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Pharmacotherapy of hypertension
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Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed hypertension or high blood pressure a global public health issue (World Health Organization, 2013). Not only does hypertension affect over 1 billion people worldwide but in the Unites States alone, about 76.4 million Americans over the age of 20, equating to about 1 in 3 adults, have hypertension (AHA, 2012). This growing health condition occurs when an individual’s blood pressure when the heart beats (systolic) is higher than 140 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) and their blood pressure when the heart relaxes (diastolic) is 90 mm Hg or higher (AHA, 2012). The higher the blood pressure means more force is used to pump blood from the heart to arteries, which causes several health problems (AHA, 2012). For instance, the increased force stretches out blood vessels which may lead to tears and ruptures (AHA, 2012). This can also form blood clots that can stop blood from reaching other parts of the body which can cause other organs, specifically the heart, to become overworked (AHA, 2012). Unfortunately, hypertension is also known as a “silent killer” as it does not cause any symptoms (World Health Organization, 2013). If left untreated, hypertension can lead to cardiovascular disease and other fatal health consequences, such as heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure (World Health Organization, 2013). In fact, the WHO estimates that hypertension accounts for 9.4 million deaths each year (World Health Organization, 2013).
Hypertension can occur in anyone but according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI, 2012). Blood pressure does tend to increase as you age, thus older aged individuals tend to be the highest population that has hypertension (NHLBI, 2012). In...
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... not only recommend and educate their patients but include in their plan of care for their patients to help them manage their hypertension (World Health Organization, 2013).
In this paper, alternative treatments to medicine and aerobic exercises will be considered when comparing which is more effective in decreasing blood pressure and managing hypertension. Specifically, tai chi exercises and acupuncture will be used to compare health outcomes of adults ages 60 and above with hypertension. Studies on acupuncture treatments for hypertensive elderly adults will first be examined and then compared with studies conducted on the utilization of Tai Chi exercises for hypertension. The health outcome measures will include measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressures and observational studies indicating a decrease in blood pressure of hypertensive elderly adults.
Vicki is a 42-year-old African American woman who was diagnosed with Hypertension a month ago. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for the past 20 years. She is self-employed and runs a successful insurance agency. Her work requires frequent travel and Vicki often has to eat at fast food restaurants for most of her meals. A poor diet that is high in salt and fat and low in nutrients for the body and stress from her job are contributing factors of Vicki’s diagnosis of hypertension. This paper will discuss the diagnostic testing, Complementary and Alternative Medicine treatments, the prognosis for hypertension, appropriate treatment for Vicki, patient education, and potential barriers to therapy that Vicki may experience.
For example: if hypertension goes untreated then it could potentially lead to stroke, heart attacks, and untimely death. Early detection and improve patient outcomes by educating the patient on lifestyles changes and effective drug treatment. It is important for the patient to alter their eating habits, as well as their sedentary lifestyles and monitor their blood pressure levels. Feasible and affordable screening approved by the patient is also important: for example, electronic monitoring can make it easier for the patient to obtain their levels without causing harm and cost effective. (page 125)
High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it often has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people don’t know they have it. For most patients, high blood pressure is found when they visit their health care provider or have it checked elsewhere. Because there are no symptoms, people can develop heart disease and kidney problems without knowing they have high blood pressure. Some people may experience: bad headache, mild dizziness, and blurry vision. Traditionally, diagnosis of high blood pressure (BP) has relied on consecutive checks of clinic BP over a 2 to 3 month period, with hypertension confirmed if BP remains persistently raised over 140/90 mmHg. This method of diagnosis has significant limitations because the BP measured for an individual patient in a clinic setting may not reflect their BP in day-to-day life. The main concern is that as a result of the “white coat syndrome”, hypertension may be over-diagnosed when checked in the clinic setting; resulting ...
Hypertension is deadly and it is a silent killer, if not detected on time, it can cause severe complications to major organs in the body.
Tomson, J., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2005). Blood pressure demographics: Nature or nurture … … genes or environment? BMC Medicine, 3, 3-4. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-3-3
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure is a medical condition where the arteries are constantly experiencing high blood pressure due to the force exerted on the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health can also provide information about high blood pressure and its treatment. Visit their Web site at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/.
" Journal of Clinical Hypertension 13.5 (2011): 351-56. EBSOHost.com - a. Web. The Web.
