Hypertension: High Blood Pressure
Michael Franchina
Comm. 3300
5/7/10
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a chronic condition in which blood pressure is elevated. “Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body 's tissues. As blood flows through arteries it pushes against the inside of the artery walls. The more pressure the blood exerts on the artery walls, the higher the blood pressure will be. T he size of small arteries also affects the blood pressure. When the muscular walls of arteries are relaxed, or dilated, the pressure of the blood flowing through them is lower than when the artery walls narrow, or constrict”.[1] …show more content…
There are two ways hypertension can be described, there is primary (essential) and secondary hypertension. A case is deemed Primary Hypertension when no medical cause can be found. Primary Hypertension represents 90-95% of all cases. The other classification of hypertension is when there is a defined medical condition that is the root cause of the elevation of blood pressure. Such medical conditions include but are not limited to endocrine diseases, kidney diseases, and tumors. It also can be a side effect of many medications.
A persistent case is a risk factor for strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure[2] Even a moderate elevation in blood pressure could lead to a shortened life expectancy. So how can one diagnose hypertension? Hypertension is diagnosed to be present when a person 's blood pressure is consistently at least 140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic.[3]. Mild or moderate essential hypertension is usually considered to be asymptomatic. Some symptoms can manifest in accelerated cases. Such symptoms include headache, drowsiness, confusion, visual disturbances, and nausea and vomiting. If one experiences these symptoms there are more advance tests to verify if it is indeed hypertension. These tests include Microscopic urinalysis, proteinuria, Serum sodium, potassium, calcium, TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), Fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, Hematocrit, electrocardiogram. These tests also help doctor’s conclude what system may be causing the hypertension (Renal, Endocrine, or Metabolic system). They help doctors come up with a treatment solution or can help doctors notice if there may be a larger problem at hand and decide if the hypertension is Primary or Secondary in nature.
What causes hypertension? Primary hypertension, the most common has no defined direct cause. There are however many factors that may increase the risk of getting hypertension. Such factors include but are not limited to a sedentary lifestyle, obesity (Body Mass Index greater than 25), a potassium deficiency, a sensitivity to salt, high sodium intake, drinking alcoholic beverages, vitamin D deficiencies. Some risk factors also include aging, family history, and stress.
Hypertension is treatable by both medical and alternative means and is preventable in many cases.
The degree hypertension can be treated depends on the case, factors such as current blood pressure level, sodium/potassium balance, detection and omission of environmental toxins, risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and the age at presentation determine this. The length of the detection period also depends on current blood pressure. Most doctors will diagnose it over several weeks to see if medical intervention is needed. If the case is mild then most doctors will then recommend the patient some non pharmacological solutions to the patient before any drug therapy is tried. The British Hypertension Society suggests that non-pharmacological options should be explored in all patients who are hypertensive or pre-hypertensive. These options include Weight reduction and regular exercise (specifically aerobic exercises) as regular exercise helps improve blood flow, reducing dietary sugar intake, reducing sodium intake[4], other dietary changes (such changes include the DASH Diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension), stopping smoking, reducing stress. There are also many different hypertension drugs on the market, common drugs include ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril, fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Zestril), quinapril, ramipril (Altace), Angiotensin II receptor antagonists may be used where ACE inhibitors are not tolerated: e.g., telmisartan (Micardis, …show more content…
Pritor), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), valsartan (Diovan), candesartan (Amias), olmesartan (Benicar, Olmetec), Calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine (Adalat) amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem, verapamil, Diuretics: e.g., bendroflumethiazide, chlorthalidone, hydrochlorothiazide (also called HCTZ), Alpha blockers such as prazosin, or terazosin, Doxazosin, Beta blockers such as atenolol, labetalol, metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), propranolol.
Most of the alternative treatments to hypertension are dietary and lifestyle changes.
The DAS diet was mentioned earlier is an example of one such way. It can be summarized as such “The DASH diet calls for a certain number of servings daily from various food groups. The number of servings the body requires may vary, depending on your caloric need. When beginning the diet, start slowly and make gradual changes. A diet plan that allows 2,400 milligrams of salt per day (about 1 teaspoon) and then once the body has adjusted to the diet further lower reduction of salt intake to 1,500 mg per day (about 2/3 teaspoon) is suggested. These amounts include all salt consumed, including that in food products, used in cooking, and added at the table.”[5] Another alternative treatment suggested by the British Hypertension Society are various types of stress reduction. This includes meditation, mind body techniques, yoga, reducing environmental stress such as bright lights and noisy appliances, Jacobson 's Progressive Muscle Relaxation (which is essentially alternately tensing and easing muscles in the body to increase blood flow), Biofeedback (which is using sounds and certain pitches to use the brains internal mechanisms to change heart rate, breathing, and pain perception), and machine guided breathing.
