Medicine > Diseases of cardiovascular system > Arterial hypertension
Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated above 140/90 mm Hg. Hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes and heart attacks, but only if it is severe and prolonged.
Finding out at what level of blood pressure it is starting to exert negative influences on health status took years of scrupulous epidemiological studies. One such study was the Framingham Heart Study that was carried out in an American town - Framingham, Massachusetts.
Mild hypertension is usually treated by diet, exercise and improved physical fitness. As an excessive intake of salt raises the blood pressure, eating low-salt and salt-free foods is often enough to improve the readings. Regular mild cardiovascular exercise improves the circulation and bloodflow, and can also help to lower blood pressure. Stress and anxiety are a major factor in causing high blood pressure, and reducing the amount of tension in your life is often beneficial. (eg.by taking up meditation or some other relaxing hobby.)
More severe and persistent hypertension is treated with medication, usually beta-blockers.
Pre-eclampsia (and its end-stage eclampsia) are a very dangerous condition of pregnancy that involves sky-rocketing blood pressure.