High blood pressure or hypertension is a silent killer.
The symptoms of hypertension may not be understood and for many years it may go undetected and unchecked.
It affects nearly 25% of the persons checked for it.
Blood pressure is actually the measure of tension exerted on the walls of the arteries by the flowing blood.
Two types of readings are taken while checking the tension.
Systolic pressure is the tension created when the heart beats and diastolic pressure is the tension when the blood returns to heart.
Systolic pressure of 120 and diastolic pressure of 80 are considered normal for an adult.
Anything above this should be monitored and treated regularly.
This condition can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, vision impairment and strokes.
Imbalance in the up take of minerals can trigger this condition.
Excessive intake of salt increases the blood volume and blood pressure.
Sufficient intake of potassium counters the action of sodium and helps in the reduction of blood pressure.
Insufficient intake of calcium is also found to increase blood pressure.
Again sodium is the culprit here.
Excess sodium increases the loss of calcium in urine and triggers its depletion leading to this condition.
Last but not the least point to note is, obesity must be controlled as heart has to pump hard to push the blood through the greater mass of flesh resulting in this ailment.
DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)studies have revealed that a balanced diet low in fats and sodium and high in potassium, magnesium and calcium is found to lower hypertension drastically.
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