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Blood Pressure
By Jane Keightley
Blood pressure is simply the force which the blood is pumped through the arteries. This pressure is determined by the quantity of blood the heart pumps out with each heart beat and the resistance the blood encounters in the arteries. The arterial resistance can be increased by a number of factors; if the arteries become narrow for instance due to fatty deposits the resistance will increase. Blood pressure is measured by taking two readings; these are the two stages in a heartbeat. Diastole and systole. During each heartbeat the pressure is highest during systole which is when the ventricles contract to push the blood into the arteries. The pressure then drops during diastole when the ventricles relax. A sphygmomanometer – the instrument used to measure blood pressure, records both of these pressures. The systolic pressure is written first followed by the diastolic pressure and these measurements are written in millimetres of mercury that is the distance the mercury moves up or down the gauge and written in shorthand as mmHG. A good average reading is 120/90mmHG in young to middle age people, but this reading will increase with age as the arteries loose elasticity and become hard and brittle causing greater resistance. Blood pressure varies throughout the day and it will depend on what activities you are doing. If blood pressure is consistently high regardless of activity it is called hypertension. Hypertension does not usually present symptoms in a patient although occasionally they may be breathless of dizzy and some my have blurred vision. Headaches are normally a symptom only of severe hypertension. People with high blood pressure are at a greater risk of having a stroke or heart attack than people with normal blood pressure; therefore hypertension will need treatment with both drugs and lifestyle changes. There are five main lifestyle changes that are recommended these are;
1. Maintaining a normal or ideal body weight
2. Drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol
3. increasing activity
4. increasing the daily intake of fruit and veg
5. restricting the amount of salt in the diet The two main key risk factors which must be addressed for people with hypertension are smoking and eating too much fat. Although these factors do not cause hypertension, reducing them will substantially reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. There are three main groups of drugs used to treat hypertension, each working in a different way. Combinations of these drug groups are often used to reduce blood pressure in patients according to the symptoms and severity of the condition. ACE inhibitors- these are a group of drugs which work by inhibiting the angiotensin II enzyme which causes the blood vessels to constrict, therefore by inhibiting its action the blood vessels dilate and resistance in the arteries is reduced. This group includes drugs such as ramipril, captopril and enalopril. Diuretics – Diuretics (or thiazides) reduce the amount of fluid in the body which reduces the amount of blood, which reduces resistance in the arteries. Bendroflumethiazide is the most common diuretic used to treat hypertension. Calcium channel blockers – These work by blocking the transport of calcium through the muscle in the blood vessels. By doing this the blood vessels relax and dilate reducing arterial resistance. Drugs in this group include amlodipine, diltiazem, verapamil and nifedipine.
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This intel was contributed by Jimbob
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May, 2012
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