Causes of hypertension

In this article, we'll look at some key points and symptoms so that you can better understand which category of hypertension you are in. This knowledge and observations can help the doctor find the appropriate cause in your particular case.

A good doctor is a detective in biology, and every patient must also be one.

Blood pressure may increase for a completely innocent reason, this is evidenced by the following case from medical practice. A 29 year old woman came to see a doctor with a complaint about increased blood pressure, 180/100. Because she was young, her arteries would have a terrible fight all the next years, if hypertension is not treated. The doctor gave her a full examination before starting treatment. But it did not work, they did not find anything abnormal. The kidneys worked perfectly; The level of hormones is normal; She did not take any contraceptive pills, nor drugs that suppress appetite nor anything else that could cause hypertension. During her next visit to the clinic to the doctor's question about the diet, she said: "I love liquorice and if I do not eat at least four long pieces a day, I have severe constipation. This random statement solved the riddle of her hypertension! Liquorice raises blood pressure if it is eaten regularly and in large quantities, as this woman did. Abstinence from liquorice within ten days returned her pressure back to normal.

So, if you have high blood pressure, ask yourself the following questions, they will help you navigate and identify the cause.

And now, as always, the basic rule is working? At occurrence of any symptom first of all glance in the first-aid set . Many drugs that suppress appetite , prescription or without it (especially those containing amphetamine), can raise blood pressure. Contraceptive tablets are also capable of this, like other steroid hormones . A special group of antidepressants , called monoamine axidase inhibitors (marplane, nardil), causes a dangerous increase in blood pressure when taken with old cheese, red wine or chocolate.

If hypertension is first detected after 45 or 50 years, ten to one, that this is a case of essential true hypertension , i.e. With an unknown cause. But even so, it can be treated.

Do you have a pregnancy for more than six months? During this period, there may be a condition called toxemia of pregnancy . Sometimes it raises the blood pressure level so high that there is a threat to the life of the mother and there are grounds for abortion.

Increased pressure was detected in you with an accidental examination or were you disturbed by some painful phenomena? Hypertension is called a "silent killer" because it can be present for years, but you will not even be aware of it. At a certain time, however, the symptoms will manifest. You may feel dizzy or short of breath, or you will have swollen feet, or there will be pain in the calves when walking, or angina pectoris - all due to the fact that the general circulation of blood is disturbed. It is much better to identify and begin to treat hypertension before it finds itself with similar symptoms.

Severe headaches, accompanied by sudden blood pressure jumps, are suspicious for a tumor that secretes adrenaline, pheochromocytomas . Women 50 years and over, whose menstruation became irregular, naturally, will attribute palpitations, nervousness, sweating and headaches to menopause ; These symptoms, however, together with unexplained weight loss should indicate the possibility of pheochromocytoma.

Does it hurt you to urinate and have blood in your urine? The source of your hypertension is in the kidneys .

Do you often get up at night to urinate? In men, this is often attributed to an enlarged prostate gland. But regardless of gender, if you need to urinate more than twice a night without an obvious reason (you do not have diabetes, you did not drink beer all evening, did not enjoy a full tea kettle before you go to bed), you may have high arterial pressure.

As mentioned above, long-term use of steroids increases blood pressure. In Cushing's syndrome, the body itself forms an excessive amount of these steroids due to a tumor in the adrenal glands or in the pituitary gland of the brain. Patients with Cushing's syndrome have other, easily established characteristics. They often have a "buffalo hump" on their backs; Hair they can grow in undesirable places - for example, on the face and legs of women; They have red spots on the skin due to the increased fragility of small blood vessels; These patients bleed easier. But the most revealing sign is an unexplained weight gain . If you were not a glutton and had constant weight all your life and suddenly began to add, you had a mustache, your face turned red, a fatty hump on your back, and blood pressure increased - you have Cushing's syndrome.

A few words about low blood pressure . Patients often complain to their doctor that they easily get tired, they get dizzy, when they lift up sharply, they do not have enough energy and it's hard to do something because of this "damned" low blood pressure. In most cases, low blood pressure is not abnormal unless, of course, you have taken some provoking medication (many heart attacks and hypertension tablets can lower your blood pressure to an undetectable level) or if you do not have a very rare disease in which the pressure is abnormal low. Its distinctive feature is repeated spontaneous syncope, loss of consciousness. So, if you do not take such medicines and do not have this rare pathology, your pressure is not really low, no matter what the figures say. Do not drink medicine, trying to increase these figures. Thank God. You will live much longer if your blood pressure is low.

Symptom: high blood pressure (hypertension)