesn't like
the side effect of treatment. But none of them are very good
reasons to not see your Doctor and get appropriate treatment.

OUTLOOK

Hypertension is a controllable illness with appropriate diet and
medication. Failure to treat can lead to heart attacks and strokes,
It may lead to a weakened vessel that can rupture causing
excessive hemmorage and possible paralysis.

THE CIRCUIT

The first thrust of blood goes into the aorta, the main blood channel
leading from the heart. The aorta sends branhes into the head,
trunk, arms, legs and the branches divide into smaller and smaller
vessels until the network tapers off into tiny vessels. These are
caled arterioles and capillaries. This is natures way of insuring
that every blood cell is exposed to the tissues of the body. Blood
is returned to the heart through the veins, beginning with the venules.
The veins join again and again, emptying into larger channels until
they finally unite in two key vessels, the upper and lower vena cava,
which empty into the collecting reservoir in the upper right chamber
of the heart. From the right side of the heart the blood is pumped to
lungs, where it picks up a fresh supply of oxygen and eliminates
carbon dioxide. Then it flows to the left side of the heart, where the
keft ventricle drives it out again for another trip through the body.

The whole system has been compared to the cooling apparatus
of an automobile, in which the water pump (heart) forces water
(blood) past the moving parts to remove heat, then to the radiator
(lungs) to cool the water and back to the pump to repeat the cycle.
The water must be kept under pressure by the water pump. Blood
pressure, then, is the force exerted by blood against walls of the
vessels that carry it. When the heart contract, the pressure is
increased. When the heart relaxes, the pressure is decreased.

Blood pressure reading are recorded by your Doctor as 120/80
or systolic 120 (pressure measurement of the beating heart) over
80 diastolic (pressure when the heart is at rest between contractions).

SOME CAUSES OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

Heredity
Salt
Obesity
Aging
Some medications
Stress and emotions
Smoking

*Information contained herein is intended for general
information only and is not intented to replace your
Doctor, Pharmacist or Health Care Provider*

For information on disease overview and drug
information visit

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