The Heart is one of the most intriguing of muscles in the human body. It beats 100,00 times a day to send our blood on a 60,000-mile journey around the body. If taken out and kept aside, the heart in-fact would continue to pump unaided for a little while!!

Heart disease is a common not only in humans but also animals. The variations of Heart disease are many and the causes endless. Nonetheless the most common out off all Heart conditions is hypertension, also commonly referred to as high blood pressure.

The Prefix Hyper" means "over" in Greek and hence from this root one can easily decipher that Hypertension or High blood pressure is caused when high pressure (tension) in the arteries occurs. The arteries are the vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to all of the tissues and organs of the body.

Blood pressure is typically recorded as the systolic pressure (as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats). A consistent blood pressure reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher is considered high blood pressure. The present recommendation of treatment is to keep the blood pressure at 110/70 mm of Hg.

It's not always possible to determine why blood pressure reaches higher levels in some people. The Causes may include narrowing of the arteries, or due to the heart beating faster or more forcefully than it should. Sometimes it is due to other diseased organ parts in the body like kidneys. However, continuous high blood pressure can be fatal for any individual as it can result to Heart Attack or stroke if sufficient medication and care is not taken.

Read more