Are you suffering from hypertension? Know how it has affected your body
We spoke to Dr. Pramod V Satya, Consultant - Internal Medicine, Manipal Hospital Millers Road, who told us that hypertension affects all the organs, mainly affecting heart, kidney, and brain function leading to heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke.
Hypertension is the pressure exerted by the circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels. It affects all the organs, mainly affecting heart, kidney, and brain function leading to heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke. As blood circulates throughout the body it puts force on blood vessels including minute blood vessels like capillaries in the body. High blood pressure is the cause of arteriosclerosis. The artery gets clogged and leads to heart attack and stroke.
These days incidences of hypertension cases are increasing in Manipal Hospital because of many factors like- people in big cities consult the doctor for the mildest symptoms like giddiness, heaviness in the head, and sleeplessness. Nowadays checking blood pressure is widely available and has become handier.
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It does not require any expensive procedures and if the reading is above 140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure and 90 mm Hg diastolic pressure we diagnose it as high blood pressure. It is the easiest disease to be diagnosed and to be treated.
If we diagnose people with high blood pressure we put them on DASH diet. It includes a low salt diet of less than 3 grams of salt/ day, lots of fruits and fibre, low-fat dairy products, regular exercise, and abstinence from smoking. Medications like steroids, painkillers, and anti-allergies cause a sudden increase in blood pressure in normal patients. Good quality of sleep is very important to maintain blood pressure.
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In clinical studies, we have observed that patients with stroke have a high blood pressure on admission. The untreated blood pressure can cause damage to blood vessels and may result in stroke that disables you for at least 6 months. Regular follow-up with the doctor, taking proper medications, diet, weight reduction, and salt restriction can make hypertension a benign disease. The patient may have to take medication for a lifetime but if managed with a proper lifestyle it does not cause any complications.