Hypertension

Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. The average person’s blood pressure should be systolic or <120/80mmHg. Patients are considered pre-hypertensive if their blood pressure readings are >120/80mmHg. True hypertension is determined if the patient’s blood pressure is >140/90mmHg.

There are also several other terms related to hypertension that you may need to become familiar with.

Essential (primary) HTN – the cause of this is not truly understood. Medical professionals believe it is caused from a combination of genetic background, race, diet, weight gain and other environmental factors.

Secondary HTN – this form of high blood pressure has a different underlying cause than essential hypertension and requires additional screening, which your physician will request. Some of the causes of secondary hypertension include: CKD, sleep apnea, narrowing of the kidney arteries, disorders of the adrenal gland, NSAIDs (i.e. Ibuprofen, naproxen), or birth control pills.

Resistant HTN – this form of hypertension is defined as having a higher than normal blood pressure despite having been treated with 3 medications, one of which is a diuretic.