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WHAT IS HYPERTENSION?
Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure when your blood pressure is higher than normal. It can lead to severe health complications and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and sometimes death. Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 140 mm Hg or more, or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mm Hg or more, or taking antihypertensive medication.

Stages of Hypertension;

What are the causes of Hypertension;

• a) Primary (Essential or idiopathic).

About 90 to 95% of the cases have BP elevated due to unknown ethology.
Contributing factors;

b) Secondary Hypertension

About 5 to 10% of people, high blood pressure is caused by another disease.


What are the symptoms of High Blood Pressure?


What are the complications of High Blood Pressure?

Hypertension causes damage to the blood vessels and trapped debris like fat and cholesterol forming plaques. That hinder easy flow and blocked blood supply to the heart.

Hypertension cause blockages or bursting of blood vessels that vitalising and oxygenating the brain tissue resulting in stroke.

Hypertension if undiagnosed or untreated, they can cause a serious form of stroke called a haemorrhagic stroke, which bleeds into the brain and can be life-threatening.

Hypertension causes your heart to become enlarged and has to work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body. This thicken heart muscle resulted in heart failure.

Hypertension is the second leading cause of kidney failure, after diabetes. Hypertension causes weakening and narrowing of blood vessels in the kidneys. As a result, damaged kidney unable to remove waste and fluid from the body efficiently or at all. The extra fluid may then raise blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle in the body.

Hypertension can damage the delicate blood vessels in your eyes, reducing blood flow through them and even leading to ruptures. This is called hypertensive retinopathy, which can cause bleeding in the eye, blurred vision or blindness. High blood pressure can also cause fluid to build up within your retina that can distort or impair your vision or damage the optic nerve, which can also cause vision loss.

Hypertension can reduce the blood flow to the arteries in your legs, which can cause pain, cramping, numbness, or heaviness in lower limbs after mild activity. It puts you at a higher risk of developing gangrene and amputation of extremities.

Hypertension is one of the complications that can lead to a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. A group of factors that indicate you are more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Hypertension linked with cognitive impairment, which means ability to think, learn and recall things are reduced. Diagnosed high blood pressure at younger age will have a higher risk of developing dementia as they grow older.

Hypertension can interfere with ejaculation and reduce sexual desire. It disrupts blood flow and causes difficult to achieve and maintain an erection.

Handling Hypertension
With so many serious health conditions tied to high blood pressure, lowering it and keeping it at a healthy level can have a big impact on your quality of life and longevity. If you have or think you might have high blood pressure, talk to your Doctor, who can advise you about lifestyle changes and medications that could be life-saving.

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This article is contributed by:
Dr Chalvantharan Peravy
Chief Medical Officer Accident & Emergency Department
Occupational Health Doctor
KPJ Klang Specialist Hospital