What is Hypertension?

What is Hypertension?

• Hypertension: High blood pressure.
• Hypertension: hypertension occurring without preexisting renal disease or known organic cause.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Hypertension: a common disorder in which blood pressure remains abnormally high (a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or greater).
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Hypertension: Introduction

Types of Hypertension:

Types of Hypertension:

• Primary Hypertension - the main type with no underlying cause
• Secondary Hypertension - where it is caused by some other underlying condition; much less common than primary hypertension.
• Hypertension subtypes based on ranges:
  • Optimal Blood Pressure - systolic < 120 mmHg and diastolic < 80 mmHg.
  • Normal Blood Pressure - systolic < 130 mmHg and diastolic < 85 mmHg.
  • High-Normal Blood Pressure - systolic 130-139 mmHg or diastolic 85-89 mmHg.
  • Hypertension Stage 1 - systolic 140-159 mmHg or diastolic < mmHg.
  • Hypertension Stage 2 - systolic 160-179 mmHg or diastolic 90-99 mmHg.
  • Hypertension Stage 3 - systolic >= 180 mmHg or diastolic >= 110 mmHg.
  • Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) - high systolic pressure only.
• Hypertension during pregnancy:
  • Gestational hypertension - early stages of high blood pressure during pregnancy.
  • Preeclampsia - severe high blood pressure during pregnancy; about 5% of pregnancies.
  • Eclampsia - very severe pregnancy hypertension leading to seizures.
• Pulmonary hypertension - hypertension occurring in the heart-lung arteries.
• Malignant hypertension - occurring in younger adults than the normal profile for essential hypertension
• more types...»

Broader types of Hypertension:

• Chronic Illness
• Systemic disorders
• Blood vessel conditions
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Heart disease
• Blood conditions
• Under-diagnosed conditions
• Silent conditions
• Polygenic diseases
• more types...»

How many people get Hypertension?

Prevalance of Hypertension: 50 million Americans (NHLBI); 217 per 1000 (NHIS95)
Prevalance Rate of Hypertension: approx 1 in 5 or 18.38% or 50 million people in USA [about data]
Undiagnosed prevalence of Hypertension: more than 15 million (more than 30% of 50 million are undiagnosed)
Undiagnosed prevalence rate of Hypertension: approx 1 in 18 or 5.51% or 15 million people in USA [about data]
Worldwide prevalence: estimated 600 million people affected worldwide (Cardiovascular Diseases – Prevention and Control, WHO, 2001-2002)

Who gets Hypertension?

Patient Profile for Hypertension: Commonly older adults (over 40's); 60% of Americans over 60

Gender Profile for Hypertension: African American women have higher rates of hypertension than white women and Hispanic women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34.2% of the Black, non-Hispanic female population between 1998 and 1994 had hypertension 22.0% of Hispanic women and 19.3% of White, non-Hispanic women had hypertension during this time. (Source: excerpt from HYPERTENSION AND AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: NWHIC)

Race Profile for Hypertension: More common and earlier in African Americans. Women: 34.2% African American women, 22.0% Hispanic women, 19.3% Caucasian women (NWHIC)

How serious is Hypertension?

Prognosis of Hypertension: The prognosis relies on the level of adherence to the treatment plan as well as the individual response to treatment.
Complications of Hypertension: see complications of Hypertension
Deaths for Hypertension: 16,968 annual deaths from primary hypertension and hypertensive renal disease in 1999 USA (NVSR Sep 2001)

What causes Hypertension?

Causes of Hypertension: see causes of Hypertension
Risk factors for Hypertension: see risk factors for Hypertension

What are the symptoms of Hypertension?

Symptoms of Hypertension: see symptoms of Hypertension

Complications of Hypertension: see complications of Hypertension

Can anyone else get Hypertension?

Inheritance: see inheritance of Hypertension

Hypertension: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Hypertension.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Hypertension.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Hypertension: see treatments for Hypertension
Prevention of Hypertension: see prevention of Hypertension
Research for Hypertension: see research for Hypertension

Society issues for Hypertension

Costs of Hypertension: $47.2 billion with $34.4b direct, $6.7b morbidity, $6.1bb mortality (NHLBI 2002)

Cost statistics for Hypertension: The following are statistics from various sources about costs and Hypertension:

• $831 million spent on prevention and treatment in Australia 1993-94 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003)
• more statistics...»

• 0.17% (22,006) of hospital episodes were for hypertensive disease in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 79% of hospital consultations for hypertensive disease required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 52% of hospital episodes for hypertensive disease were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 48% of hospital episodes for hypertensive disease were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 50% of hospital admissions for hypertensive disease required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 7.7 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for hypertensive disease in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 3 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for hypertensive disease in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more statistics...»

• 10.4 million visits to physician office was due to hypertension in the US 2001 (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2001 Survey, NCHS, CDC)
• 1.2 million visits to a hospital outpatient department was due to hypertension in the US 2002 (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2001 Survey, NCHS, CDC)
• 10,467,000 people visited a physician’s office for hypertension in the US 2001 (National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2001)
• 1.2 million visits to a hospital outpatient department was due to hypertension in the US 2002 (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2001 Survey, NCHS, CDC)
• more statistics...»

Organs Affected by Hypertension:

Organs and body systems related to Hypertension include:

• Blood
• Blood vessels
• Blood pressure

Name and Aliases of Hypertension

Main name of condition: Hypertension

High Blood Pressure, Blood Pressure, High, Systemic hypertension, Essential hypertension, Hypertensive disease, the silent killer, silent killer, primary hypertension

Primary hypertension, Blood pressure raised, systemic, Gestosis [preeclampsia], PET [preeclampsia], Pre-eclamptic toxaemia [preeclampsia], Preeclampsia [preeclampsia] Source - Diseases Database

High blood pressure
Source - WordNet 2.1