Hypertension

HYPERTENSION

Concept and Etiology:Howdoesthediseaseaffectthe

cardiovascularandhematopoieticbodysystemsinparticular?

Howdoesitdeviatefromthedefinitionofhealthdiscussedin

ModuleOne?

Theprimaryeffectsofhypertensiononthecardiovascular

systemincludesexcessamountofpressureonarterial

wallsandbloodvessels,makingitdifficultforthearterial

systemtodeliverbloodtotherestofthebody.This

difficultyincreasestheworkfortheheart,resultingin

thickerwallsoftheheartwhichcaninturnincreaseone’s

riskofexperiencingaheartattack,heartfailure,oreven

death.Otherhealthissuesthathypertensioncanleadto

include,butarenotlimitedto,stroke,kidneydamage,

boneloss,atherosclerosis,visionloss,andcomplications

withmemoryandcomprehension.Onthehematopoietic

system,hypertensioncausesotherproblemsby

decreasingtheflowofblood.Bloodisresponsiblefor

transportingoxygentocells,deliveringnutrients,

electrolytes,lipids,hormones,andantibodiesaswellas

sendingbloodthroughthekidneystogetfiltered.

Unfortunately,whenbloodflowisconstricted,the

kidneyswillnotreceivethebloodneededtomaintainits

high-priorityroleinthebody.Therefore,thebloodisnot

gettingfilteredproperlyandwastematerialsmayremain

inthebloodstreamandfluidmaybuildupbecausethe

bodycannotexcreteproperly.Becausethekidneysplay

suchacentralroleinthebody,thisissuewillaffectthe

entiresystem.



Classification:Howisthediseaseclassified?

Hypertensionisclassifiedasbloodpressurethatis

continuouslyhigherthanthenormalrange.Therearetwo

formsofhypertensionincludingprimaryandsecondary.

Primaryhypertensionreferstothisformofthedisease

thatevolvesovertime.Secondaryhypertension,onthe

otherhand,isreferredtoasthisformofthediseasethat

developsasaresultofanunderlyingcondition,suchas

renaldisease,congenitalheartdefects,medications,etc.

Otherformsofhypertensionincludemalignant,

pregnancy-induced,anditcanalsobeclassifiedassystolic

hypertensionordiastolichypertensiondependingonthe

dataofthebloodpressuremeasurement.



Clinical Manifestations (Symptoms and Signs):Whatarethe

symptomsandsignsofthediseaseordisorder?Besureyou

understandthedifferencebetweensymptoms(subjective)and

signs(objective).

Commonsymptomsofhypertensionincludechestpain,

headaches,fatigue,visiondifficulties,irregularheartbeats,

nausea,anxiety,muscletremors,nosebleeds,andbuzzing

intheears.

Commonsignsofhypertensionincludeelevatedsystolic

bloodpressurewhichisdiagnosedifthenumberis130or

higher,elevateddiastolicbloodpressurewhichis

diagnosedifthenumberis80orhigher,bloodcellsor

urinecrystalsinurinesample,enlargementoftheheart

shownbyanechocardiogramorelectrocardiogram,or

highcholesterol,whichcanactuallybeacauseof

hypertension.



Diagnostic Tests:Whataresomeadditionaldiagnostictests

thatcanbedonetoilluminatethediagnosis?Forexample,

whenyouinjureyourankle,theytakeanx-raytodetermineifit

isbrokenorsprained.

Somediagnostictestsusedtodiagnosehypertension

includebloodpressuretesting,urinetesting(urinalysis),

cholesteroltesting,ambulatorymonitoring(24-hourblood

pressuremonitoring)toseehowbloodpressurechanges

overtime,electrocardiogram(ECGorEKG)tomeasure

theelectricalactivityoftheheart,orechocardiogram,

whichisessentiallyanultrasoundoftheheart.



RESOURCES

High blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.NationalKidney

Foundation.(2021,February12).RetrievedNovember2,2021,

from

https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/factsheets/High-

Blood-Pressure-and-CKD#:~:text=High%20blood%20pressure

%20causes%20kidney,extra%20fluid%20from%20your

%20body.

MayoFoundationforMedicalEducationandResearch.(2021,

July1).High blood pressure (hypertension).MayoClinic.

RetrievedNovember2,2021,from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-

pressure/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373417?

_ga=1.150436790.1874333668.1451493679.

The facts about high blood pressure.www.heart.org.(n.d.).

RetrievedNovember2,2021,from

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/t

he-facts-about-high-blood-pressure.

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