Blood pressure (commonly known as BP) is the pressure of circulation of blood against the walls of the vessels. Normal BP of an adult person is about 120 mm of mercury systolic and 80 mm of mercury diastolic.
There are two types of Blood pressures
- High Blood Pressure
- Low Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure Definition
High blood pressure is the condition in which the force exerted by the circulating blood in the arteries is so high that it may cause several heart conditions. It means if heart pumps more blood to the narrower arteries leads to higher the blood pressure.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
People suffering from high blood pressure do not usually show any significant symptoms even when the level of blood pressure has reached an alarming level. Men and women experience the same symptoms of high blood pressures. Although some people suffering from high BP will experience signs like shortness of breath, headache, nosebleeds etc. but these are not very significant and do not happen until the blood pressure has reached the life-threatening level.
Here are some inconclusive symptoms;
- Blood spot in the eyes
- Facial flushing due to stress, excessive consumption of alcohol
- Dizziness
High Blood Pressure Causes
There are two causes of high blood pressure;
- Essential high blood pressure
- Secondary high blood pressure
The causes below are associated with high blood pressure;
- Age of a person- as a person get old the chances of him getting affected by high blood pressure are more
- Family history- If a close family member is suffering from High BP then you have a significantly higher chance of getting affected by high blood pressure.
- Temperature- It has a very important role in high blood pressure. The blood pressure is low when it is warm and is higher when it is cold.
- Obesity- People with more weight are more prone to get affected by high blood pressure.
- Gender- High BP is more common in men than women but at the age of 60 both men and women are at risk of getting affected by high BP equally
- Lack of physical work- Lack of exercise increases the risk of getting affected by High BP
- Smoking- smoking makes the blood vessels narrow and increases the blood pressure rapidly.
- Alcohol intake – According to doctors people who intake alcohol get high systolic blood pressure If we compared to those who do not consume alcohol. The study has found that the ones who drink alcohol have approx 7 MM more systolic BP.
- High consumption of salt – The ones who consume more salt are more likely to have higher BP than those who consume less salt
- Fatty diet- According to doctors people who consume more fat are more prone to get affected by high BP as compared to those who do not. It depends on what kind of fat you are consuming for example fats present in fruits and nuts etc. are good fats but junk food contains saturated and trans fats that come from the animal source.
- Stress- mental stress can be the major reason to develop high BP.