The Silent Killer

HYPERTENSION

Hypertension is known as the "silent killer" because somone can go for years without ever having signs or symptoms. Noone, not even a doctor, can look at 10 people in a room and pick out who has this disease and who doesn't. Over 50 million Americans age 6 and above have this disease, defined by a systolic reading of 140+ mmHg, and/or diastolic reading of 90+ mmHg (NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training).

What is Hypertension?
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder than it needs to, and it puts extra stress on the artery walls. This extra stress causes small mirco tears to occur in the artery walls, these micro tears eventually lead to the hardening and thickening of the arteries. This puts an individual at risk for heart attack, stroke, or both. Organs that are damaged due to hypertension include: heart, blood vessels, brain, and kidneys (NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training).

What Causes Hypertension?
-Smoking
-Being Overweight/Obese
-Lack of Physical Activity
-Too much salt in the diet
-Too much alcohol consumption
-Stress
-Older Age
-Genetics
-Family History
-Chronic Kidney Disease
-Adrenal of Thyroid disorders
*taken from http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/blood-pressure-causes

Management of Hypertension
Once detected hypertension can be controlled to minimize the damaging effects that it can have. Lifestyle modifications for clients with hypertension includes the nonpharmacologic interventions such as exercise, weight loss, and dietary changes. General lifestyle changes include adequate sleep, reduction in sodium intake, adequate potassium intake, weight loss, limiting alcohol intake, increasing aerobic activity, reducing intake of saturated fats, and quitting smoking (NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training).