High Blood Pressure (hypertension) Chronic Condition Risk Factors Series. This five-part series will discuss the chronic condition risk factors of high blood pressure: high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney disease, and sleep apnea. This introduction will concentrate on an overview of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure

Almost everyone knows, or think they know, what high blood pressure is. But the interesting thing about high blood pressure is that there are so many different types of high blood pressure.

1. Gestational hypertension: This type of hypertension only occurs during pregnancy.
2. Hypertension, also known as essential hypertension: This is the most common of all high blood pressure types. There is no known cause and is hereditary.
3. Isolated systolic blood pressure: This type of high blood pressure is often under-treated. Isolated systolic blood pressure is defined as <140/>90mmHg (1).
4. Labile hypertension: The changing of factors that make blood pressure fluctuate represents this type of hypertension.
5. Malignant hypertension: This type of hypertension is also known as accelerated hypertension. Less than 1% of those with high blood pressure live with malignant hypertension (3).
6. Pre-hypertension: This type of hypertension occurs when the blood pressure reading is between 120/80 and 139/89mmHg(2).
7. Pulmonary hypertension: This type of hypertension is also known as portal hypertension. The high blood pressure happens in the pulmonary artery.
8. Renovascular hypertension: This is a type of secondary hypertension. Renovascular hypertension is the result of deceased blood flow to the kidneys.
9. Resistant hypertension: This type of hypertension doesn’t respond to the same treatments and therapies of the other types of hypertension.
10. Secondary hypertension: This type of hypertension can be reversible. Secondary hypertension is usually associated with adrenal disease, blood vessel disease, kidney disease, medications, parathyroid disease, pregnancy, sleep apnea, and thyroid disease. Only 5% of Americans live with secondary hypertension (1).
11. White coat hypertension: This type of high blood pressure is usually over-treated. Medically speaking, this type of high blood pressure really isn’t hypertension because it only applies in the presence of those medical personnel who wear white coats.

What else you should know

High blood pressure is not curable. It’s best if you prevent high blood pressure before it starts. Make necessary lifestyle changes so you can live a happy and long life without high blood pressure.

Remember that high blood pressure is 140/90mmHg (2). Get your blood pressure taken on a regular basis. Use these suggestions when taking your blood pressure: do not be stressed when you take it, don’t take it immediately after physical activity, do not take it on an injured arm. Remember, too, that caffeine consumption will affect the reading. To get consistent readings, be sure to take your blood pressure about the same time each day.

(1) http://kidneydiseases.about.com/od/highbloodpressure/a/Article0026.htm
(2) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/hbp/whathbp.htm
(3) http://heart.health.ivillage.com/bloodpressure/typesofhypertension5.cfm