High Blood pressure or Hypertension is now the number one disease of today’s society. Healthy males generally have a reading of around 120/80 while females range in a number slightly lower.

Hypertension occurs when too much energy is being exerted by the heart in order to pump blood through the arteries. Typically, a reading of 140/90 will be considered suspicious by a physician. Any reading higher than that is considered clinical hypertension. The top number or systolic pressure is described as the amount of pressure in the arteries when the heart is in the middle of a contraction. The bottom number or diastolic pressure is described as the amount of pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest.

The diastolic is usually considered the most important; as this is the pressure the arteries are under when at rest. In a person with high blood pressure, the heart has to pump the blood through the circulatory system with greater force, resulting in added strain on the entire cardiovascular system.

The main cause of high blood pressure is still not yet known, however risk factors have been discovered; they include genetics, smoking, excessive alcohol use, drug abuse, stimulant use, obesity, poor diet and nutrition, high cholesterol, lack of stress management and sodium ingestion as well as narrowing of the blood vessels due to cholesterol and other fatty elements. In addition, research has shown that heart disease and hypertension are caused more by “unnaturally” produced oils and fats then “naturally” occurring oils and fats.

Thus far, no research has been done to differentiate the effects of refined unsaturated oils from the effects of unrefined cold pressed unsaturated oils. The refined oils are a questionable health risk since many changes occur in the natural oil as it is processed at high temperatures. Hydrogenated oils such as margarine are a definite risk factor. It interferes with essential fatty acid metabolism. One of the known symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency is high blood pressure.

Known as the “silent killer,” high blood pressure was given this name as it rarely displays any symptoms or signs until it is in its advanced stage. By this time, the disease has already run rampant, wreaking havoc on all the other organs causing irreversible and permanent damage.

Signs of advance high blood pressure include dizziness, headache, eye problems, fatigue, insomnia, energy loss and irritability. When the disease has reached a further progression, signs include hypertensive heart disease with enlarged heart and possible left ventricular failure, myocardial infarction, possible senility, cerebral hemorrhage, paralysis and death.

A person with high blood pressure should be closely monitored by a physician and be checked at least every six months. Prolonged high blood pressure can result in damage to the kidneys with secondary conditions surfacing, such as end-stage renal failure, which requires weekly dialysis (blood filtering) treatments.

Tags: Blood Pressure

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