High Blood Pressure

What is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common chronic condition affects your body's arteries. It happens when blood is pumped around the body at a very high pressure. Also known as high blood pressure, it does not show obvious symptoms and left untreated, can lead to serious diseases, such as stroke, kidney failure, and heart disease.

What are the symptoms of High Blood Pressure?

Most people with high blood pressure show no symptoms. You may have high blood pressure for years without exhibiting any symptoms. If you do show symptoms, they may include:

• Breathing difficulties and chest pain
• Fatigue
• Irregular heatbeat
• Severe headache

What are the risk factors for High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure has several risk factors, including:

• Age: Your risk of developing High Blood Pressure increases as you age.
• Family history: If your parents or siblings have the condition, you are more likely to develop it too.
• Being obese: Excess weight results in changes to your blood vessels and other parts of the body, which may result in increased blood pressure. 
• High-sodium diet: A high sodium diet causes the body to retain fluids, causing High Blood Pressure.
• Tobacco use: Smoking tobacco injures the wall of your blood vessels and causes your arteries to harden, which over time results in increased blood pressure.

How is High Blood Pressure diagnosed?

Blood Test
A complete blood count blood test will be done to check the sugar level in your blood, how fast it takes to clot, platelet levels as well as increased white blood cells that is a sign of infection.

Echocardiogram (EKG)
This is an ultrasound examination of the heart to detect problems such as enlargement, blood clots and heart abnormalities. It measures the strength of the heart muscle and reflects the health of it.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)
This test detects the electrical activity of the heart and helps diagnose heart muscle damage, such as heart attack.

Imaging Tests
Imaging tests are done with ultrasound or CT scan to check for abnormalities of the kidneys and adrenal glands, such as enlargement and damaged tissue.

Urine Test
Urine tests may be done to detect protein or blood in the urine, which is a sign of kidney disease.