Care For Hypertension

Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. This requires the heart to work harder than normal to circulate blood through the blood vessels. High blood pressure is said to be present if it is persistently at or above 140/90 mmHg and hypertension is diagnosed on the basis of a persistently high blood pressure.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction (heart attacks), heart failure, aneurysms of the arteries (e.g. aortic aneurysm) and peripheral arterial disease and is a cause of chronic kidney disease.

Hypertension is rarely accompanied by any symptoms, and its identification is usually through screening, or when seeking healthcare for an unrelated problem. A proportion of people with high blood pressure report headaches (usually at the back of the head in the morning), as well as lightheadedness, vertigo, tinnitus (buzzing or hissing in the ears), altered vision or fainting episodes.