Hypertension and Preventive Care Hypertension is a chronic disease and is a precursor to many serious adverse events such as stroke, heart failure, and myocardial infract. Supportive care and preventative care models can treat and minimize the potential adverse effects of hypertension. The purpose of this paper is to describe changes that can be made by nurses and organizations to move from supportive care to preventative care. Utilizing insights, theories, concepts, and strategies this paper aims to identify education and preventative measures that can be applied to patients with the chronic illness diagnosis of hypertension.
Hypertension Overview
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2005 to 2008 an estimated 29 to 31 percent of adults in the United States have hypertension which translates to 58 to 65 million individuals (Basile, J. N., & Bloch, 2012). The prevalence of patients diagnosed with hypertension is expected to increase with many individuals with uncontrolled hypertension. Primary and specialty care healthcare professionals will see an increasing population of those with obesity over the age of 65 and older. Screening should occur every two years for patients with blood pressure within normal limits up to 120/80 mmHg and annually for patients with pressure up to 139/ 89 mmHg.
Hypertension is often symptomatically silent causing no sign of an abnormality or discomfort. Primary hypertension is a the most common type with no known cause. Secondary hypertension may be due to underlying conditions such as primary renal disease or endocrine disorders. Risk factors include African American ethnicity, parental history, high sodium intake, excessive alcohol intake, physical inactivity and obesity. To best determine if treatment should be implemented a patient’s blood pressure should be persistently elevated after three to six