Sample Essay On Hypertension

Meaning, History and Prevalence

Four out of ten people aged 25 and above are suffering from hypertension and almost half of the death in the world is caused by this disease. No wonder hypertension is considered as the world’s silent killer because apart from being one of the leading causes of death, the symptoms are almost invisible until it’s already worse and life-threatening. Hypertension, or commonly known as high blood pressure, is a non-communicable disease or medical condition believed to be caused by lifestyle choices particularly improper nutrition. It is one of the oldest known diseases that can be traced back since man has known how to read blood pressures in the 18th century. Since its discovery, numerous studies and research have been conducted to determine its cause and effect and on how it can be avoided. Today, much has been known about hypertension and yet this disease still plagues millions of people around the world.

Cause and Effect

One particular misconception about hypertension is that it is caused by excessive eating and is closely related with obesity. While this observation is partly true, several researches have determined quite the opposite of the general belief. In studying hypertension, the World Health Organization (WHO) divided the map into several regions and noted how prevalent hypertension is on each of the regions that were identified. The study revealed an interesting pattern. As observed, the poorer the region is, the more cases of hypertensive individuals were observed. The region of the Americas, for example, has the lowest prevalence of hypertension while poorer countries in the regions of Africa were ranked first among the countries where hypertension is prevalent. The result of this studies reinforces the belief that hypertension is a lifestyle disease. While it is commonly held that hypertension is caused by excessive eating, the choice of food is equally important. Most likely, the inability of people in poorer countries to buy nutritious foods is the reason why it is more prevalent in their region as compared to regions who can afford to have enormous food choices on their diet. Aside from unhealthy food choices, hypertension is also attributed to aging, lack of exercise and stress.

Risk Factors and Future Expectations

The health risks of hypertension may not be directly associated with hypertension, itself, but on its ability to cause highly critical medical conditions such as cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and renal disease. Despite the fact that most people are aware of the health hazards associated with hypertension, most people choose to ignore it until it is too late. A person who suffers from hypertension, for example, may not seek medical assistance until he or she experiences its symptoms (headache, chest pain, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, etc.). Also, improvements in medication of hypertension have made people more secure that their hypertension will be contained. Historically, people inflicted with hypertension take only their medicine whenever they can feel its symptoms. Today, people take hypertension medicines regularly for prevention purposes. Being a lifestyle disease, the future of hypertension or the ability of the people to eradicate hypertension is quite slim. It is expected that hypertension will still linger as the world’s most deadly medical condition because most people are complacent of their lifestyles. Poverty is, also, prevalent in large regions around the globe, which implies that hypertension will remain as its consequence. Perhaps the future of hypertension or combating the disease lies on its medication. The prospect of continued improvement in hypertension drugs as well as making the drug more affordable would certainly make a difference in the future.

References

Hamdy, R. (2001). Hypertension: A Turning Point in the History of Medicine and Mankind. Retrieved March 2015, from http://www.medscape.com/: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421419
Kearney, P., Whelton, M., Reynolds, K., Whelton, P., & He, J. (2004). Worldwide prevalence of hypertension: a systematic review. Journal of Hypertension, 11 -19.
Kotchen, T. (2015). Historical Trends and Milestones in Hypertension Research. Retrieved March 2015, from http://hyper.ahajournals.org/: http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/58/4/522.full
Re, R. (2009, Fall). Obesity-Related Hypertension. Retrieved March 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096270/
World Health Organization. (2013). A global brief on Hypertension. Retrieved March 2015, from http://apps.who.int/: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/79059/1/WHO_DCO_WHD_2013.2_eng.pdf