The body is supplied with oxygen and nutrients via the blood. Arteries, i.e., the arteries, carry the oxygen-rich blood to the corresponding organs such as muscles, brain, internal organs, skin, etc. The veins transport the oxygen-poor blood back to the heart and to the “detoxification stations,” e.g. the liver. The circulation of the blood is maintained by the heart as a pump.
The pressure of the flowing blood on the artery walls is called arterial blood pressure. The systolic pressure or upper blood pressure value arises during the heart muscle’s pumping phase (contraction) with increasing pressure in the circulatory system – the blood is pressed into the blood vessels. Then, in the relaxation phase of the heart muscle, the heart fills up with blood again, which leads to diastolic pressure or blood pressure hypotension.
When do we speak of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a circulatory disease in which, as already mentioned, there is increased pressure in the blood vessels.
Optimal blood pressure <120/80 mmHg
Normal blood pressure 120 – 139/80 – 89 mmHg
High blood pressure> = 140/90 mmHg
High blood pressure is present if the blood pressure values are above the limit values after several blood pressure measurements on different days. It is sufficient if only one of the two values is increased. Excessive blood pressure values only under stress are also problematic.
What are the causes of high blood pressure?
If direct causes such as vascular or hormonal diseases are excluded when diagnosing high blood pressure, the reasons are mostly unknown. The risk factors that can promote high blood pressure, but by no means: family predisposition, obesity, poor diet, nicotine, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, stress.
What Makes Blood Pressure So Dangerous?
Most of the time, illnesses are noticed because they cause complaints, e.g., pain. At first, however, you often do not notice that your blood pressure is too high, similar to diabetes. Nevertheless, the constant high pressure in the arteries damages both the heart and the blood vessels. Avascular wall constriction develops – and wall calcification, the so-called. Arteriosclerosis. In the long term, this mainly damages the brain (stroke), the kidneys (kidney failure), the heart (heart attack), and also the eyes.
At the heart, in addition to arteriosclerosis in the coronary arteries, there is usually a pathological thickening of the heart muscle, as it has to constantly pump against the high pressure in the body’s circulation. Both factors together lead in the long run to a sometimes life-threatening heart failure. All the worse when the other risk factors mentioned are added.
Large studies have provided important information with regard to the risks of high blood pressure or the health benefits with adequate treatment:
For example, a systolic blood pressure only 10 mmHg lower was associated with an 11% lower risk of suffering a heart attack:
a 17% reduction in the risk of suffering a stroke
a 15% reduction in the risk of heart failure
People with high blood pressure are at the highest risk for vascular diseases and thus for heart attacks and strokes!
High blood pressure is the number one risk factor!
The blood vessels’ greatest enemy is high blood pressure. It is estimated that only half of all those affected know about their illness and that only half of them can be treated, because high blood pressure is often viewed as a minor illness with no further consequences. But this is a fatal error. Due to the life-threatening complications, high blood pressure requires treatment in any case. Therefore everyone should have their blood pressure checked regularly, for example, in the doctor’s office or at home with a self-measuring device.
And one more thing:
Hypertension is – as a rule – not curable, but a lifelong disease! If you get good blood pressure readings from the blood pressure measurements during treatment, you should therefore not make the mistake of theStop taking medication, but rather be happy that the therapy goal has been achieved and – of course, continue to take the medication regularly. Antihypertensive agents can only work if they are taken. But medication is not everything: the right diet, physical activity, and weight optimization are decisive for the prognosis of the diseases.