Hypertension Causes, Effects, Prevention, and Management Infographic- Guest Post
This week, we have a guest post and infographic written by Anurag Vishwakarma discussing causes, effects, and management of hypertension. Check out this great summary of information and infographic in the post below. **If you have been diagnosed with hypertension, please speak with your Doctor and/or your Registered Dietitian for guidance with management of hypertension.**
Hypertension is a common and silent condition that around 35% of the people suffer from and do not have a proper understanding of it. Many times, people experience little to know symptoms of high blood pressure, but significant organs such as the brain, arteries, kidneys, and heart can be damaged if chronic hypertension is not managed.
Causes of Hypertension:
1. Anxiety & Stress: damages blood vessels, heart, kidneys, and leads to frequent blood pressure hikes.
2. Alcohol: Studies say that more than 3 regular drinks in a single sitting increase blood pressure and further cause prolonged high BP issues.
3. Salt Intake: imbalance in blood sodium levels due to excessive salt intake.
4. Smoking: increased heart rate and blood pressure due to nicotine in a cigarette that narrows the arteries and further causes blood clotting.
How Does it Affect your Body?
High blood pressure causes the following effects:
1. Blood clotting due to damage in blood vessels.
2. Increased risks of heart failures.
3. Retinopathy causes vision losses.
4. Kidney damages.
5. Reduced bone density due to calcium loss.
6. Causes Erectile Dysfunction and decreased libido.
Prevention
1. Increase in physical activity.
2. Follow healthy lifestyle weight management practices.
3. Increase in intake of veggies and fruits.
4. The decrease in alcohol and smoking levels.
5. Intake of salt, cholesterol, and saturated fat should be decreased.
Treatment
1. If any particular condition is diagnosed that has caused high blood pressure, that condition should be treated by a Doctor (you can consult a Registered Dietitian as well for food related changes).
2. Even a slight change in lifestyle can help in reducing blood pressure.
3. Medications can be prescribed if any of the above doesn't work.
Guest Writer Bio: Anurag Vishwakarma works as a Marketing Manager for Wisdom Policy, a leading online insurance provider in India that offer different types of insurance policy plans like Health Insurance, Car Insurance, Life Insurance and more.
I hope you enjoyed this great infographic and guest post from Anurag and would love to hear your feedback!
Wishing you a happy and healthy week ahead,
–Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN
Denver’s Dancing Dietitian
A Taste of Health, LLC
“Improving Quality of life one bite at a time”