Understanding Essential Hypertension: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Essential Hypertension

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

Additional names

This group contains additional names: - Primary Hypertension - Idiopathic Hypertension - Hypertension - High blood pressure

General

Essential hypertension is high blood pressure that doesn’t have a known underlying cause (such as kidney disease). It’s also referred to as primary hypertension. This is the most common type of hypertension. Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure that is exerted on the artery walls as blood moves through them. Two measurements are used to measure blood pressure: *Systolic pressure - the measure of blood pressure exerted when your heart beats and forces blood around your body. *Diastolic pressure - the measure of blood pressure when your heart is resting in between beats. Risk factors for developing essential hypertension include: family history of hypertension, advanced age, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, being overweight, high sodium consumption, stress and lack of physical activity. High blood pressure is itself a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, Such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, and therefore it should be controlled.

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Signs & symptoms

High blood pressure often causes no symptoms or immediate problems. Usually, The only way to find out whether you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked. In very severe cases, hypertension may cause headaches, blurred vision or nosebleeds.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will test your blood pressure using a blood pressure monitor. If your blood pressure is high, they may want to take several readings over a set period of time, or have you check your blood pressure at home during regular intervals. another option is a 24-hour blood pressure monitoring with a device known as Holter. Blood and urine tests may also be carried out in order to check for underlying conditions that are known to cause an increase in blood pressure.

Treatment

treatment of hypertension must always include lifestyle modifications: exercise regularly, lose weight if you are overweight, reduce alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking and eat a low-sodium, balanced diet. In more severe cases, or if lifestyle changes do not lower your blood pressure enough, you doctor may prescribe one or more antihypertensive medications, such as Beta blockers, Calcium channel blockers, Diuretics and ACE inhibitors.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

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