Hypertension is a preventable and controllable disease. World Hypertension Day is celebrated every year on May 17 to inform and raise public awareness about preventing nervous system diseases such as kidney disease, heart disease and stroke caused by hypertension.
WHAT IS HYPERTENSION?
Blood pressure is the pressure created by the heart on the vessel wall while pumping blood. It is expressed in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). If it is above the desired values, it is defined as hypertension. The pressure created by the heart when pumping blood is called systolic, and the pressure when it stops pumping blood is called diastolic blood pressure. Normal blood pressure: 120/80 mmHg. (According to the 2017 American Hypertension Guidelines). Average of home measurements; If the blood pressure is above 135/85 mmHg and the average of hospital measurements is above 140/90 mmHg, high blood pressure is mentioned.
IS HYPERTENSION A COMMON DISEASE?
Adult men over the age of 28 in Turkey 49%, 56% of adult women are hypertensive. It is known that there are approximately 17 million hypertension patients in Turkey. Unfortunately, half of hypertensive patients do not know their blood pressure. Half of those who know their blood pressure do not receive treatment. Half of those treated have unregulated blood pressure. The rate of hypertensives with regulated blood pressure is 6%. For this reason, the society needs to be aware of hypertension and we, the healthcare personnel, need to be informed.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF HYPERTENSION?
High blood pressure can have many causes. These are genetics, gender, diabetes, obesity, smoking and alcohol use, stress, sedentary life, excessive salt use, unhealthy diet and old age. Sometimes hypertension can be seen in kidney diseases, hormone diseases and pregnancy. If it is due to a certain disease, it is called secondary hypertension, and if there is no underlying disease, it is called primary hypertension or essential hypertension. It becomes more common as the elasticity of the vascular wall decreases with age. If hypertension is detected before the age of 20, it should be investigated for an underlying disease. It is necessary.
Reducing salt consumption and losing weight if overweight can prevent or delay the development of high blood pressure.
WHY IS HYPERTENSION A DANGEROUS DISEASE?
High blood pressure disrupts the vascular structure. Veins are also found in all our organs. Therefore, if blood pressure is not controlled, all our organs will be damaged and irreversible situations, which we call target organ damage, will occur. There may be heart diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and heart failure. If the brain vessels are affected, acute cerebral hemorrhage, paralysis, stroke may occur, and in chronic cases, dementia and memory problems may occur due to inadequate nutrition of the brain tissue. It may cause kidney failure. Blockage may occur in the leg veins. If the eye vessels are affected, bleeding into the eye and visual impairment may occur. Sexual dysfunction can occur in both genders.
When all these are taken into consideration, we see that hypertension is a serious preventable disease. For this reason, we should pay attention to monitoring the disease with regular examinations and tests, and use the medications at the recommended dose and duration, without interruption. We should measure our blood pressure at least once a year and be aware of our blood pressure. If we have been diagnosed with hypertension, we should not neglect regular medical check-ups at the intervals recommended by our doctor. So, happy World Hypertension Day.
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