Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases throughout the world. It is considered as one of the major causes for development of cardiovascular diseases.
Hypertension is characterised by high blood pressure (BP).
BP is the force existing in the walls of arteries due to blood flow.
Causes of hypertension
Based on the cause, hypertension can be classified as either essential (unknown cause) or secondary (specific cause).
The main causes of hypertension are:
Symptoms
In general, hypertensive patients may not have any symptoms. But, some patients might complain of severe headache, nausea or vomiting, confusion, changes in your vision, etc.
Diagnosis
Hypertension is diagnosed by measuring the persistent elevation of blood pressure.
Treatment
Treatment of hypertension includes:
If hypertension is not controlled even after modifying the lifestyle, then drugs are recommended to reduce blood pressure. There are different drugs available to reduce blood pressure. According to the requirement, the physician will prescribe either a single drug or a combination of two or more drugs.
The common drugs used to reduce blood pressure are diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.