Scientist has
discovered many risk factors which can increase the risk to develop high blood
pressure. Are you a likely candidate for high blood pressure? Risk factors for
developing high blood pressure, also called hypertension include:
- Family history
Eye colour, hair colour and
type are not only your inherited trait. If your family such as parents,
grandparents or any other close blood relative have hypertension, you are more
likely to develop it too. Since you can't control genetic, but you can choose
to practice healthy lifestyle and lower your other risk factors. Healthy
lifestyle choices allow many people with family history of high blood pressure to avoid it themselves.
- Age
The risk of developing hypertension is increased as you aged. Through early middle age, hypertension is more common in men as compared to women. However, the risk of hypertension is the same for both sexes after menopause.
- Lack of physical activity
Being physically
active is good as it can help to lower your blood pressure and thus lowering the
risk of hypertension. People who are inactive tend to have
higher heart rates. The higher is your heart rate, the harder for your heart to work
with each contraction and the stronger the force act upon your arteries. This will
cause your blood pressure to rise.
- Diet
Your food intake can affect your blood pressure. Foods with low potassium (example of foods high in potassium: banana raisin, tomato,carrot, spinach), high sodium, and low vitamin D (example of foods high in vit. D: egg) will rise your blood pressure. Frequent alcohol consumption can also rise your blood pressure.
- Overweight and obesity
Overweight and obese
person have higher risk of developing hypertension compared to person with normal BMI. An overweight person is classified of
having BMI from 25.00 – 29.99 while obese person is classified of having BMI more
than 30.00.
How to Calculate your BMI?
Table 1: Classification of BMI according to WHO
Classification
|
BMI(kg/m2)
|
Underweight
|
<18.50
|
Normal
range
|
18.50 – 24.99
|
Overweight
|
25.00 – 29.99
|
Obese
|
≥30.00
|
(Source: Adapted from WHO 1995, WHO, 2000 and WHO 2004)
Table 2: The ASEAN (Malaysian) Classification of BMI
Classification
|
BMI (Kg/M2)
|
Underweight
|
<18.5
|
Normal range
|
18.5-22.9
|
Overweight
|
23.0-27.4
|
Pre-obese
|
27.5-32.4
|
Obese class I
|
32.5-37.4
|
Obese class II
|
≥37.5
|
Obese class III
|
≥40.0
|
- Stress
Being in stress can
increase your blood pressure but this is only temporary effect. As you relax
and free yourself from any stress condition, your blood pressure will return to
normal.
- Smoking
Smoking can temporary
increase your blood pressure. Cigarette contains tobacco which can damage the
lining of your artery walls; which causes your arteries to narrow. Hence, increasing
your blood pressure.
Sign and symptoms of hypertension
Generally hypertension are asymptomatic (have no signs or symptoms), even though the blood pressure reach dangerous levels. In some cases, a person can display signs and
symptoms of high blood pressure, such as:- Headache
- Blurred vision
- Nausea
- Dizziness
What are complications of hypertension that may be encountered?
Hypertension will cause a strain and damage on the organs in the body.The complications of hypertension that may occur are:
1) Heart disease
- Coronary Heart Disease (narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart caused by forming of plaque)
- Congestive Heart Failure (a condition in which the heart has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body's tissues)
- Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (enlargement or overgrowth of the myocardium of the left ventricle due to chronic pressure overload.)
2) Failure of kidney
function
- Albuminuria (high level of protein in urine which is more than 300mg of albumin in urine per day)
3) Complication of brain
- Stroke attack.(sudden death of a portion of the brain cells due to a lack of oxygen)
4) Complication of
the eyes
- Hypertensive Retinopathy (bleeding and damage to the retina of the eye)
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