HYPERTENSION
Hypertension or high blood pressure, is defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 130 over 80 mmHg -- a systolic pressure above 130 with a diastolic pressure above 80.
When you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, the force of blood against your artery walls is too strong. High blood pressure can damage your arteries, heart, and kidneys and lead to atherosclerosis and stroke. Hypertension is called a "silent killer'' because it does not cause symptoms unless it is severely high and, without your knowing it, causes major organ damage if not treated.
In most cases, a doctor may not be able to pinpoint the exact cause of your high blood pressure. But several factors are known to increase blood pressure, including obesity, heavy alcohol use, family history of high blood pressure, high salt intake and aging. A sedentary lifestyle, stress, low potassium intake, low calcium intake, and resistance to insulin may also cause your blood pressure to rise.
Hypertension is treated with regular aerobic exercise, weight reduction (if overweight), salt restriction, and medications.
Otherwise known as Coronary Artery Disease, is a condition that affects blood supply to the heart. The blood vessels are narrowed or blocked due to the deposition of cholesterol plaques on their walls. This reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart musculature, which is essential for proper functioning of the heart. This may eventually result in a portion of the heart being suddenly deprived of its blood supply leading to the death of that area of heart tissue, resulting in a heart attack.
As the heart is the pump that supplies oxygenated blood to the various vital organs, any defect in the heart immediately affects the supply of oxygen to the vital organs like the brain, kidneys etc. This leads to the death of tissue within these organs and their eventual failure or death. Ischemic Heart Disease is the most common cause of death in several countries around the world.
Risk
Factors
The
major risk factors for IHD are smoking, diabetes and cholesterol levels. People
with high blood levels of cholesterol have a much higher tendency to develop
the disease. High blood pressure and stress also may be risk factors
Symptoms
Quite
often, the first sign of Ischemic Heart Disease may be the severe chest pain of
a heart attack, which may be fatal. However, the warning symptoms occur in a
large number of patients in the form of angina.
