Essential Hypertension

What is Essential Hypertension?

The heart is a pump designed to force blood through our body. Blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries out to our muscles and organs. Pumps work by generating pressure. Too much pressure puts a strain on the arteries and on the heart itself. This can cause an artery to rupture or the heart to fail under the strain - in the worst case stopping altogether. Blood pressure depends on a combination of two factors:
•how forcefully the heart pumps blood around the body
•how narrowed or relaxed your arteries are.
Hypertension occurs when blood is forced through the arteries at an increased pressure.

Around 10 million people in the UK have high blood pressure - that's one in five of us. In a healthy young adult the normal blood pressure is 120/80 (The higher figure refers to blood pressure during each heartbeat and the lower figure to your blood pressure between beats).

What complications are caused by Hypertension?

When blood is pumped through the arteries at high pressure, it is more likely to damage them, this can lead to them becoming thicker and fat (cholesterol) may be deposited. A result of this is an increase chance of suffering from a stroke for heart attack.

Hypertension Review

If high blood pressure is treated properly and well monitored then all these risks reduce. Changing Diet, Reducing your weight, salt or alcohol intake can help bring your blood pressure down. For some people medication is necessary.

It is important to have your blood pressure checked regularly. We recommend every 9 months if it now stable, or more frequently if it is newly diagnosed or unstable. Your doctor will help you find the right treatment for you, and then the nurse will monitor it regularly, ensuring it stays within adequate range. The check takes just 10 minutes, and can make all the difference!