Treating Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

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Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. It is the opposite of hypotension. It is classified as either primary (essential) or secondary. About 90--95% of cases are termed "primary hypertension", which refers to high blood pressure for which no medical cause can be found. The remaining 5--10% of cases (Secondary hypertension) are caused by other conditions that affect the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system.

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure. Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications, although drug treatment may prove necessary in patients for whom lifestyle changes prove ineffective or insufficient.
Several classes of medications, collectively referred to as antihypertensive drugs, are currently available for treating hypertension. Agents within a particular class generally share a similar pharmacologic mechanism of action, and in many cases have an affinity for similar cellular receptors. An exception to this rule is the diuretics, which are grouped together for the sake of simplicity but actually exert their effects by a number of different mechanisms.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Treating
• Hypertension
• High
• Blood
• Pressure
• diuretics
• medication
• drugs

[geoffphuket]

Forget filling your body full of drugs. Just eat healthfully and do plenty of exercise. Your body doesn't need - or want all that junk food.