From everydayhealth.com
Why You Should Take Hypertension Seriously
More Americans than ever have high blood pressure, and even children are developing the condition at an alarming rate.
Called the “silent killer” because it’s usually symptomless.....
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
The most common diagnosis Dr. Mark Stephan makes in his medical practice isn’t diabetes or arthritis — it’s high blood pressure, or hypertension. More than 76 million Americans have high blood pressure, but only half have it under control and many don’t know they have it at all.
Called the “silent killer” because it’s usually symptomless, hypertension can cause serious health problems such as heart failure, stroke, aneurysm, and kidney damage. According to the American Heart Association, it’s responsible for 350,000 deaths each year, and that number is likely to climb as more adults and even children are diagnosed with it.
“There’s a rise in prevalence of high blood pressure across the country. It’s getting diagnosed a lot more than it did 25 years ago,” said Dr. Stephan, director of family medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. “We think it correlates with the rise of obesity and sedentary lifestyle.”
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the artery walls as the heart pumps. The more blood pumped and the narrower the arteries, the higher the pressure. Most doctors consider normal blood pressure to be a systolic number (the pressure when the heart beats) under 120 and a diastolic number (the pressure between beats) under 80. A systolic pressure of 140 or more and a diastolic number of 90 or more are considered high.
Read more >>
Why You Should Take Hypertension Seriously
More Americans than ever have high blood pressure, and even children are developing the condition at an alarming rate.
Called the “silent killer” because it’s usually symptomless.....
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
The most common diagnosis Dr. Mark Stephan makes in his medical practice isn’t diabetes or arthritis — it’s high blood pressure, or hypertension. More than 76 million Americans have high blood pressure, but only half have it under control and many don’t know they have it at all.
Called the “silent killer” because it’s usually symptomless, hypertension can cause serious health problems such as heart failure, stroke, aneurysm, and kidney damage. According to the American Heart Association, it’s responsible for 350,000 deaths each year, and that number is likely to climb as more adults and even children are diagnosed with it.
“There’s a rise in prevalence of high blood pressure across the country. It’s getting diagnosed a lot more than it did 25 years ago,” said Dr. Stephan, director of family medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. “We think it correlates with the rise of obesity and sedentary lifestyle.”
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the artery walls as the heart pumps. The more blood pumped and the narrower the arteries, the higher the pressure. Most doctors consider normal blood pressure to be a systolic number (the pressure when the heart beats) under 120 and a diastolic number (the pressure between beats) under 80. A systolic pressure of 140 or more and a diastolic number of 90 or more are considered high.
Read more >>
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