Hypertension

How do you recognize it? As a rule you do not feel anything is wrong, and your hypertension is discovered during a routine checkup. You can live for years with hypertension without ever knowing you have it. More details What is blood pressure? Blood circulates in the arteries and the veins. About 5 liters of blood circulate constantly in an adult body. More details

Do you have hypertension? The normal blood pressure values, at rest, when visiting the doctor are below 140 for the top figure and below 90 for the bottom figure. These figures are identical for the young or older adult. If one of these figures reaches or exceeds these thresholds, you will be considered to have hypertension. More details

Can there be sudden rises in blood pressure?

If you are upset or after experiencing strong emotion, your blood pressure rises. There is no need for alarm until you have taken your blood pressure again after an hour's rest.

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What are the consequences of hypertension?
Hypertension, like all the cardiovascular risk factors, can at some point lead to:

• coronary disease
• a cerebrovascular accident
• heart failure
• kidney failure: hypertension also has an effect on the renal and in fact on all the body's arteries. The kidney is gradually less able to take on its vital function of blood purification, which causes a rise in urea and creatinine levels. Hypertension can lead to severe kidney failure requiring the use of an artificial kidney. This happens above all if the blood pressure remains high for several years.

The causes of hypertension

In over 9 out of 10 cases, no specific cause for hypertension is found. Cases of hypertension with no specific cause are called primary or essential hypertension. A person's family history or lifestyle may be factors which contribute to hypertension in these cases.

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The treatment of hypertension Medication is not the only answer for the treatment of hypertension. Treatment aims to prevent the consequences of hypertension. But your doctor is not just interested in the figures: he or she takes into account your overall situation, and examines all your other cardiovascular risk factors. He or she will then act on all those that are modifiable. More details

The investigations

Generally speaking, hypertension requires few further investigations. These can

Look for a cause for your hypertension Assess whether your hypertension has already had any effect on your heart Look for other risk factors Monitor your treatment Check the functioning of your kidneys

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