Because of the silent and insidious way it works in the background i.e. no symptoms it is referred to as the Silent Killer. High blood pressure if left untreated and ignored can lead to lethal complications in a wide variety of illnesses.More than 50 million Americans are estimated to have high blood pressure.



In the USA initial investigations would seem to highlight that within the black community 32% off the community how to high blood pressure as opposed to 23% within the White and Hispanic communities. The knock on effect of high blood pressure would appear to be worse for those within the black community.

It would appear that the risks and incidences of high blood pressure increase proportionately with age with over three quarters of women and 4/6 of men over the age of 75 being classified as sufferers.High blood pressure is twice as common among people who are obese as among those who are not.

It is a staggering figure that possibly only two thirds of the potential high blood pressure sufferers in the US have been diagnosed.Of these people, about 75% receive drug treatment, and of these, about 45% receive adequate treatment.

Two terms are used when calculating high blood pressure, the systolic which is the first and greater of the two figures and refers to the highest pressure of the Arteries.The lower value reflects the lowest pressure in the arteries, which is reached just before the heart begins to contract again (during diastole).

The traditional way of reporting blood pressure figures is calculated in millimetres of mercury and described as the systolic over the diastolic (120 over 80 etc). If the blood pressure readings were greater than a systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure off greater than 90 mm Hg than to suffer was deemed to be suffering from high blood pressure.

However it has now been recognized that even these figures may be arbitrary as even the smallest increase in blood pressure is a risk. The change in the approach to these limits has occurred through increased research into hypertension highlighting additional unforeseen complications.

In most people with high blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic pressures are high. It has been found that where High Blood Pressure has been brought about through increased age that it is not unusual to see a normal diastolic pressure matched with a raised systolic figure.

This disorder is called isolated systolic hypertension.Blood pressure that is more than 180/110 mm Hg and does not produce any symptoms is ? a hypertensive urgency.

Where the blood pressure is particularly severe and in excess of 210/120 mm Hg then the condition is deemed to be known as malignant hypertension.It occurs in only about 1 of 200 people who have high blood pressure.

Again the incidences of malignant hypertension is greater within the black community and amongst those people from the socioeconomic groups. Unlike hypertensive urgency, malignant hypertension may produce a variety of severe symptoms. These can be fatal within a period of six months if left untreated.