Cardiovascular Disease

One type of cardiovascular disease is hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. More than 3 million Americans are diagnosed with high blood pressure per year; it affects 1 in 4 American adults most commonly over 40 years of age. Hypertension requires a medical diagnosis by a doctor either by lab work or routine blood pressure readings. Even though there are several different types of hypertension the most common type is essential hypertension; essential hypertension affects 95% of people with high blood pressure. There is no single identifiable cause for high blood pressure; high blood pressure occurs because of high salt intake, smoking, being overweight or obese, lack of physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and genetics. Most of the people are symptomless; but may experience frequent headaches, tiredness, dizziness, or nose bleeds. High blood pressure can last for a few years or a lifetime. High blood pressure makes the heart work too hard and if left untreated or uncontrolled, it makes the walls of the arteries hard. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease and blindness. Going to regular appointments with your personal care physician or a specialist like a cardiologist and following their treatment regiment, like taking medicine, monitoring your diet, reducing your salt intake, quitting smoking, relaxing in order to reduce stress levels and doing normal physical exercise can help lessen the risk of high blood pressure. My dad has high blood pressure; it’s hard for him because with him being a paramedic, being in a fast pace work force, working three days in a roll, and maybe only having one day off a week. He takes regular blood pressure readings and sends to his cardiologist to assist in keeping his high blood pressure under control. In conclusion, though hypertension can be caused by family genetics, a change in lifestyle is just as important to control your high blood pressure.