[6]
There are also some herbal therapies such as such as Rauwolfia serpentina (snakeroot), Stephania tetrandra (tetrandrine), Panax notoginseng (ginseng), and Crataegus species (hawthorn) for treating high blood pressure. Acupuncture has also been cited as an effective treatment for Hypertension, however most mainstream sources dismiss it as “there is no evidence that acupuncture reliably lowers high blood pressure.” [7]citing that there must be more rigorous testing in a controlled environment in order to truly prove its effectiveness.
Hypertension in the Media
The active byline on hypertension can be summed up by Doctor David A. Calhoun, M.D., chair of the guideline writing committee for the American Heart Association “Patients need to recognize the importance of blood pressure control and that in most cases they will need a combined approach of lifestyle changes and medication for effective treatment.”[8] Using the Praxiological Method one can draw some conclusions about how the American Heart Association wants treatment of Hypertension to be perceived by the mass media. While he does not want to disregard the lifestyle changes as an effective treatment method he does say it should be used in conjunction with medication for effective treatment. He does not mention anything about the severity of the case he just says that a combined approach will be an effective treatment. It does not once mention however the number of Herbal supplements that can not be taken for this condition nor does it mention anywhere on the site that acupuncture as an alternative option.
Most of the websites associated with hypertension were very forthcoming with the fact that lifestyle changes such as changes in diet could lower your blood pressure; however most tempered that statement with statements like “along with medication” for example the American Heart Association recommends people with hypertension do three things
“AHA Recommendation
People with high blood pressure should do three things:
∙ Follow their healthcare provider 's instructions.
∙ Stay on their medication.
∙ Make lifestyle changes.” [9]
Granted some severe cases of hypertension are best treated with medication but this seems to be the recurring theme that the AHA seems to spout at the slightest mention hypertension. It also seems to be the recurring theme in doctors’ offices country wide. For example my grandfather was previously diagnosed with metabolic high blood pressure in 2009 and put on Lasix, a diuretic medication used treat his condition. He however did not institute any lifestyle changes until after the Heat attack this December that almost killed him. Only after the 40 seconds of being dead on the operating table and his recuperation did he institute lifestyle changes. He has since lose eighty pounds and is far less sedentary. Two weeks ago he visited the hospital after a week of feeling lightheaded and was subsequently diagnosed with Low Blood pressure. His doctors did not discontinue his use of the drug Lasix but did however seem to be quickly put him on a medicine to raise his blood pressure. They also suggested he discontinue many of his lifestyle changes and alter his diet to increase his sodium intake. Now I don’t have an MD or claim to have any medical qualifications but this to me seems to be just a little odd to me. It may be just my experience with medicine but it seems to me that many, not all doctors, seem to just look at the symptoms and prescribe a pill that they think will fix it.
Why is this? Well one can look to the people for that answer. Most people look for an easy route to counteract treatable medical conditions and in this case the easy route is to pop a pill and forget about it. How many times have you witnessed a commercial for a pharmaceutical drug that stars with “Do you have (X symptoms) and then go on to say well (X drug) may be right for you or ask your doctor if (X drug) may be right for you .” There is very little marketing if any alternatives to these treatments. Can you remember the last time you have witnessed a commercial for acupuncture to treat a medical condition. Very little if any mention to change in lifestyle is used when these commercials come on. For example on the Drug BYSOLIC‘s website[10] includes a whopping six sentences about lifestyle changes. While analyzing this through the use of the Praxiological method one can see this omission as a means by which the company who makes BYSTOLIC is dismiss dietary change as secondary to taking their medication. They minimize its use because it can be construed as work or difficult to do where as just taking their medicine and forgetting about is easy. They make various statements about how convenient their “once a day dosing” is and how you don’t have to take it with food. If this taken further one can draw the conclusion that taking the drug is easy.
