High Blood pressure

What is high blood pressure?

You probably have high blood pressure (hypertension) if your blood pressure readings are consistently 140 over 90, or higher, over a number of weeks.

You may also have high blood pressure if just one of the numbers is higher than it should be over a number of            weeks.

If you have high blood pressure, this higher pressure puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. Over time, this extra strain increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

High blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney disease, and is closely linked to some forms of dementia.

You can check your blood pressure on our Blood Pressure Chart.

Overview

About 1 in 5 Nigeria today has High Blood Pressure. The condition itself usually has no signs or symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, HBP can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.

Knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you are feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it normal. If your blood pressure is too high, treatment may help prevent damage to your body's organs.

Blood Pressure Numbers

Blood pressure is measured as systolic (sis-TOL-ik) and diastolic (di-ah-STOL-ik) pressures. "Systolic" refers to blood pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood. "Diastolic" refers to blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.

You most often will see blood pressure numbers written with the systolic number above or before the diastolic number, such as 120/80 mmHg. (The mmHg is millimeters of mercury—the units used to measure blood pressure.)

What are the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure?

High blood pressure usually has no signs or symptoms, so the only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have yours measured. However, a single high reading does not necessarily mean you have high blood pressure. Many things can affect your blood pressure through the day, so your doctor will take a number of blood pressure readings to see that it stays high over time.
Occasionally people with very high blood pressure say they experience headaches, but it is best to visit your GP if you are concerned about symptoms.

Causes of high blood pressure

For most people, there may be no single cause for their high blood pressure. We do not know exactly what causes high blood pressure. We do know that your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing it. You are at a higher risk if:

• you eat too much salt;
• you don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables;
• you are not active enough;
• you are overweight; or
• you drink too much alcohol.

You can help to lower your blood pressure - and your risk of stroke and heart attack - by making lifestyle changes.

Additional causes of high blood pressure

There are some factors that increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, which you cannot control. These include:

• Age: as you get older, the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle can build up and your blood pressure can increase.
• Ethnic origin: people from African-Caribbean and South Asian communities are at greater risk than other people of high blood pressure.
• Family history: you are at greater risk if other members of your family have, or have had, high blood pressure.

Some people may have high blood pressure that is linked to another medical condition, such as kidney problems. For these people treating the medical problem may lower their blood pressure back to normal.

 Types of blood pressure medicine

There is a wide range of high blood pressure medicines. You can take more than one type of medicine because they each lower your blood pressure in different ways.

There are four main types of medicine that doctors use to treat high blood pressure:

ACE inhibitors: these medicines help to control hormones that affect blood pressure. Most of these medicines have names that end in “pril”

Angiotensin receptor blockers (or ARBs): these also control hormones that affect blood pressure. Most of these medicines have names that end in “artan”

Calcium channel blockers: these medicines make the artery walls relax, making them wider, which lowers blood pressure. Most of these medicines have names that in “pine”

Thiazide diuretics: these medicines remove unwanted fluid from the body, which helps lower blood pressure. Most of these medicines have names that end in “ide”.

Other types of blood pressure medicines

Until recently another type of drug, called beta-blockers, were often given to people with high blood pressure. Beta-blockers are not usually given as a first choice because the other types of blood pressure medicines appear to be better at reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke. However, they may still be used if you have other health problems, because beta-blockers can be used to control those conditions.

There are other types of drugs which are not very commonly used, but which can help to lower your blood pressure (see below). These blood pressure medications may be used in special cases – for example if you are pregnant, or if you cannot take the medicines described above. Your doctor will decide which medications are best for you.

Taking more than one blood pressure medicine

Many people will need to take more than one medicine to fully control their blood pressure. This is because each type of medication works in a different way. None of them can control your blood pressure completely.

As one medicine lowers your blood pressure, your body may try to use another way to raise it. You may then need to take other medicines to control these different ways your body is trying to use to raise your blood pressure.

This means that some people with high blood pressure may need to take two or three different medications, or sometimes even more.