Essential Hypertension - Everything You Need to Know
As you know, high blood pressure is a chronic condition, wherein the force of your blood against the walls of your arteries is too high. In cases where no reason for high blood pressure is found, it is then termed as essential hypertension. Essential hypertension is also commonly known as primary hypertension.
What most of you might not know is that maximum number of high blood pressure cases fall under essential hypertension.
What are the risk factors of essential hypertension?
There are certain factors that put you at a greater risk of suffering from essential hypertension which include:
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No physical activity
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Being overweight or obese
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Genetics
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Alcohol consumption
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Taking too much stress
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Age (It is more common among the middle age group)
How to treat essential hypertension?
One of the most recommended ways for treating essential hypertension is by following a healthy lifestyle. You can include lifestyle changes such as:
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Involving yourself in some kind of physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes everyday
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Maintaining a healthy weight, if you are obese
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Quitting smoking and avoiding intake of alcohol
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Staying calm and avoiding unwanted stress
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Limiting the salt intake in your daily diet
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Eating a diet that is good for your heart
Also, there are certain complications that have been linked with essential hypertension. Since high blood pressure forces your heart to work harder. As a result of this, sufficient amount of blood is not delivered to other parts of your body, which can cause:
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Damage to the eyes
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Kidney related problems
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Nerve damage
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Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries
So, prevent your blood pressure from rising by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking medications as suggested by your doctor. This way you can avoid various complications associated with essential hypertension.