Question

What is hypertension? Give its causes and consequence?

Answer 1

Answer:

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. It can lead to severe complications and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and death.

Explanation:

Causes:

• Age: Hypertension is more common in people aged over 60 years. With age, blood pressure can increase steadily as the arteries become stiffer and narrower due to plaque build-up.
• Ethnicity: Some ethnic groups are more prone to hypertension.
• Size and weight: Being overweight or obese is a key risk factor.
• Alcohol and tobacco use: Consuming large amounts of alcohol regularly can increase a person's blood pressure, as can smoking tobacco.
• Sex: The lifetime risk is the same for males and females, but men are more prone to hypertension at a younger age. The prevalence tends to be higher in older women

Consequences:

• Damaged and narrowed arteries. High blood pressure can damage the cells of your arteries' inner lining. When fats from your diet enter your bloodstream, they can collect in the damaged arteries. Eventually, your artery walls become less elastic, limiting blood flow throughout your body.
• Coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease affects the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle. Arteries narrowed by coronary artery disease don't allow blood to flow freely through your arteries. When blood can't flow freely to your heart, you can experience chest pain, a heart attack or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
• stroke. A stroke occurs when part of your brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, causing brain cells to die. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke by damaging and weakening your brain's blood vessels, causing them to narrow, rupture or leak. High blood pressure can also cause blood clots to form in the arteries leading to your brain, blocking blood flow and potentially causing a stroke.