High Blood Pressure and Info on the Web

Hypertension and Info on the Web

Kaplan University

NS-210

D. Franciscy

May 21, 2010

High Blood pressure and Info on the Web

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension is one of the most common diseases in the United States. It affects approximately 65 million people in America and 59 million people will have a form of pre-hypertension (DASH, 2006). Hypertension is easily managed and very controllable, it does not go away once you are diagnosed but through help of your doctor and help through lifestyle changes you can control, manage, and even lower your high blood pressure. The internet provides a multitude of facts and helping tools to guide you through the process. There are many reputable websites that can be found.

Hypertension is diagnosed by your doctor. There are no warning signs and for 90- 95 % of the population it develops gradually through the years, although in advanced stage of undetected hypertension some may experience dizzy spells and sometimes nose bleeds. For the other 5 – 10% hypertension is usually cause by an underlying cause such as kidney abnormalities, medications, adrenal tumors, or illegal drug use such as cocaine or amphetamines. Sometimes pregnancy can cause hypertension but in most cases this goes away after the birth of the baby.

Blood pressure is the force of blood flow on your artery walls, if there is too much blood flow then this will cause your heart to work harder or pump too fast and will weaken your arteries. When the heart pumps too much and your arteries narrow and this causes hypertension. Your blood pressure is measured by numbers, technically in millimeters of mercury (mmHg); the numbers recorded are measuring the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is how many times your heart beats and the time it takes, while the diastolic pressure measure the time in between your heart beat...