The use of “asks your doctor” seems to be liberally used throughout many advertisements. Using the Praxiological method one can go beyond the obvious that this is a medical matter you should consult your doctor in some medical matters. Using the Praxiological method one can interpret the use of including the “your doctor” in an advertisement. The following are generally true statements that most would agree with: people trust their doctor, your doctor tries his best to help you, and your doctor is very educated. Knowing this Pharmaceutical are using “your doctor” as a way to get the average consumer to then put the same trust they put into their doctor and then confer that trust to them so they can sell you a product. It is also a way for the company to pass off some of the blame if some other medical problem should arise from a side effect of taking their medication.
Hypertension is a very serious condition and should be treated as such there are many cases where medication is necessary to treat it; however the various other options should be explored and leading a healthier lifestyle has many other benefits toward leading a longer life and should not be disregarded out of hand. People should check their blood pressure accordingly and consult with their physicians to talk about their options and then do research on their own so that they can make the most informed decision possible about what they are going to do to treat their illness.
Works Cited
Bystolic. Apr. 2010. .
Definition, Hypertension. The free dictionary. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Dtsch med WochenschrThieme. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Guidlines for Management of Hypertension. 1 Jan. 2010. Brittish hypertesion society. 55 Apr. 2010. .
High Blood Pressure and the DASH Diet 1 Jan. 2010. Web MD. 55 Apr. 2010. .
Hypertension Complementary/Alternative Treatments. WebMD.Apr. 2010.http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-complementary-alternative-treatments?page=2
New guidelines issued for treating resistant hypertension. 8 Apr. 2010. American Heart Association. Apr. 10. http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=388
Prognostic Value of Different Indices of Blood Pressure Variability in Hypertensive Patients.
American Journal of Hypertension.com. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure . American heart Association. 21 Apr. 2010. .
[1] http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/hypertension
[2] http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v22/n8/abs/ajh2009103a.html
[3] http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/42/6/1206
[4] https://www.thieme-connect.com/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0029-1222573
[5] http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/dash-diet
[6] http://www.bhsoc.org/Hypertension_management_Guidelines.stm
[7] http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-complementary-alternative-treatments?page=2
[8] http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=388 [9] http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4630
[10] http://www.bystolic.com/
Comm. 3300
5/7/10
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a chronic condition in which blood pressure is elevated. “Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body 's tissues. As blood flows through arteries it pushes against the inside of the artery walls. The more pressure the blood exerts on the artery walls, the higher the blood pressure will be. T he size of small arteries also affects the blood pressure. When the muscular walls of arteries are relaxed, or dilated, the pressure of the blood flowing through them is lower than when the artery walls narrow, or constrict”.[1] …show more content…
There are two ways hypertension can be described, there is primary (essential) and secondary hypertension. A case is deemed Primary Hypertension when no medical cause can be found. Primary Hypertension represents 90-95% of all cases. The other classification of hypertension is when there is a defined medical condition that is the root cause of the elevation of blood pressure. Such medical conditions include but are not limited to endocrine diseases, kidney diseases, and tumors. It also can be a side effect of many medications.
A persistent case is a risk factor for strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure[2] Even a moderate elevation in blood pressure could lead to a shortened life expectancy. So how can one diagnose hypertension? Hypertension is diagnosed to be present when a person 's blood pressure is consistently at least 140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic.[3]. Mild or moderate essential hypertension is usually considered to be asymptomatic. Some symptoms can manifest in accelerated cases. Such symptoms include headache, drowsiness, confusion, visual disturbances, and nausea and vomiting. If one experiences these symptoms there are more advance tests to verify if it is indeed hypertension. These tests include Microscopic urinalysis, proteinuria, Serum sodium, potassium, calcium, TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), Fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, Hematocrit, electrocardiogram. These tests also help doctor’s conclude what system may be causing the hypertension (Renal, Endocrine, or Metabolic system). They help doctors come up with a treatment solution or can help doctors notice if there may be a larger problem at hand and decide if the hypertension is Primary or Secondary in nature.
What causes hypertension? Primary hypertension, the most common has no defined direct cause. There are however many factors that may increase the risk of getting hypertension. Such factors include but are not limited to a sedentary lifestyle, obesity (Body Mass Index greater than 25), a potassium deficiency, a sensitivity to salt, high sodium intake, drinking alcoholic beverages, vitamin D deficiencies. Some risk factors also include aging, family history, and stress.
