HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE(HYPERTENSION) DURING PREGNANCY ,IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN AND GENERAL DIAGNOSIS AN

HYPERTENSION

Hypertension simply means high blood pressure in the arteries mostly the arteries of the heart .Arteries are responsible for pumping blood to all the other parts of the body including tissues and organs.Normal blod pressure is below 120/80.Pre-hypertension is characterized by blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 while the blood pressure of 140/90 is considered high.The diagnosis of high blood pressure is important so efforts can be made to normalize blood pressure and prevent complications.

SYMPTOMS

Mild hypertension does not necessarily have any visible symptoms.The next stage of hypertension can be characterized by headance ,nausea,vomiting,drowsiness and problems with vision.Secondary hypertension has additional signs and symptoms and is mainly caused by disorders in hormone regulation.They include weigt loss,reddening of the palms ,tongue enlargement,excessive air growth ,excessive sweating and darkening of the skin colour.

During pregnancy hypertension causes pre-eclampsia which can progress as a life threatening condition called eclampsia,which is the creation of protein in urine and several seizures.These seizures may be accompanied by nausea,headaches and vision loss.

In children, especially in infants and newborns include failure to thrive ,seizures ,irritability,difficulty in breathing .In older kids it can cause headache,fatigue,nose bleeds and facial paralysis.Unfortunately so little is known about children’s hypertension because of lack of sufficient scientific knowledge.

TREATMENT

The prescription depends on your doctorand is given mostly when the blood pressure is primarily very high.Diuretics can be prescribed to lower the blood pressure by getting rid of excessive fat and salts.They include Lasix,Diuril,Aldactone and Edecrin.

Beta blockers are administered to keep the eart from pumping too hard.They include Tenormin,Metropolol and Inderal

Alphaa blockers prevent he production of a hormone that makes the blood vessels constrict.Examples include Cardura Minipress and terazosin.

Some calcium channel blockers prescribed include Norvasc,Lotrel,Isoptin and Adalat