Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the common disorders affecting 1.13 billion people worldwide, as per 2021 WHO report. There are numerous factors that put you at risk of hypertension which include sedentary lifestyle, increased age, stress, family history, cigarette smoking, being overweight, high salt diet, etc. Moreover, certain diseases can also lead to high blood pressure such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypercholesterolemia.
The condition causes thickening of your blood vessel walls which leads to increased blood flow with high pressure. This in turn can lead to microscopic injuries to various organs of the body. Most patients have no obvious symptoms and hence, do not even know that they have hypertension. As a result, a large number of hypertension cases go undetected. However, patients can experience symptoms such as severe headache, fatigue, dizziness, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, etc.
Once diagnosed with hypertension, you need to take proper measures to keep your blood pressure under control. These steps mostly focus on strict diet control, routine exercise/workouts, weight control, active lifestyle and stress management. In some cases, use of medications along with lifestyle measures are required. If ignored, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to complications like heart diseases, stroke, kidney diseases and eye damage.
