Guyside: feeling tension over hypertension

Hypertension is one of those medical conditions that I think of as “old people stuff.” But actually, it’s one of those conditions that guys like me need to spend a little time thinking about.

I think we all have a basic understanding of what hypertension is. As WebMD explains it, “Blood pumping through the circulatory system is under pressure, much like the water in the pipes of a house. And just as too much water pressure can damage pipes and faucets, high blood pressure can spell trouble. Hypertension occurs when the force exerted against artery walls is abnormally high.” The opposite — low blood pressure or hypotension — can cause people to lose consciousness or indicate some serious health problems too.

I’ve tended to assume everything is fine with me because I have a slow heartbeat. But really, my heart rate doesn’t have that much to do with my blood pressure, and over the last several years, it’s crept up towards the higher end of the normal range, which is a little bit concerning, but not terribly surprising. Once we humans get over 45, the chance of hypertension gets progressively higher. And it’s becoming clear that more young men are suffering from hypertension, often without even knowing it.

What’s interesting about high blood pressure is the complicated mix of factors that lead to it. Genetics can play a role, environmental factors can play a role, and there’s any number of other things ranging from behavioural choices we make (smoking, drinking, diet) to another medical condition (like kidney disease, for example) to stress. When something’s got that many things playing their part in a condition, I think it makes it harder for people to take control and manage it themselves to as great an extent as they can. Even if you have a cancer, you can work towards a treatment plan and then assess the results. But with hypertension, the chain of causes and the range of things that can be done to treat it is so long, that I think it can become a recipe for inaction, or for the easiest choice — take a pill.

There are lots of things that a person can do that may reduce hypertension. Australia’s NPS MedicineWise suggests a number of non-pharmaceutical ways that people can reduce their blood pressure.

And of course, there are other benefits to doing the things in their table — in fact, it’s hard to think of a bad side of eating better, moving more, and watching how much sodium and alcohol you’re consuming. Possibly the two biggest things here are, as the Australians indicate, obesity, and smoking.

If you are overweight, or if you’re a smoker, you can reduce the likelihood of developing high blod pressure or reduce your blood pressure by addressing those two issues. Easy? Possibly not. Easier than a heart attack? Probably.