| The symptoms of hypertension include | | | | index. And as recently as 1950, there were |
| headaches, fatigue, dizziness, ringing in the ears | | | | doctors who believed that as long as you were |
| and frequent nosebleeds. But not all people | | | | feeling fine, high blood pressure didn't mean a |
| experience these. | | | | thing. The magnitude of the problem and its |
| In fact, the majority of hypertensive persons | | | | impact on health is now more realistically |
| have no obvious symptoms. One may have high | | | | understood," added Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld of the |
| blood pressure for years without noticing anything | | | | New York Hospital - Memorial Sloan - Kettering |
| or feeling different. Because of this, the problem is | | | | Cancer Center in “The Best Treatment.” |
| usually ignored. | | | | What can you do about hypertension? For mild |
| Doing so, however, is your ticket to an early | | | | cases (in which blood pressure measures 140/90 |
| grave. For hypertension can extensively damage | | | | or 140/104), lifestyle changes may be all that's |
| the body. Over the years, the excessive force of | | | | necessary. This is preferable than taking drugs |
| blood on the artery walls can lead to heart | | | | and is the approach used by most doctors. |
| attacks, strokes, kidney failure and other serious | | | | "In most instances, mild hypertension can be |
| complications. | | | | controlled once you remove the factors that, |
| "High blood pressure ranks as the main cause of | | | | contribute to it. Since many of these factors are |
| stroke because it weakens arteries in the brain, | | | | controllable, modifying these through lifestyle |
| paving the way for a rupture or blood clot. It also | | | | changes will often result in an improvement of |
| contributes to coronary atherosclerosis (the | | | | a person's condition," said Dr. Desiree M. Narvaez, |
| buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries that | | | | a medical specialist formerly with the Department |
| nourish the heart) which increases the risk of a | | | | of Health Non-Communicable Disease Control |
| heart attack. It damages tiny vessels in the | | | | Service in Manila. |
| kidney that are needed for filtering the blood, | | | | "Two factors account for the shift away from |
| which can lead to kidney failure. High blood | | | | drugs in treating mild hypertension: uncertainty |
| pressure can also cause blindness by damaging | | | | over whether their benefits outweigh their |
| vessels that provide blood to the eye's retina," | | | | unpleasant and possibly harmful side effects, |
| according to Larry Katzenstein, senior editor of | | | | which can range from fatigue and headaches to |
| American Health magazine. | | | | elevated cholesterol levels; and recent evidence |
| "The fact that high blood pressure is a 'silent killer' | | | | that nondrug approaches can often lower blood |
| and a major cause of death and disability was not | | | | pressure to normal levels," Katzenstein added. |
| always appreciated. Medical books published in the | | | | (Next: Drugless ways to fight hypertension. |
| early 1900s didn't even list hypertension in the | | | | |