What Is The Best Way To Define Hypertension?

                                                                                         

Perhaps the biggest problem with high blood pressure nowadays is that it is so widespread and talked about so often that many people do not afford it the respect it deserves. The simple fact is high blood pressure, or hypertension (to give it its medical name), is a killer disease and ought to be treated as such.

Thousands of scientists and doctors have spent considerable money, time and effort attempting to describe precisely what a true definition of hypertension is.

Over the years there have been a large number of studies carried out on this subject that have given the scientists and doctors a very wide range of blood pressure values to work with. The results however are often skewed and differ from one country to the next and even from district to district within a given country. Therefore, it has been concluded that the definition of hypertension can only be arrived at through continuous observation and experimentation.

Normal blood pressure is recognized today much like normal body weight in the sense that the defining level is that which is seen as providing the greatest chance of life expectancy. This is the level at which the heart along with other important parts of the body like the circulatory system are able to function under optimum conditions without the risk of heart disease and associated disorders.

Of course there are some other considerations that have to be taken into account when defining hypertension and some have to be excluded. For example, If a healthy person gets their systolic (or pumping) blood pressure will rise by possibly a significant amount as their blood flow increases in response to emotional excitement or any type of energetic activity. However it does not stay high for long and once the level of excitement has gone down your blood pressure also returns to normal.

In addition to a systolic pressure you also have a diastolic (resting) pressure which is the more important and is an excellent guide in ascertaining whether a high reading is a false positive. The reason why the diastolic pressure is important is because it reflects the state of a person's arteries and a high reading might show that your arteries are restricted and not allowing a free flow of blood as they should be.

It is very important to understand that hypertension is not a disease in itself but is a key criterion used by doctors to diagnose other conditions.

Finally, it is also necessary to know that hypertension cannot be cured but that it can be very well controlled with the right treatment.

About the author:
TheBloodPressureCenter.com provides information on many different aspects of blood pressure including the high blood pressure diet and locating the best automatic blood pressure monitors


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