Blood pressure and its risks
High blood pressure in children is most commonly caused by unhealthy lifestyle or family history, but it can also be due to disease, such as kidney or heart disease. When a person has high blood pressure, the heart must work harder to pump blood throughout the body. If lifestyle changes alone are not effective in keeping your pressure controlled, it may be necessary to add blood pressure medications.
The risk of heart disease can be reduced through lifestyle changes — a healthy diet, physical activity and elimination of tobacco use. Risk indicators like cholesterol levels and blood pressure can be monitored to assess the effectiveness of drug treatments and lifestyle changes in reducing the chances of heart disease. Your choice of treatment will have a big impact on your day-to-day lifestyle, such as being able to keep a job if you are working. You are the only one who can decide what means most to you. The decision about which treatment is best for you will be based on your medical condition, your lifestyle and your personal preference.
Treatment No matter what stage of hypertension the patient is in, lifestyle modification is indicated. This includes exercise, healthy diet, weight reduction, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and stress reduction. Clinicians should consider the patient’s overall cardiovascular risk profile, including smoking, diabetes, abnormal blood lipids, age, sex, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity, in making treatment decisions. Inactive lifestyles, tobacco use and low fruit and vegetable intake account for 20 percent each. One individual could be at risk from cholesterol alone, while another could be at risk from cholesterol and blood pressure together. It was estimated that about nine million deaths and more than 75 million lost healthy life years annually were due to unfavorable levels of blood pressure or cholesterol.
