Hypertension Can Be Asymptomatic but Potentially Fatal

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

BP Measure & Heart_pixabayWhen is the last time you checked your blood pressure? How is your child or children’s blood pressure?

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a multifaceted issue, and I’d like to address why it matters in several brief, yet key points.

In case you are not aware, high blood pressure is redefined at a reading of 130/80 rather than 140/90 mmHg, according to 2017 guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

It’s important to pay attention to the new normal—i.e. the reading should be lower than 120/80 mmHg, because when systolic (top) number is 120-129 and diastolic (bottom) number is lower than 80 mmHg, your blood pressure is referred to “elevated status”. So, if your reading exceeds 130/80 mmHg, read further.

Hypertension a common risk factor for various cardiovascular and other chronic illnesses. It often remains overlooked in the absence of symptoms. However, hypertension is a silent killer.

Hypertension is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular mortality (heart attack and stroke), and can bring about end-organ damage including chronic kidney diseases and renal failure. Even if people survive a life-threatening emergency, many face challenges of disability and complications that reduce the quality of life.

Hypertension is positively associated with some types of cancer, specifically renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer.
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Hypertension is becoming more common in children and adolescents but is under-diagnosed among this population, including those with a normal weight without a family history of hypertension. This is not surprising given the obesity epidemic, which presents alarming statistics—more than 1/3 of youth are overweight or obese and nearly 20% of children/adolescents has obesity. The relationship between hypertension and obesity has been clearly established; both can cause severe long-term health consequences.

As we live at a moment of crises, the compounding effect of COVID-19 reached an out of control point. A recent research published on European Heart Journal (2020 June; 41:2058-2066) reveals that patients with hypertension have a two-fold increase in the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to those without hypertension. Antihypertensive treatment has lowered the mortality risk significantly compared with those left untreated.

The good news is that high blood pressure is a modifiable risk factor, and many hypertension-associated problems are preventable! So, focus on prevention.

The top strategy for preventing hypertension is lifestyle modification starting from a young age. Treating primary hypertension in children is almost exclusively a matter of an improved dietary and behavior regimen, including a more nutritional diet with reduced sodium intake, increased physical activity, and healthy weight. Pharmacological intervention is secondary strategy if your physician indicates it is needed.

A take-home-message: Watch your blood pressure, control your blood pressure to prevent acute cardiovascular events and help reduce the COVID-19 burden.

 

Image credit: Pixabay