PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO AVOID HYPERTENSION.

Hypertension is defined as the increase of blood pressure within the arteries; it is a silent disease that affects a billion people around the world, most of them being unaware that they suffer from it all according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is considered to one of the triggering risk factors for heart attacks and cerebrovascular accidents.

What makes it such a deadly disease is the lack of symptoms that it exhibits or the fact that symptoms are only exhibited in severe cases or in those with complications. The normal levels are 140/90 even though it would be ideal if they were 120/80.

PREVENTION MEASURES

These prevention measures are directed to modify risk factors that we have control over such as:

WEIGHT

According to the Waist/Height ratio, which consists in dividing the perimeter of the waist by height in centimetres, it is recommended to lose weight if the result is higher than 0.50.

DIET

A healthy diet should be rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish (rich in Omega 3), olive oil, etc.

Industrial goods containing high levels of sodium, sugars and trans fats should be avoided as much as possible. The intake of trans fats such as lard, cold meats, etc. should also be reduced.

EXERCISE

It is recommended that we should walk for a minimum of half an hour to an hour, five days a week in order to maintain normal blood pressure levels.

REDUCTION OF SALT INTAKE

The recommended salt intake is between 4 to 5 grams of salt per day.

Let us keep in mind that ready meals, cold meats, snacks, a number of drinks, etc. are saturated in salt, therefore we should keep an eye on the nutritional information that can be found in certain products.

TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL

Tobacco and alcohol are two important risk factors in order to monitor blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.

HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA AND DIABETES

Both of these two risk factors are usually linked with hypertension so elevated levels of LDL Cholesterol or Bad Cholesterol and hyperglycaemia or Diabetes should always be monitored.

Lastly, it is important to state that we should monitor blood pressure from infancy onwards to ensure that we have a future without hypertension.

Dr J. Hurtado Martínez
Medical Director of HealthSalus

Hypertension... The Silent Killer.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Hypertension is a world health crisis. It already affects one billion people, from which nine million people die each year.

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is an increase of the pressure that blood uses to travel through the arteries. Arteries are usually stretchable, however, they tend to harden with age and their calibre decreases.

Which numbers are within the range?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the recommended readings would be 120/80 and more than 140/90 would be classed as Hypertension.

Blood Pressure readings tend to vary throughout the day, the highest seen during the early hours of the morning and the lowest in the middle of the night. These readings tend to be very dangerous if one or both of them are high.

What are the symptoms?

None, which is why it has been named the silent killer.

Cephaleas, Palpitations, Nasal Haemorrhages, Dizziness, etc. would be symptoms of a hypertensive crisis and the most important organs (Heart, Kidneys, Central Nervous System, Eyes, etc.) are affected the most.

How would the diagnostic take place?

Through undertaking regular check-ups, either by your GP or at home.

Regular blood tests, whereby elevated levels of Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Glucose, Creatinine can be detected.

Regular Urine tests in order to detect proteins.

Treatment

• Reduce the intake of food rich in salt (no more than 4 to 5g per day).

• Increase the intake of foods rich in potassium (Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Legumes, Cereals, etc.).

• Decrease the intake of foods rich in fats, and avoid processed foods as much as possible.

• Exercise according to your age, walking at a fast pace for a minimum of half an hour to an hour per day.

• Decrease the perimeter of the waist/abdominal fat.

• No smoking.

• No alcohol drinks.

• Keep stress levels to a minimum.

• Pharmacological treatment if needed.

Lastly I want to say that eventhough the majority of diagnostics of Hypertension are of unknown origins, partly due to genetics and partly due to lifestyle. A number of diagnostics of Hypertension are caused by tumours or endocrinal issues, which tend to be present within in young adults and adults below the age of 40, however it is less likely to be diagnosed at those ages.

Let’s keep our blood pressure in check so we can live longer and healthier lives.

Dr J. Hurtado Martínez

Medical Director of HealthSalus

Taking care of our children. Let us check their blood pressure.

The American Association of Paediatrics strongly recommends paediatricians to look for and provide an early diagnosis of hypertension in children that are healthy and over the age of three.

This association defines hypertension in children as high levels of blood pressure found in more than three recurring times and that are equal to or higher than the specified average according to their age, sex or height, always depending on the measuring devices available.

Hypertension in children can harm the heart, brain, kidneys and the retina if it is not diagnosed and treated early.

It is estimated that roughly 2% of cases in the world are of hypertension and eventhough the majority of them are due to secondary congenital pathologies, there are increasingly more cases of an unknown origins. The presence of obesity in children and bad habits involving alcohol and smoking in adolescents, as well as a prior family history of hypertension are also important risk factors.

Treatments will always be tailored according to the origin and levels of hypertension found, sometimes they will only be treated with a diet and exercise and other times they will be treated with diet, exercise and pharmaceuticals. And if there is a prior pathology that is the origin of the levels of hypertension, then that will be treated.

Children are the future. Let us take care of them.

Dr J. Hurtado Martínez

Medical Director of HealthSalus

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is an increase of the pressure that blood uses to travel through the arteries. Arteries are usually stretchable, however, they tend to harden with age and their calibre decreases.

Which numbers are within the range?

According to WHO, the recommended readings would be 120/80 and more than 140/90 would be classed as Hypertension.

Blood Pressure readings tend to vary throughout the day, the highest seen during the early hours of the morning and the lowest in the middle of the night. These readings tend to be very dangerous if one or both of them are high.

What are the symptoms?

None, which is why it has been named the silent killer.

Cephaleas, Palpitations, Nasal Haemorrhages, Dizziness, etc. would be symptoms of a hypertensive crisis and the most important organs (Heart, Kidneys, Central Nervous System, Eyes, etc.) being the most affected.

How would the diagnostic take place?

• Through undertaking regular check-ups, either by your GP or at home.
• Regular blood tests, whereby elevated levels of Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Glucose, Creatinine can be detected.
• Regular Urine tests in order to detect proteins.

 Treatment

• Reduction of food rich in salt (no more than 4 to 5g per day).
• Increase the ingestion of foods rich in potassium (Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Legumes, Cereals, etc).
• Decrease the ingestion of foods rich in fats, and avoid processed foods as much as possible.
• Exercise in accordance to age, walking at a fast pace for a minimum of half an hour to an hour per day.
• Decrease the perimeter of the waist/abdominal fat.
• No smoking.
• No drinking of alcoholic drinks.
• Keeping stress levels to a minimum.
• Pharmacological treatment if needed.

Lastly I want to say that eventhough the majority of diagnostics of Hypertension are of unknown origins, partly due to genetics and partly due to lifestyle. A number of diagnostics of Hypertension are caused by tumours or endocrinal issues, which tend to be present within in young adults and adults below the age of 40, however it is less likely to be diagnosed at those ages.

Let’s keep our blood pressure in check so we can live longer and healthier lives.

Dr. J Hurtado Martinez

Medical Director of HealthSalus