Checking Hypertension With The Doctor

To kick-off this chapter, we thought it to be appropriate to deal with a topic close to our heart.
We are subject to stress on a daily basis, be it our work, personal life or both. And we know how stress can have an adverse impact on our immune system. Before we let our stress levels get out of control and develop into an extreme form of auto-immune sickness, we need to understand our body and how it reacts when we unconsciously abuse it. We checked with Dr Stephen Chew Tec Huan, a Consultant Nephrologist and Physician, for his insight into hypertension and how we can cope with it.

If you think of it, the word hypertension means high blood pressure of the blood vessels. It reflects the blood pressure that is over and above a norm.

In earlier days, when blood pressure was just beginning to be measured in clinical medicine, the inclination was that hypertension need not be treated. Earlier thoughts on hypertension were "the best thing for the clinician to deal with this entity of high blood pressure was to forget about it".

How things have changed. Not only is there conclusive evidence that hypertension is associated with the development of many diseases of the blood vessels, but more importantly its treatment is associated with the reduction of these risks. And the complications are many. Heart attacks and strokes were well known complications of untreated hypertension, but the list grows and includes kidney failure and blood vessel diseases of the legs causing gangrene just to name a few.
Furthermore the emergence of new data suggests that the blood pressure targets achieved previously were inadequate to reduce these complications, and now both patients and physicians must grapple with the challenges of achieving even more stringent blood pressure targets to reduce complications effectively.

Hypertension reflects a parameter in the body and is not the actual disease itself. Although the name sounds the same (ie hypertension), the reality is that different patients with the same label of hypertension will all come out of the clinic with different medication. There are furthermore distinctly different types of hypertension. It is important to exclude coexisting kidney disease, as well as certain metabolic disease such as glandular tumors that can cause hypertension. The diagnosis and therapy of a patient with hypertension must therefore be tailored to the individual’s needs for maximum effectiveness and minimal complications from drug therapy.

Most importantly, while reducing the blood pressure to a normal level is important, there are certain abnormalities that should be looked for and treated that tend to occur commonly in association with hypertension. These are factors which by themselves can exist in isolation, but tend to cluster with hypertension, and together with it, amplify the risk of complications. These factors are diabetes, gout and high cholesterol.

Care for the hypertensive patient should include management of all these risks. Like treatment of any chronic disease, treatment is a journey and not a distinct single episode, and requires both the hands of a physician and a cooperative patient to achieve the best outcomes possible.
We hope that in future postings to cover dangers of uncontrolled high blood pressures, how to keep your blood pressure in check and dietary approaches to stop hypertension.

You should consult your doctor if you require further clarification on this topic.

Feel free to provide your feedback and we will be pleased to follow up on your comments on the next episode.

Keywords: blood pressure, hypertension, kidney failure, diabetes