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- What is high blood pressure?
- Symptoms of high blood pressure
- Causes of high blood pressure
- Prevention of high blood pressure
- Risk factors for high blood pressure
- Complications of high blood pressure
- When to see a doctor about high blood pressure
- Diagnosis of high blood pressure
- Conventional treatment of high blood pressure
- Alternative/complementary treatment of high blood pressure
- Living with high blood pressure
- Caregiving for someone with high blood pressure
Scientists still do not know exactly what causes high blood pressure in the majority of cases (over 80%), although there are many known risk factors that can elevate blood pressure above normal levels.
There are three main types of high blood pressure (or hypertension) that are defined:
Primary (essential) high blood pressure
For the majority of people with high blood pressure, the cause is not known, but there are a number of risk factors that are associated with the development of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure cannot be cured, but is usually well controlled with medication and diet, as well as lifestyle modifications
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Secondary hypertension
Some people's high blood pressure can be attributed to known causes, such as:
- Adrenal gland problems - the adrenal glands increase blood pressure when we are faced with a stressful situation. If the adrenal glands are not functioning properly, they can cause a problem by elevating blood pressure too high
- Hormone problems - certain hormones produced by the body function by elevating blood pressure. If these hormones are not functioning normally, they could continue to elevate blood pressure too high
- Kidney disease - people with kidney disease can have high blood pressure. If the kidneys are not functioning properly, this can cause the re-absorption of sodium and higher blood pressure to develop
Malignant hypertension
This type of high blood pressure is very insidious as it usually presents with no symptoms even though blood pressure is really high (around 200/130Hg). This type of hypertension can sometimes be detected by a visual examination of the eye, which can display the haemorrhage and swelling of the optic nerve. Until anti-hypertensive medications were developed, people who were diagnosed with malignant hypertension would often die within 12 months of diagnosis. Malignant hypertension can ultimately case brain swelling, kidney damage and loss of vision.
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