Hypertension is treatable by both medical and alternative means and is preventable in many cases.
The degree hypertension can be treated depends on the case, factors such as current blood pressure level, sodium/potassium balance, detection and omission of environmental toxins, risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and the age at presentation determine this. The length of the detection period also depends on current blood pressure. Most doctors will diagnose it over several weeks to see if medical intervention is needed. If the case is mild then most doctors will then recommend the patient some non pharmacological solutions to the patient before any drug therapy is tried. The British Hypertension Society suggests that non-pharmacological options should be explored in all patients who are hypertensive or pre-hypertensive. These options include Weight reduction and regular exercise (specifically aerobic exercises) as regular exercise helps improve blood flow, reducing dietary sugar intake, reducing sodium intake[4], other dietary changes (such changes include the DASH Diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension), stopping smoking, reducing stress. There are also many different hypertension drugs on the market, common drugs include ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril, fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Zestril), quinapril, ramipril (Altace), Angiotensin II receptor antagonists may be used where ACE inhibitors are not tolerated: e.g., telmisartan (Micardis, …show more content…
Pritor), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), valsartan (Diovan), candesartan (Amias), olmesartan (Benicar, Olmetec), Calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine (Adalat) amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem, verapamil, Diuretics: e.g., bendroflumethiazide, chlorthalidone, hydrochlorothiazide (also called HCTZ), Alpha blockers such as prazosin, or terazosin, Doxazosin, Beta blockers such as atenolol, labetalol, metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), propranolol.
Most of the alternative treatments to hypertension are dietary and lifestyle changes.
The DAS diet was mentioned earlier is an example of one such way. It can be summarized as such “The DASH diet calls for a certain number of servings daily from various food groups. The number of servings the body requires may vary, depending on your caloric need. When beginning the diet, start slowly and make gradual changes. A diet plan that allows 2,400 milligrams of salt per day (about 1 teaspoon) and then once the body has adjusted to the diet further lower reduction of salt intake to 1,500 mg per day (about 2/3 teaspoon) is suggested. These amounts include all salt consumed, including that in food products, used in cooking, and added at the table.”[5] Another alternative treatment suggested by the British Hypertension Society are various types of stress reduction. This includes meditation, mind body techniques, yoga, reducing environmental stress such as bright lights and noisy appliances, Jacobson 's Progressive Muscle Relaxation (which is essentially alternately tensing and easing muscles in the body to increase blood flow), Biofeedback (which is using sounds and certain pitches to use the brains internal mechanisms to change heart rate, breathing, and pain perception), and machine guided breathing.
[6]
There are also some herbal therapies such as such as Rauwolfia serpentina (snakeroot), Stephania tetrandra (tetrandrine), Panax notoginseng (ginseng), and Crataegus species (hawthorn) for treating high blood pressure. Acupuncture has also been cited as an effective treatment for Hypertension, however most mainstream sources dismiss it as “there is no evidence that acupuncture reliably lowers high blood pressure.” [7]citing that there must be more rigorous testing in a controlled environment in order to truly prove its effectiveness.
Hypertension in the Media
The active byline on hypertension can be summed up by Doctor David A. Calhoun, M.D., chair of the guideline writing committee for the American Heart Association “Patients need to recognize the importance of blood pressure control and that in most cases they will need a combined approach of lifestyle changes and medication for effective treatment.”[8] Using the Praxiological Method one can draw some conclusions about how the American Heart Association wants treatment of Hypertension to be perceived by the mass media. While he does not want to disregard the lifestyle changes as an effective treatment method he does say it should be used in conjunction with medication for effective treatment. He does not mention anything about the severity of the case he just says that a combined approach will be an effective treatment. It does not once mention however the number of Herbal supplements that can not be taken for this condition nor does it mention anywhere on the site that acupuncture as an alternative option.
Most of the websites associated with hypertension were very forthcoming with the fact that lifestyle changes such as changes in diet could lower your blood pressure; however most tempered that statement with statements like “along with medication” for example the American Heart Association recommends people with hypertension do three things
“AHA Recommendation
People with high blood pressure should do three things:
∙ Follow their healthcare provider 's instructions.
∙ Stay on their medication.
