Types of Hypertension?

Are there types of hypertension? How can we tell if we are susceptible to hypertension or, worse, already suffer from it? With so much uncertainty around us, it should help to know that there are some things over which we have some control. Yes, it’s true that is not always something consistently present in our lives, but there are some areas where we can work on to be able to live better, healthier lives. There are a number of factors which put individuals at risk for developing types of hypertension. Aside from leading an unhealthy lifestyle, age comes into factor for tendency of developing primary or essential hypertension for people over 60 years old. Blood pressure can increase incrementally because of the arteries stiffening up and narrowing down due to the buildup of plaque. In this article, you’ll learn various types of hypertension.

Types of Hypertension: Facts

Ethnicity also comes into play with regard to hypertension development. The risk of developing hypertension is equally the same for both male and females; however men have notably been more prone to hypertension even at a young age. On the other hand increase in susceptibility for women increase as a female matures.

Hypertension is not always apparent nor is it usually accompanied by visible symptoms, and is typically identified through screening. Most people with the condition are made aware of having the condition or when they seek healthcare for a physical issue unrelated to hypertension. There are a few individuals with high blood pressure that report headaches particularly describing the location of the pain at the back of the head and during the morning.

Common Symptoms

Vertigo, lightheadedness, a buzzing or ringing in the ears – called tinnitus is also reported by other individual as well as a change in vision or episodes of fainting. However, these symptoms may also be associated with some sort of anxiety or a situation of duress rather than with high blood pressure itself. Knowing the causes can make quite the difference to anyone who may suspect they could be prone to the condition. Hypertension comes in two sorts and each type is caused by different things.

Most Common Type of Hypertension: Primary Hypertension

Primary hypertension which is the most typical sort found in most individuals. This type of hypertension is developed over a period of time giving hardly any signs of identifiable cause. Amongst these factors include a person’s genes. There are some individuals who are predisposed genetically to hypertension. This could happen because of genetic abnormalities or gene mutations which were passed down from parents to child.

White Coat Hypertension

Notice how your heart starts pounding at the thought of a looming visit to your dentist? This is also true for some individuals who are due for a physician visit. A visit to the doctor, for some is an experience ridden by inherent anxiety. So there will be times when you get a high reading when your doctor does this simple procedure. This is mostly all in the mind and the phenomenon is quite a real one for many, hence the term White Coat Hypertension. It is identified by high readings of your doctor but a relatively lower one when done in the comfort of your own home.

Labile Hypertension

Labile hypertension is not to be mistaken for borderline hypertension. Labile hypertension is in fact what doctors call the condition of individuals who have frequent high or low blood pressure level changes. The condition is defined by a sudden onset and continuing fluctuation in an individual’s blood pressure, which typically heighten from a normal, healthy blood pressure reading to a high blood pressure reading during varied times throughout the day.

There is a divide in the medical community about labile hypertension. Some see it as a faulty concept and, hence a faulty diagnosis whilst other see it as a condition which is treatable. Either way, labile hypertension is believed generally to have less clinical impact and significance on a patient as compared to the better understood condition called “fixed” hypertension. Fixed hypertension is also a more dangerous condition. Guidelines for treatment of labile hypertension are vague and there are no accepted quantitative criteria to identify or understand the condition even though most physicians and health care providers are aware and know of the term. Nor are there guidelines for criteria of giving it as diagnosis.

Masked Hypertension

Masked hypertension may happen to as much as 10% of the general population, and is crucial  since masked hypertension  is not diagnosed by regular  medical exams, but it sums up to an adverse prognosis, either in terms of heightened  target organ damage and cardiovascular episodes. It is identified as a normal blood pressure reading in the clinic or doctor’s office of  <140/90 mmHg, but a high blood pressure out of the clinic i.e. ambulatory daytime or home blood pressure >135/85 mmHg. Some probable characteristics of patients who have masked hypertension are stress, smoking and drinking habit, male populace, increased physical activities, and young patients.

Masked hypertension has also been identified in individuals and patients treated for hypertension. It was also described to have a worse prognosis than given from the clinic pressure in children in whom which masked hypertension could be the beginning of sustained hypertension.  

Some Tips

Masked hypertension could be suspected in patients who have historically shown high blood pressure readings from time to time but who are normotensive when given a blood pressure reading in the clinic. This is why it is practical to keep a journal of your blood pressure readings, whether at your physician’s clinic or at home.

Patients and individuals who display this should be monitored in and out of clinic. And this is when knowing how to take your own blood pressure reading accurately comes into play. Rather than dismissing these erratic readings, individuals of this sort should be encouraged to be more mindful about being vigilant of their blood pressure highs and lows. This goes for smokers and patients whose blood pressure is in the red or the pre-hypertensive range. The probable dangers of masked hypertension are extreme. However, the optimum strategy to detect this condition in the general population is yet to have better clarity.