Where the pressure of blood running in blood vessels exceeds the state of normalcy, it is called high blood pressure or hypertension. If these vessels constrict, the pressure can increase. Therefore, to keep blood moving, heart has to work harder than the usual. The risk of blood pressure increases with age. But young people may also fall pray to this disease. If you want to know more about the general information regarding blood pressure, your family doctor (G.P) can help you out in this regard. It takes only a few minutes to check your blood pressure. The regular check-up of blood pressure is good both for you and your doctor because it will be recorded. After checking, the doctor will inform you whether or not your systolic and diastolic pressures are normal.

The normal blood pressure of a young man should be around 120/80 mm Hg. Systole is the contraction of the heart during which blood is forced out to the body. Diastole is expansion of the heart as it fills with blood. If the blood pressure is a little lower than the normal it is not necessary to correct it by medication, as it may be a sign of your good health. It may come as a shock when you first come to know that your blood pressure is high. But you should not worry much about it because the doctor, who diagnosed it, will tell you how to control it in future.

High blood pressure does not mean, in any case, that your days are numbered. Rather, this is a warning that you need to care more about your health. Timely diagnosis of hypertension can guarantee you a happy life in future. High pressure can cause diseases like stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney-related problems. It is better to control blood pressure before it can cause these problems.

How to reduce the risk of Hypertension?

It is of utmost importance that you should get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. Often, hypertension makes a very silent assault. It is often without symptoms, and thus it is called a `silent killer`. Researcher are working on the aetiology (cause) of common type of hypertension, but it is mainly genetic and of no discernible cause. We know from statistics that strokes can be prevented if the blood pressure is checked regularly and treated if found to be high. The stroke caused by hypertension is not always fatal but it may cause severe disability and paralysis.

Self-help in blood pressure disease

• Change your pattern of life and keep yourself active.
• Refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol excessively because it may cause narrowing of blood vessels which may result in hypertension.
• Reduce your body weight if you are over-weight as it may lead to other diseases, such as arthritis and deep venous thrombosis.
• Take daily exercise but avoid very strenuous and weight lifting exercises.
• Decrease the amount of salt in your food. Low sodium salts are available from many super- stores in the UK.

A Brief but useful Questionnaire

Whenever the doctor checks your blood pressure, do ask the following questions.
Do not think that you are wasting the time of the doctor or the nurse.

• What is my blood pressure now?
• What should be my normal blood pressure?
• How often should I get my blood pressure checked?
• Will I need any drugs?
• Are there other methods that control blood pressure?

Medicines to reduce high blood pressure

To control your blood pressure, your GP or the hospital doctor will prescribe some drugs. These prescriptions are individually prescribed for each patient. The choice depends on patient characteristics such as age and other associated diseases.

Research has proven that control of blood pressure is very effective and essential for the older people. The important thing to remember is that it takes a while before the benefits become apparent. Hence you should never stop your treatment. However, it is certain that a very good long-term control of blood pressure markedly lowers the risk of stroke and heart diseases.

It is very sad that many patients stop their treatment. If unpleasant side effects develop, then you should know that there are plenty of other medicines that can be given. Therefore, GP must be consulted if you are unable to tolerate your drugs. You should take your medicine regularly and indefinitely, otherwise the “silent” high blood pressure will reappear and cause harm without warning and all the good work will be lost.

For more information, please contact: The British Hypertension Society

Tel: 020 8725 3412

E-mail: bhsis@sghms.ac.uk

Web site: http://www.hyp.ac.uk/bhs/