Systolic hypertension is a condition where only the systolic blood pressure is high while the diastolic blood pressure is normal. Read on to know all about the causes, treatment and risks involved with this condition…
Blood pressure is the measurement of the pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries. This is an important measurement that helps a one to gage a persons heart health. The ideal blood pressure of a person is said to be around 120/80 mm of Hg. In this measurement, 120 stands for the systolic blood pressure while the reading of 80 is a measurement of the diastolic blood pressure. When a person is said to suffer from high blood pressure, then normally the systolic and diastolic blood pressure both are said to be on the higher side. However, there may be cases where a person has only high systolic blood pressure. Given below are the various causes, treatment options, and risks involved with systolic hypertension.
Causes
Normally, a persistently high isolated systolic blood pressure of around 140 mm of Hg is said to be systolic hypertension. The diastolic blood pressure meanwhile remains steady at below 90 mm of Hg. This kind of hypertension normally affects older people and is characterized by an increase in the pulse pressure. Pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The main cause of this type of hypertension is stiffening of the arterial wall. This occurs due to the loss of elasticity of the arterial wall. This may also be brought on by chronic hypertension, that is, over a period of time. This is because due to increasing amount of pressure on the wall of the arteries, they tend to slowly lose their elasticity. Sometimes, in very rare cases, a person may even see high systolic blood pressure in pregnancy as a result of a complication.
Treatment
One can easily diagnose a case of systolic hypertension, as its symptoms are the same as symptoms of high blood pressure due to both systolic and diastolic hypertension. Thus, the next step involved in such cases would be treatment of systolic hypertension. The basic protocol of the treatment when it comes to systolic hypertension is to delay and reduce the possible damage that is done to the heart, the cerebrovascular system and to the kidneys. The general treatment will consist of using hypertension medications to keep the blood pressure under check. Furthermore, in such cases, it is imperative that the person try and follow a high blood pressure diet and avoid foods that will elevate his blood pressure any further. Thus, a diet low in sodium and rich in whole grains, fruit and vegetables will always be beneficial to the person. Also an active lifestyle supplemented by regular exercising will always help to keep the blood pressure of a person under check.
Risk of Systolic Hypertension
If not treated in time, systolic hypertension increases the load on the ventricle which may cause hindrances in the blood flow of the coronary arteries. This can eventually result in left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary ischemia and eventual heart failure. Although isolated systolic hypertension was considered to be harmless once upon a time, it has been seen that this condition is an important indicator of health problems and is also an important predictor of possible hypertension induced multiple organ failure. Also, isolated systolic hypertension increases the chances of a person to suffer from an enlarged heart, heart attack and stroke by two to four times. Also, according to a clinical trial that was held, the systolic pressure of a person with systolic hypertension was brought down by 20 mm of Hg, thus, bringing the blood pressure down to around 160 mm of Hg, which significantly reduced the risks of a person to suffer from any of the above mentioned heart diseases.
This was all about causes, treatment and risks associated with this condition. If a person has systolic hypertension, then it is best to take this condition seriously, as it is an important precursor of heart and vascular system diseases.