Hypertension is a disease that, by being silent, continues to be highly dangerous and requires specific nutritional care.
"Hypertension" is a term which refers to the fact that blood travels through the arteries to one pressure higher than the desirable health. In some cases may occur dizziness, bleeding from the nose or headaches, but not necessarily. The majority of those affected have no symptoms, why they say you 'silent', but that does not mean that it is not dangerous. Most of the deaths that occur each year are as a direct result of hypertension or cardiovascular or kidney complications.
Factors that can alter the pressure
Blood pressure can be altered for different reasons; some of them may be internal and others, changes caused by triggers external to our own body. The most common are:
(a) The frequency of heart rate variation
(b) Situations of stress
(c) Salted food. If, for example, we make a rich in salt (French fries, meats or sausages) intake this is going to cause an increase in pressure, but if our bodies function properly, these factors will make to maintain the pressure within normal limits. In a person with hypertension, these mechanisms or "regulation factors" do not work.
Modifiable factors: overweight and obesity, hypercholesterolemia, lack of physical activity (i.e., physical inactivity), the consumption of alcohol (more than 90 ml per day), smoking, a diet with excess sodium (salt or foods with clumps of salt at the table).
Non-modifiable factors: personal history or family of cardiovascular diseases. It occurs most frequently in adult man.
Serious effects on our body
Thickening of blood vessels: hardened and its walls are injured, situation which favours the deposit of cholesterol in the arteries, and the possible consequent development of atherosclerotic plaque.
Heart failure: cardiac muscle (heart) will be exaggerating, is going to increase in size and lose their regular operation.
Loss of brain cells: ischemic stroke can trigger. It does to the brain the amount of adequate blood and death of brain cells, which do not recover never occurs.
Other consequences: kidney failure, hemorrhages in the white area of the eyes.
How is it treated?
People with hypertension should be treated with diet and medication orally of lifetime, longer than high blood pressure doesn't heal never. But if it is a responsible person, complies with the diet and physical activity, their levels of pressure can improve and then it is very likely that the doctor will reduce the dose of medication.
Positive factors
These factors have a positive influence on blood pressure:
Potassium. It increases the Elimination of sodium in urine; In addition it promotes dilation of the arteries. It is a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables to cover the requirements of the Agency in this way.
Calcium. It is important to ensure the contribution of this mineral through milk.
Mg. It promotes dilation of the arteries. Foods that provide this mineral are legumes, seeds, dried fruits, cereal plant and comprehensive green.
Physical activity. Making physical activity as scheduled 3 times per week, preferably aerobic exercise (walking, cycling, swimming), decreases in 7 mm Hg blood pressure.