Like a cat burglar, it progresses steadily, silently, leaving little evidence of its imminent danger. Unchallenged, it can take all you possess…including your life.
Hypertension is characterized by sustained elevations of blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force blood exerts against the walls of the blood vessels. It is determined by the volume of blood pumped from the heart during each heart beat– called, “stroke volume”– and the resistance the blood encounters while passing through the vessels of the body during peripheral circulation. Hypertension has long been recognized as a leading contributor to a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and heart attacks, for a variety of reasons:

• (1) Sustained high blood pressure forces the heart to work harder when it ejects blood in order to overcome the resistance in the arteries. The increased pressure can cause enlargement of the heart muscle– especially the left ventricle, the chamber that ejects blood into the entire body– increasing the risk of a heart attack.
• (2) The constant strain of hypertension in the brain’s blood vessels may cause some of the smaller ones to burst. This can produce a stroke, depriving vital nerve centers of oxygen.
• (3) The effects of hypertension can damage other major organs of the body including the eyes and kidneys. Kidney damage can perpetuate a vicious cycle, as the damaged kidney may secrete a substance (rennin) which will increase already high blood pressure!
• (4) High blood pressure accelerates the process of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), leading to a heart attack. Blood pressure is measured at two points in the cardiac cycle: a- When the heart’s left ventricle chamber contracts emptying blood into the aorta called, “systole”, and, b- when blood is filling the left ventricle, and pressure in the aorta is at its lowest level called, “diastole.” These two pressure points are referred to as, “systolic” and “diastolic”, and are represented as the former over the latter– like a fraction in math.

There are acceptable criteria for “good” and “bad” blood pressure (BP); classifications or types of hypertension, and conditions which exacerbate or improve the situation. Blood pressure in most cultures tend to increase with age. A widely accepted convention for a “therapeutic” classification proposes normal blood pressure to be: (a) For ages 17-40, BP’s less than 140/90; (b) For ages 41-60, BP’s less than 150/90; (c) Over age 60, BP’s less than 160/90. Hypertension is defined as: (a) For ages 17-60, BP’s above 160/100; (b) Over age 60, BP’s above 175/100. Borderline hypertension is BP’s between normal and hypertensive levels.
Essential Hypertension is elevated blood pressure of unknown origin that is greatly influenced by events related to someone’s environment, neurology and blood factors. Approximately 85% of hypertensive individuals are diagnosed with Essential Hypertension. Secondary hypertension results from a specific disease in an organ or system of the body (i.e., renal disorders, Cushing’s disease, and hyperthyroidism).
While there are few if any overt symptoms of hypertension, the detrimental effects are well documented. Sustained high blood pressure may damage the brain, kidneys and organs of the cardiovascular system. Left untreated, hypertension can cause premature death through strokes, heart attacks or kidney failure. There are several risk factors which are associated with hypertension, including: Age, sex, obesity, smoking, dietary factors, stress, lack of exercise and hereditary predispositions. Although no single risk factor can be reliably identified as the major cause of hypertension, it is clear that some can be manipulated, therapeutically, to offset the dangers of others. For example a person can obviously be taught to modify a diet high in cholesterol, or begin an exercise regimen, reduce stress and eliminate smoking.
Traditionally, hypertension has been treated medically using a “stepped-care” approach, in which the least toxic agents are prescribed first and combined with drugs of the next step if blood pressure control is not achieved. However, many patients who take prescribed medications experience undesirable side effects; and an increase in aggressive pharmacology is often accompanied by increasingly more severe side effects. Non-pharmacological therapies such as biofeedback, have been useful in lowering blood pressure, especially when the relationship between communication and blood pressure is varied therapeutically (e.g., fast vs. slow talk, listening, breathing and relaxing while talking, and emotional content of speech). However, with any non-medical treatment for hypertension, a physician’s supervision is important due the possibility of serious consequences such as secondary hypertension, vascular and kidney disease.