Hypertension Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hypertension - Case Study Example It is usually called the silent killer because it does not present any symptoms until it reaches a serious and life-threatening stage (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2003). The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment if High Blood Pressure has identified the classification of hypertension in adults older than 18 years are prehypertension, if systolic pressure is 120-139 mmHg and diastolic pressure is 80-89 mmHg; stage 1 hypertension is systolic pressure ranges 140-159 mmHg and diastolic pressure ranges 90-99 mmHg; and stage 2 hypertension if systolic pressure is 160 mmHg or more and diastolic pressure is 100 mmHg or higher (Bickley & Szilagyi, 2009). Essential or idiopathic hypertension is the term given to high blood pressures with no identifiable causes (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2003). Hypertension has been also categorized in two classes. Primary hypertension happens when the sympathetic nervous system as well as the renin-angiotensin-a ldosterone system is hyperactive thereby causing vasoconstriction and endothelial dysfunction, its mechanism however is still not known. Secondary hypertension on the other hand is caused by high intake with estrogen therapy, polycystic kidney disease, renal artery vasoconstriction, primary hyperaldosteronism, Cushing’s disease, hyperthyroidism, and pheochromocytoma (Woods, 2006). Individuals having a family history of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are at greater risk of developing heart-related illnesses. Also included in the high risk group are those who are smoking cigarettes, living a sedentary lifestyle, or having a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more. Furthermore, patients with past medical history of dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, or presence of albumin in the urine are more predisposed to developing hypertension and heart diseases. Regarding to age, males older than 55 years and females older than 65 years and postmenopausal are at greater risk of acquiri ng hypertensive and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, individuals who are regularly taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or women who are taking estrogen-containing contraceptives are also more predisposed to acquiring heart diseases (Woods, 2006). The survey on monitoring prevalence rate of cardiovascular diseases by the World Health Organization was conducted to 22 countries. Conclusions based on the data gathered are as follows: Hypertension prevalence is high in all countries with a scope of 20% to nearly 50%. Generally, industrialized countries have a greater prevalence than United States, excluding Canada, (Wolf-Maier, 2003). In one country, higher prevalence rate is observed in the urban areas than in rural areas (Gupta, 2004; Ibrahim, 1996, Ragoobirsingh, et. al., 2002). On the whole, the worldwide burden of hypertensive disease in 2000 was approximated to be 972 million individuals or 26.4% of the adult population; 333 million are in developed countries and 639 million are in developing countries. By the year 2025, approximately 1.56 billion persons will be afflicted with hypertension, a projection of 60% from year 2000 (Kearney, 2005).Several studies were also conducted according to age and race and it was found out that the frequency of hypertension is high in the United States, increases with age, and is greater in African Americans than in whites (Hajjar, 2006). The incidence and susceptibility to complications brought about by