When acupuncture was created, some of the medical concepts it employed were relatively new; there were not many falsified stories for it to build off from. In fact, "acupuncture is said to have been theorized... by Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine, who also documented his theories on the heart, circulation, and pulse over 400 years before Europeans had any concept about them" (1). Since then, Europeans and Asians alike have encountered centuries of medical dilemmas and successes. Over time, hypotheses emerge and are either disproved or continue to live on as part of scientific discourse and medical practice. For this reason, most old-fashioned treatments no longer hold true when compared to methods cultivated within the great wealth of knowledge attributed to medicine today – not because we are smarter now or are more civilized, but because the field of medicine has accumulated so much more experience and has improved methods to be "less wrong" countless times. So, why has acup...
Hypertension affects approximately 73 million Americans. It is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure is elevated. Hypertension, also called high blood pressure is often seen concurrent with diabetes mellitus. Many refer to hypertension as the “silent killer” because often time’s individuals are Asymptomatic. Ideally, blood pressure is expected to be less than 120mmHg systolic and 80mmHg diastolic. Hypertension is defined as sustained blood pressure of the arteries greater than or equal to 140/90mmHg. . Twenty nine percent of Mexican American men and thirty one percent of Mexican American women are living with hypertension. Mexican American hypertension levels are compatible to non-Hispanic whites; however, they are less likely to have their blood pressure treated or controlled compared to whites and African Americans. Hypertension increases the work load of the heart leading to other chronic disease processes, most commonly myocardial infarction often referred to as a heart attack. La...
Acupuncture is a very efficient method to cure several diseases. The Cambridge Illustrated History (1996.p.302) summarized that acupuncture can help both physical symptoms and mental conditions. On the one hand physical symptoms (such as headache, sprains, strokes etc) can easily be cured thanks to acupuncture. On the other hand we find that mental condition can be curried by the previous method. Brigham (2000) argued "conditions that are said to benefit from these treatments include the effects of daily stress, headaches, neck and shoulder pain, aches and pains, allergies, menstrual etc,"(p.
Cardiovascular disease is currently the nation’s leading non-communicable cause of morbidity and mortality. According to the American Heart Association, the most common form of cardiovascular disease is coronary artery disease, a condition in which the heart’s blood supply is reduced due to a narrowing of the coronary arteries. These arteries play a significant role in regulating the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart. As blood circulates through the arteries, it exerts a force against the vessel walls, known as blood pressure. To withstand this pressure, elastic fibers interspersed along the artery walls allow the arteries to expand and recoil. Abnormally high blood pressure, however, will cause these muscles to thicken as a result of tears in the damaged artery walls trapping particles that aggregate as plaque. Progressive build-up of plaque ultimately leads to a narrowing of the arteries, subsequently diminishing blood flow to the heart and other body organs. This cascade of events triggered by high blood pressure illustrates why hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Affecting 1 in every 3 adults in the United States alone, hypertension substantially raises the risk for heart disease in an affected individual who, most likely, does not show any signs or symptoms. In addition to the risks associated with this “silent killer,” comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol can drastically worsen health outcomes in hypertensive patients. Given the high prevalence and severe consequences of hypertension if undetected, researching this particular topic will increase our understanding of the causes of hypertension by identifying and narrowing down lead candidates for pot...
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
In many parts of the world, acupuncture has been utilized as a way to relief and reduce pain. Acupuncture emerges from Traditional Chinese Medicines and has spread throughout the world as an alternative medicine for various conditions ranging from back pain to osteoarthritis. Acupuncture has been a controversy of Western Medicine and is known as a pseudoscience in scientific the world because it not backed up by scientific theory, rather Chinese philosophy and practice. However, despite the controversy, acupuncture has credited numerously for its results, benefits, and low-risk factors in both clinical practice and medical community.
Acupuncture doesn’t allow people to get ahead of themselves like Victor did; the way of thinking brought about is that of a natural sense. The techniques of the alternative medicine allow people to remember how magnificent and sacred the human body is and realize that it cannot be created through lab work or perfected through medicine. With Western medicine, patients can take up to four or five medications before finding one that suits their needs and most can have many life threatening side effects. With acupuncture, it is one procedure and one attempt to heal a patient with NO major side effects. Acupuncture is a unique ancient art that is backed by thousands of years of Chinese thought and research and has been proven affective for many people and their illnesses.