∙ Make lifestyle changes.” [9]
Granted some severe cases of hypertension are best treated with medication but this seems to be the recurring theme that the AHA seems to spout at the slightest mention hypertension. It also seems to be the recurring theme in doctors’ offices country wide. For example my grandfather was previously diagnosed with metabolic high blood pressure in 2009 and put on Lasix, a diuretic medication used treat his condition. He however did not institute any lifestyle changes until after the Heat attack this December that almost killed him. Only after the 40 seconds of being dead on the operating table and his recuperation did he institute lifestyle changes. He has since lose eighty pounds and is far less sedentary. Two weeks ago he visited the hospital after a week of feeling lightheaded and was subsequently diagnosed with Low Blood pressure. His doctors did not discontinue his use of the drug Lasix but did however seem to be quickly put him on a medicine to raise his blood pressure. They also suggested he discontinue many of his lifestyle changes and alter his diet to increase his sodium intake. Now I don’t have an MD or claim to have any medical qualifications but this to me seems to be just a little odd to me. It may be just my experience with medicine but it seems to me that many, not all doctors, seem to just look at the symptoms and prescribe a pill that they think will fix it.
Why is this? Well one can look to the people for that answer. Most people look for an easy route to counteract treatable medical conditions and in this case the easy route is to pop a pill and forget about it. How many times have you witnessed a commercial for a pharmaceutical drug that stars with “Do you have (X symptoms) and then go on to say well (X drug) may be right for you or ask your doctor if (X drug) may be right for you .” There is very little marketing if any alternatives to these treatments. Can you remember the last time you have witnessed a commercial for acupuncture to treat a medical condition. Very little if any mention to change in lifestyle is used when these commercials come on. For example on the Drug BYSOLIC‘s website[10] includes a whopping six sentences about lifestyle changes. While analyzing this through the use of the Praxiological method one can see this omission as a means by which the company who makes BYSTOLIC is dismiss dietary change as secondary to taking their medication. They minimize its use because it can be construed as work or difficult to do where as just taking their medicine and forgetting about is easy. They make various statements about how convenient their “once a day dosing” is and how you don’t have to take it with food. If this taken further one can draw the conclusion that taking the drug is easy.
The use of “asks your doctor” seems to be liberally used throughout many advertisements. Using the Praxiological method one can go beyond the obvious that this is a medical matter you should consult your doctor in some medical matters. Using the Praxiological method one can interpret the use of including the “your doctor” in an advertisement. The following are generally true statements that most would agree with: people trust their doctor, your doctor tries his best to help you, and your doctor is very educated. Knowing this Pharmaceutical are using “your doctor” as a way to get the average consumer to then put the same trust they put into their doctor and then confer that trust to them so they can sell you a product. It is also a way for the company to pass off some of the blame if some other medical problem should arise from a side effect of taking their medication.
Hypertension is a very serious condition and should be treated as such there are many cases where medication is necessary to treat it; however the various other options should be explored and leading a healthier lifestyle has many other benefits toward leading a longer life and should not be disregarded out of hand. People should check their blood pressure accordingly and consult with their physicians to talk about their options and then do research on their own so that they can make the most informed decision possible about what they are going to do to treat their illness.
Works Cited
Bystolic. Apr. 2010. .
Definition, Hypertension. The free dictionary. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Dtsch med WochenschrThieme. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Guidlines for Management of Hypertension. 1 Jan. 2010. Brittish hypertesion society. 55 Apr. 2010. .
High Blood Pressure and the DASH Diet 1 Jan. 2010. Web MD. 55 Apr. 2010. .
Hypertension Complementary/Alternative Treatments. WebMD.Apr. 2010.http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-complementary-alternative-treatments?page=2
New guidelines issued for treating resistant hypertension. 8 Apr. 2010. American Heart Association. Apr. 10. http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=388
Prognostic Value of Different Indices of Blood Pressure Variability in Hypertensive Patients.
American Journal of Hypertension.com. 21 Apr. 2010. .
Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure . American heart Association. 21 Apr. 2010. .
[1] http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/hypertension
[2] http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v22/n8/abs/ajh2009103a.html
[3] http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/42/6/1206
[4] https://www.thieme-connect.com/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0029-1222573
[5] http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/dash-diet
[6] http://www.bhsoc.org/Hypertension_management_Guidelines.stm
[7] http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertension-complementary-alternative-treatments?page=2
[8] http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=388 [9] http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4630
[10] http://www.bystolic.com/