Question

Pharm:

Research Question

Many people in America have Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia as a diagnosis. Research one of these and provide results of your research as to the causes of this change. Be specific and cite your source to support your essay.

Answer 1

More than 360,000 American deaths in 2013 included high blood pressure as a primary or contributing cause.² That is almost 1,000 deaths each day.

High blood pressure increases your risk for dangerous health conditions:

• First heart attack: About 7 of every 10 people having their first heart attack have high blood pressure.²
• First stroke: About 8 of every 10 people having their first stroke have high blood pressure.²
• Chronic (long lasting) heart failure: About 7 of every 10 people with chronic heart failure have high blood pressure.²
• Kidney disease is also a major risk factor for high blood pressure.

Although you cannot control all of your risk factors for high blood pressure, you can take steps to prevent or control high blood pressure and its complications.

Conditions That Increase Risk for High Blood Pressure

Some medical conditions can raise your risk for high blood pressure. If you have one of these conditions, you can take steps to control it and lower your risk.

Prehypertension

Prehypertension is blood pressure that is slightly higher than normal. Prehypertension increases the risk that you will develop chronic, or long-lasting, high blood pressure in the future.

If your blood pressure is between 120/80 mmHg and 139/89 mmHg, you have prehypertension. Learn more about how blood pressure is measured.

You can take steps to control your blood pressure and keep it in a healthy range.

Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus also increases the risk for heart disease. Your body needs glucose (sugar) for energy. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas that helps move glucose from the food you eat to your body’s cells. If you have diabetes, your body does not make enough insulin, can not use its own insulin as well as it should, or both. This will increase the blood sugar.

Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood. About 60% of people who have diabetes also have high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about ways to manage diabetes and control other risk factors.

Behaviors That Increase Risk for High Blood Pressure

Your lifestyle choices can increase your risk for high blood pressure. To reduce your risk, your doctor may recommend changes to your lifestyle.

The good news is that healthy behaviors can lower your risk for high blood pressure.

Unhealthy Diet

A diet that is too high in sodium and too low in potassium puts you at risk for high blood pressure.

Eating too much sodium—an element in table salt—increases blood pressure. Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed and restaurant foods. Learn more about sodium and high blood pressure.

Not eating enough potassium also can increase blood pressure. Potassium is found in bananas, potatoes, beans, and yogurt.

Physical Inactivity

Not getting enough physical activity can make you gain weight, which can lead to high blood pressure.

Obesity

Obesity is excess body fat. Obesity is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower “good” cholesterol levels. In addition to high blood pressure, obesity can also lead to heart disease and diabetes. Talk to your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level.

Too Much Alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure.

• Women should have no more than 1 drink a day.
• Men should have no more than 2 drinks a day.

Tobacco Use

Tobacco use increases your risk for high blood pressure. Cigarette smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels. Also, nicotine raises blood pressure, and carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry.

Family History and Other Characteristics That Increase Risk for High Blood Pressure

Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease. High blood pressure can run in a family, and your risk for high blood pressure can increase based on your age and your race or ethnicity.

Genetics and Family History

When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity.

Genetic factors likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.

The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking cigarettes and eating an unhealthy diet.

Other Characteristics

Both men and women can have high blood pressure. Some other characteristics that you cannot control—like your age, race, or ethnicity—can affect your risk for high blood pressure.

• Age. Because your blood pressure tends to rise as you get older, your risk for high blood pressure increases with age. About 9 of 10 Americans will develop high blood pressure during their lifetimes.¹
• Sex. Women are about as likely as men to develop high blood pressure at some point during their lives.
• Race or ethnicity. Blacks develop high blood pressure more often than whites, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, or Alaska Natives. Compared to whites, blacks also develop high blood pressure earlier in life

• References

• Vasan RS, Beiser A, Seshadri S, et al. Residual lifetime risk for developing hypertension in middle-aged women and men: the Framingham Heart Study. JAMA. 2002;287(10):1003–1010.
• Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, et al; the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2013 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013;127:e6-245.
• National High Blood Pressure Education Program. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure Cdc-pdf[PDF – 223K]External. Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 2003