High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Causes and Symptoms

Do you know why every doctor’s visit usually begins with a blood pressure check?

It’s because your blood pressure tells a lot about your health and your risk of serious medical problems that may develop in the future.

High blood pressure aka hypertension is also called a “silent killer” because it can severely impact your health without showing any noticeable warning signs. The good news is that bringing your blood pressure back to normal and maintaining it reduces this risk. And Krishna’s BP Care Juice helps you achieve this naturally.

High blood pressure is very common but can be serious if left unchecked. Let’s learn more about it.

How Blood Pressure Works

Blood pressure is the force that blood applies on the walls of your blood vessels as the heart pumps it throughout your body. When your heart beats, it pumps blood through your arteries, and this causes the highest pressure in your blood vessels which is called systolic pressure (the top number that is there in blood pressure readings). Between beats, when your heart is at rest, the pressure drops, which is known as diastolic pressure (the lower number on the reading).

A healthy blood pressure reading is usually around or lower than 120/80 mmHg.

When blood pressure is consistently too high (above 130/80 mmHg) the blood vessels get damaged and develop tiny tears. To repair this, your body sends special cells that stick to the site. Over time, substances like fats and cholesterol may also start accumulating at these sites, which may lead to plaque formation. This build-up of plaque narrows the inside of your arteries. Narrow arteries increase the resistance for blood to flow from your heart which makes the blood pressure higher. Over the long, this increased pressure may lead to health issues, like heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure.

What Causes Hypertension?

There are two common forms of hypertension and the causes vary accordingly.

Primary hypertension: This is the most common type which is also referred to as essential hypertension. It develops gradually over many years and has no clear single cause but a combination of factors like genetic predisposition, ageing (mostly above 65) and unhealthy habits (alcohol consumption, smoking, poor diet, etc).

Secondary hypertension: This type occurs suddenly and tends to result in higher or severe blood pressure compared to primary hypertension. This type may occur due to other health conditions, such as:

• Kidney disease
• Obstructive sleep apnea (a condition in which there is abnormal breathing during sleep)
• Thyroid problems
• Certain congenital issues affecting the blood vessels
• Certain medications

Know your numbers.

Category	Systolic Reading (mm/Hg)	Diastolic Reading(mm/Hg)
Normal blood pressure	Less than 120	Less than 80
Elevated blood pressure	Between 120 and 129	Less than 80
Stage 1 hypertension	Between 130 and 139	Between 80 and 89
Stage 2 hypertension	At least 140	At least 90
Hypertensive crisis	Over 180	Over 120

If a blood pressure reading shows signs of a hypertensive crisis (a sudden increase in blood pressure), the doctor may repeat it after 2 to 3 minutes. If the reading remains the same or higher, the person will require urgent medical attention.

Signs and Symptoms

The condition is generally silent and does not cause any symptoms for years or even decades. So if you have a family history of hypertension or have any other risk factors mentioned earlier the best way is to regularly get your blood pressure checked by your physician. Or you can even monitor it at home using digital BP machines.

But, some people whose blood pressure is severely high (usually 180/120 or higher) may experience the following symptoms:

• Severe headaches
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Irregular heartbeat
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Blurry or double-vision
• Lightheadedness or fainting
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Nosebleeds
• Pounding in the ears, neck, or chest
• Nausea and/or vomiting

How Hypertension Harms Your Body?

At rest, a healthy heart beats 60 to 100 times per minute, depending on your age and your fitness level. This adds up to at least 86,400 beats a day or 31,536,000 beats each year. That’s a lot of work for a muscle that is just the size of your fist. And, like any other muscle, if the heart is forced to work harder, it can grow larger.

A bigger heart in size isn’t better. When the heart’s main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, enlarges to a certain point, it struggles to contract with enough force to pump blood efficiently. This condition is known as heart failure.

Hypertension can also cause the heart muscle to stiffen, which prevents the heart from refilling properly between beats, leading to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

High blood pressure also increases the ageing of arteries which makes them more prone to ruptures. This can result in a hemorrhagic stroke, or to the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques. These plaques increase the risk of ischemic stroke and heart attacks as mentioned above in the blog.

Hypertension-related brain haemorrhages are often spontaneous and occur in the small arteries deep in your brain. Hypertension can increase the risk of silent strokes in these areas by up to 60%.

Ways to Lower Your Risk of Hypertension

Unless your blood pressure is extremely high, you may not usually require medicines to treat it. Just following an active and healthy lifestyle and a few remedies may help reduce your risk of hypertension and heart disease.

Lose Extra Weight And Maintain it Within Your Healthy Range

As your weight increases, your blood pressure may increase as well. Excess weight also causes disrupted breathing while sleeping which may further raise blood pressure.

So if you are overweight or obese, losing those extra kilos is all you need to do to control hypertension. Even a modest reduction like around 5 kilograms in weight can reduce your systolic blood pressure by around 7mmHg.

You should also watch your waist circumference. For men, it should be less than 40 inches (102 centimeters), and less than 35 inches (89 centimeters) for women.

Limit Alcohol Intake

Excessive alcohol intake can also make your blood pressure high. It may also cause weight gain because of the extra calories in it. So, if you drink alcohol on a regular basis, try to stick to the recommended guidelines of no more than one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men. If possible, every week have several alcohol-free days.

Eat Less Salt

Salt causes your body to retain water. When you consume too much salt, the extra water in your blood increases the pressure on your blood vessel walls, leading to higher blood pressure. If you already have high blood pressure, excessive salt intake can worsen the condition and reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

Cut down on your daily salt intake to help lower your blood pressure. Make sure to not add salt to your food at the table or consume processed or packaged food because they are high in salt.

Increase Exercise

Regular physical activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling, can help lower your blood pressure as it improves your heart’s efficiency and strengthens your cardiovascular system. The more exercise the better, but even 150 minutes of moderate exercise can help.

5. Use Natural Ayurvedic Supplements

Ayurvedic supplements can support your efforts to maintain healthy blood pressure. A supplement like Krishna’s BP Care Juice is specially made with natural herbs like Bach, Sankhpushpi, Jatamasi, Rudraksha, and Sarpagandha which are widely known for lowering blood pressure, promoting heart health and reducing risk factors like stress.

Learn more about Ayurvedic Herbs for Blood Pressure

Takeaway!

Managing high blood pressure is not an easy task but taking these small steps can go a long way toward reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Also, with a risk of Hypertension, regular checkups are a must.  So make sure you get it checked before it wreaks havoc on your body and the alarming symptoms appear.