Hypertension, the technical term for chronically high blood pressure, is a common disorder characterized by elevated blood pressure. The disease, which is most common in African Americans, has no single identifiable cause, but obesity, a high sodium intake, and a family history of high blood pressure increase the risk of the disorder. This condition, in turn, can silently contribute to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure and thus plays a part in some 500, 000 deaths every year. This disorder is particularly deadly for African Americans causing about 20% of deaths among our race. Also, the occurrence of hypertension is greater in men than it is in women. There are many theories explaining why African-Americans are more prone to hypertension than other ethnic groups.
Many researchers say that the cause for this is because of the genetics of Blacks and because of the conditions of poverty and low socioeconomic status that they are most exposed to. Theories conclude that these environmental factors cause high stress levels that can boost one’s blood pressure. But other studies show that the main reason for this disease is the lifestyle that an individual leads. Smoking, excessive amounts of alcohol intake and high stress levels usually provoke this disease into existence.
The Essay on Blood Pressure Measurements
Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. Blood pressure is summarized in by two measurements, systolic and diastolic, which depend on whether the heart is muscle is contracting (systole) or relaxed between beats (diastole). Normal blood pressure at rest is within the range of 100-140mmHg systolic (top reading) and 60-90mmHg diastolic ( ...
In many instances, proper health care is not provided in ample amounts of time to treat the disease effectively. Prevention starts with exercising good health habits such as eating properly, and physical workouts on a consistent basis. Also, minimizing on the amount of stress that is dealt with on a day to day basis can aid in preventing hypertension.
