Hypertension: Effects and Prevention

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Life expectancy has grown over the last 100 years. This leads to a variety of health issues and problems that affect these elder generations quality of life. According to the United States CDC, one in three American adults suffers from hypertension. With so many Americans having high blood pressure it is no surprise that hypertension is one of the most dangerous conditions, leading to death, in the elderly. Doctors often skip directly to subscription, medications to help control elevated blood pressures, but other problems can arise from these medications, like dementia. The earlier the hypertension is diagnosed, the faster doctors can help create a treatment plan individually tailored to help the sufferer.
What is hypertension? Hypertension is the medical condition, which an individual has elevated blood pressure caused by pressure in the arteries in-between heartbeats (“Hypertension”). Blood pressure is measured by two different analysis’s; systolic pressure, and diastolic pressure. These measurements are generally written in fraction form: 120/76. The first or top number is systolic pressure. It measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart is contracting (American). The second or bottom number is diastolic pressure. This measures the pressure of the arteries when the heart is resting and refilling with blood (American). These measurements help gauge healthy pressure levels, and normal blood pressure falls anywhere below 120/80. The more pressure in the arteries, the harder the heart has to work, and higher risks for serious health problems may occur. This can sound like an exaggeration of probable health problems, but considering that one in three American adults has high blood pressure, there are millions of people at...

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Thomas-Kvidera, D. “Heart Failure from Diastolic Dysfunction Related to Hypertension: Guidelines for Management.” Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 17.5 (2005): 168-175. CINAHL with Full Text. Web 01 Dec. 2013.
United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High Blood Pressure. CDC, 02 May 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
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