Different Kinds of Hypertension

Hypertension is another term for high blood pressure. Constant high blood pressure causes the heart to work much harder than it normally should and can damage the brain, kidneys, coronary arteries and the eyes. Hypertension is the main cause of strokes. There are several different types of hypertension and all can be very dangerous if not taken care of.

Gestational Hypertension

• Pregnant women can develop several different types of hypertension with one of them being gestational hypertension. Gestational hypertension is usually developed after the twentieth week of pregnancy. High blood pressure happens in 6 to 8 percent of all pregnancies in the United States.
  Research scientists, at this point, are not aware of the causes of gestational hypertension. They do know that gestational hypertension affects the blood flow to organs such as the liver, brain, kidneys, and placenta. A pregnant woman is often diagnosed by taking several blood pressure readings throughout the day. If she is diagnosed with gestational hypertension, the doctor might recommend medications, a no-salt-added diet, bed rest, more frequent prenatal visits, early delivery (after 36 weeks) or just observation.

Preeclampsia

• Preeclampsia is a unique condition that is found in pregnant women. Other names can include toxemia, acute hypertensive disease and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Preeclampsia is common during a woman's first pregnancy but can also occur in future pregnancies as well. This is a very dangerous condition that can occur in 3 to 4 percent of all pregnancies and is the leading cause of fetal and maternal death, low birth weight, premature birth and still birth.
  A specific cause for preeclampsia is not known, although there are certain factors that can increase the risk of developing preeclampsia. The factors are having reoccurring hypertension before becoming pregnant, being overweight prior to pregnancy, having high blood pressure or preeclampsia in a prior pregnancy, conceiving a child under the age of 20 or over the age of 40, being pregnant with multiple babies at one time, or having diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, scleroderma or lupus. It is known that with preeclampsia it can cause a decrease blood flow to the liver, retina, kidneys, brain and placenta.
  Symptoms of preeclampsia can vary but usually include high blood pressure, abnormal weight gain, swelling of face and hands, protein in the urine, abdominal pain, headaches and vision problems. Make sure you keep all your scheduled appointments with your doctor so they can track any problems that might occur during your pregnancy.

Isolated Systolic Hypertension

• Isolated systolic hypertension is the most common type of high blood pressure in older Americans. Most people with isolated systolic hypertension don't have any high blood pressure symptoms. It could even take several years to notice any symptoms of isolated systolic hypertension. Most people don't even realize they have it until they have a systolic blood pressure reading that is too high.
  Factors that can increase your risk of having isolated systolic hypertension are being overweight, being older, having diabetes, smoking, or being a Caucasian male or an African-American. These factors are not a risk in and of themselves.
  Isolated systolic hypertension is generally treated with blood pressure medications or lifestyle changes. An average person's blood pressure should be less than 140/90, so if yours is not, you need to speak with your physician about options to lower your blood pressure.
  If isolated systolic hypertension is left untreated it can lead to a heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, blindness or other conditions.

Prehypertension

• Prehypertension is a condition that is in between normal blood pressure readings and high blood pressure readings and are usually symptom free. In the past, readings 140/90 were considered high and anything other was in the normal range. However, after extensive review worldwide, a scientific panel had learned a lot more about risks pertaining to high blood pressure. The studies showed that the risk of death from a stroke or heart disease began to rise when blood pressures increased over 115/75.
  Prehypertension is defined as blood pressure readings between 120/80 and 139/89. People who have blood pressure reading in this range are also urged to make lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercising, cutting down on salt, decreasing alcohol intake, eating more fruits, vegetables and more low fat dairy foods.

White-Coat Hypertension

• White-coat hypertension is in approximately 40 percent of people with prehypertension. It is described as having an elevated systolic blood pressure between 140 and 180 at the doctors office and a normal reading of less than 140/90 when out of the office. White-coat hypertension is something people experience only when they visit the doctor's office. Blood pressure can change throughout the day. Things that can cause your blood pressure to change are level of exercise, stress, amount of tension, posture and nicotine use.
  If you are suspected to have white-coat hypertension, your doctor may ask you to monitor your blood pressure at home. They may even ask you to wear a device called an ambulatory blood pressure monitor. This device is usually worn for up to 24 hours and takes your blood pressure every 30 minutes.

Dangers

• If you suspect you have hypertension, go to your physician and have it checked. There are many dangers associated with hypertension. Some dangers are damage to your heart, damage to arteries, damage to your brain, damage to your kidneys, damage to your eyes, and even worse, death.